HoCo Holler! CARY HoCo and The Pride Prom

 

I can’t remember the last time I posted a HoCo Holler! but surely this deserves one: 

‘This is a really big step’: Howard County schools hold a first-ever ‘Pride Prom’ Photo essay by Kaitlin Newman and Heather Diehl, Baltimore Banner

Today’s HoCo Holler! goes out to CARY HoCo for advocating for, organizing, planning, and putting on Howard County’s first ever Pride Prom for LGBTQ+ youth in the Howard County schools.

From the Banner article:

The Community Allies of Rainbow Youth, or CARY, works within the schools to advocate for a safe and affirming learning environment, raise awareness of LGBTQ+ issues, increase understanding of youth experiences across the community, and provide resources and support for allies.

Pride Prom wasn’t just for dancing. Students had many other choices for a good time including an Escape Room Challenge, a movie room, a Low-Fi room and a game room. There was also a “cocoa and conversation room,” which was low-lit with offered relaxing vibes with tea, cocoa, and desserts.

CARY would very likely be generous in their thanks to all the groups and individuals that partnered with them to make this event happen. There were a lot of them. But it took the vision and persistent advocacy of CARY to bring the Pride Prom into existence. As someone who has plenty of good ideas but has intense problems with follow-through, I bow down to CARY’s continuing ability to talk the talk and walk the walk. They get things done.

And more than that, they get things done for kids. 

Sasha Knight, an HCPSS teacher who is quoted in the Banner article, gives a glimpse into why this is so important.

It has been the most incredible feeling to see all of my students feeling comfortable and happy and really coming into their own self and just being able to be around the people that are like them and similar and supportive. I’ve seen some students who have never met each other before, just being supportive of one another in this environment. It’s fills my heart with so much love seeing them being who they are."

The collaboration with the school system itself would have been difficult if not impossible in other communities. The creation of HCPSS’s first LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Specialist in 2022 was a big step forward in visible system-wide support for LGBTQIA+ students and families. Librarian/media specialist Danielle Du Puis, who had previously created the first HCPSS Rainbow Conference, was appointed to the role.

DuPuis, who posts her professional work in HCPSS under the name HCPSS Pride, has worked to create programs that support students and help school communities learn and grow in their support for all students. What a good feeling it must have been to students at the Pride Prom to see that their own school system was invested in creating a celebratory event that was safe for them.

It’s important to note that the creation of this position was one of CARY’s goals. As I said, they get things done. Good things. Necessary things.

If you need a reminder of how necessary this support is, read the hateful and sneering responses to the Banner article on Twitter. Just click and read what follows. I’m not going to allocate space for them here.

Food for thought, this article shared recently on the CARY HoCo Facebook page:

What are queer youth thinking as their rights are under siege? We asked them. Jorge Martinez, lgbtqnation.com

As much as I loved the Banner’s photo essay and the snapshots of young people truly in their element, it’s very likely that some in attendance would not have felt safe being photographed or giving their names. That event was particularly important for them in a way that most of us cannot imagine. 

And so I offer up a huge HoCo Holler! to CARY HoCo for the gift they gave to our community in Howard County’s first Pride Prom. Heartfelt thanks as well to all who donated and volunteered their time to make it such a resounding success.