This year’s Philadelphia Family Pride conference is taking a more stridently political tone this year.
The mission: to raise awareness of LGBTQ rights but, more importantly, to rally the troops in protecting those rights.
“It’s a matter of urgency that we get involved,” said Naomi Washington-Leapheart, this year’s keynote speaker. “We can’t continue to allow people who don’t live or understand our experiences to represent us in the political space.”
PFP will host its 9th Family Matters Conference Oct. 6 at the McNeil Science and Technology Center at the University of Sciences.
The conference typically focuses on parenting issues, but the political climate necessitates more, said Washington-Leapheart, who is the faith-work director for the National LGBTQ Taskforce — the country’s oldest LGBTQ-advocacy group. Washington-Leapheart will moderate a panel called “Political Advocacy for the LGBTQ Parent,” providing education and practical ways to be a part of the political process.
Stephanie Haynes, PFP executive director, said the new political workshops complement the conference’s mission to discuss queer-parenting issues.
“Our purpose is to have a day for our families to come together in a bigger setting instead of the focus being on social events, which we do a lot of,” Haynes said. “Parents and prospective parents will have the opportunity to get parenting advice, resources for their families, social support and building community with other parents and families.”
The conference provides “an opportunity to further educate conference guests on the issues we need to be concerned about going into midterm elections,” said Washington-Leapheart. “The world of politics can seem like this mythological place. It’s not just for the wealthy or those who come from a political family. People can hold elected office, and seeing more queer people represented in the political space should give people hope that they can do the same.
Washington-Leaphart will also deliver her keynote speech, entitled “Queer Parenting as a Revolutionary Spiritual Practice,” on spirituality within the LGBTQ community. The ordained minister — who also teaches undergraduate students at Villanova University in theology and religious studies — will highlight how parenting deepened her spirituality and her understanding of “queer parenting as an act of resistance.”
“Resistance is rooted in spirituality, rooted in a notion that things don’t have to be the way they are. Queer parents don’t have to be excluded from adopting or being foster parents,” she said. “We don’t need to remain stigmatized in parenting spaces because people don’t understand how we do this parenting thing. Queer parenting is an act of resistance to the status quo or what’s normative.”
Washington-Leapheart said her speech will have something for everyone, religious or not.
“I don’t want people to be put off by the title of keynote thinking that it won’t be for them. A lot of queer folks feel put off by religion and, in many instances, have been traumatized by the religious community. I want this to be a demonstration that there are people out there who are still committed to their faith tradition, whatever that may be, and they’re living fully out loud as an LGBTQ person too.”
The conference will also feature 14 panels and workshops for LGBTQ parents and prospective parents, with sessions that focus on LGBTQ baby-making options, talking to kids about sexuality and gender, donor-sibling registry and domestic-adoption options. St. Mary’s Nursery School will provide childcare for infants and COLAGE — a national organization for queer parents and families — will provide programming for ages 7-14. Registration requires a pay-as-you-wish fee starting at $1.
The Family Matters Conference runs 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 6 at the McNeil Science and Technology Center at the University of Sciences, 4316 Woodland Ave. For more information and to register, visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/2018pfpconreg.