PFLAG (Parents, Families, And Friends Of Lesbians And Gays)

PFLAG began in 1972 when Jeanne Manford marched alongside her gay son Morty in New York's Christopher Street Liberation Day march after he was beaten during a protest. So many marchers begged her to talk to their own parents that she started a support group. The first formal meeting of "Parents of Gays" took place on March 11, 1973, in Greenwich Village. Similar groups spread nationwide and united in 1979. Today PFLAG has hundreds of local chapters offering support groups, education, and advocacy for families navigating a loved one's coming out. The name once stood for Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays; the organization now uses PFLAG alone to reflect its wider reach.