PFLAG Winston-Salem hosts LGBTQA youth prom

PFLAG Winston-Salem hosted the fourth annual Alternative Prom for LGBTQ and straight allied high school students in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System last night.

The event was a blast with almost 200 students attending. Some students even travelled from surrounding counties and school systems to join in on the festivities.

With DJ OutStreet playing the hottest hits like Cascada’s “Every Time We Touch” and Madonna’s “Hung Up,” students danced and chatted in an atmosphere of acceptance, diversity and celebration.

I was there, along with three or four fellow students, back in April 2003 when we planned our first Alternative Prom in Winston-Salem. We spent months planning that thing and we had 25 people show up. I was a junior at Reynolds High School then and those 25 people seemed like a huge success for us. Last year the Alternative Prom had over 200 students and this year, with only two weeks of planning, they reached almost that number.

I don’t think that my fellow students and I would have ever thought the Alternative Prom would ever be as big as it was last night. I am so happy that I got to go back and see all the hardwork being done by those students who are now in high school.

I even had the chance to meet a student who goes to Reynolds. He is a freshman now and will be, of course, a sophomore next year. He wants to get the Gay-Straight Alliance back up and running. I can’t help but see a small part of how I was as a freshman in this guy. I know he will end up making a difference at Reynolds and I am glad that I was able to lay out the ground work (along with our Co-President from 2002-2004, Garrett Tallent) for students just like this guy and his friends. Here’s a message for all the teachers and mentors who supported me: Reach out to this guy, too… He’ll need it.

I’ve said it many times… LGBTQ and straight allied youth are definitely leading the movement toward equality. Their strength, courage, conviction and pride is overwhelming. I saw it all last night and I was proud to be able to go back and see the successes they are having. Good luck to all the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County youth. While you all are doing all the hardwork with your fellow students, maybe us adults can get you a better Board of Education in the upcoming elections.