We were saddened at the news that Barbara Cook passed away this morning, age 89. Barbara and her son, Adam LeGrant, were among the first families to appear in PFLAG NYC’s “Stay Close” Campaign, featuring intimate portraits of celebrities with their LGBT loved ones.

Suzanne Ramos, one of the creators of the Campaign and former PFLAG NYC Board Chair, shared this memory of Barbara on hearing the news:

I was excited as we gave Barbara’s name to the doorman in her Riverside Drive building. After sending us up to her apartment — Jim Lewin, who was the creative director on the Stay Close campaign, the photographer for the photo shoot, and I — we disembarked on her floor, rang the bell, and were greeted by her son, Adam. “My mom’s doing her hair,” he told us. In a few minutes, Barbara popped out with rollers in her hair. “I’ll be right with you,” she said disappearing back into her bedroom for a few more minutes. (How did she come out looking so gorgeous so quickly?) During the shoot, the interaction between Mother and Son was sweet and affectionate. Read more »

Julie Tarney, Author of My Son Wears Heels: One Mom’s Journey from Clueless to Kickass, Will Speak at PFLAG NYC Upper West Side Meeting in April

In 1992, Julie Tarney’s two-year-old child, Harry, told her, “Inside my head I’m a girl.” So begins Julie’s tale of what it was like to raise her son in a time when terms like “gender non-conforming,” “gender-creative,” and “transgender” were rare or nonexistent.

It was a time when there were no books to guide her and Google and the internet didn’t exist, so there was no easy way to find information or community.

Mainstream “experts” theorized that a “sissy” boy was the result of a domineering mother. Many PFLAG parents have been there and will empathize. Julie refused to believe it. Without role models and fearful of being judged as a mom who was making her son “too feminine,” Julie embarked on an unexpected parenting path. Read more »

Come join PFLAG NYC at the LGBT Solidarity Rally at Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village on Saturday, February 4 at 2 p.m. Stand up to protect the civil rights of our LGBTQ loved ones and stand in solidarity with immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees and every person whose civil rights and dignity are under threat. Read more »

We are pleased to announce that TRANSformation is going to be performed again on Saturday, February 4, at 7 p.m. at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, 2180 Third Avenue at 119th Street. Admission to this performance is free. This performance was requested by the New York City Council and is supported by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

The November premier of TRANSformation was deeply moving and received glowing reviews. This special performance piece is an ensemble presentation of storytelling, readings, poetry, and other performances that bring to life the experiences of families with transgender and gender non-conforming children. It was created by PFLAG NYC and other families working with Houses on the Moon Theater Company. Read more »