鈥橳was the Night Before Pride
Joanna McClintick 鈥�07, a licensed clinical social worker, has authored 鈥橳was the Night Before Pride, a children鈥檚 book.
Joanna McClintick 鈥�07, a queer mom of a 3-year-old son and a licensed clinical social worker at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in Manhattan, has authored 鈥橳was the Night Before Pride, a children鈥檚 book (ages 4 to 8). The 32-page book, illustrated by Juana Medina, tells the story of a queer family going to a pride march.
Q. Across the country, there are more and more reports of schools banning books about the LGBTQ community. What are school administrators and politicians so afraid of?
A. It鈥檚 so backward and not consistent. I hear conservatives say, let kids be kids and don鈥檛 bring up difficult topics. But some kids have LGBTQ parents and some kids are LGBTQ themselves. You don鈥檛 really want to let kids be kids; you only want to let kids be kids if they are straight children, or if they have straight parents.
Q. Florida鈥檚 Legislature has approved a bill鈥攃ritics call the 鈥淒on鈥檛 say gay鈥� bill鈥攖hat would prohibit classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. Supporters say parents, and not teachers, should have control over such discussions. Are they wrong?
A. There are many families where the adults in the child鈥檚 life are LGBTQ identifying. If you don鈥檛 talk about it in school, what does that mean? That they can鈥檛 share what they did with their moms over the weekend because it鈥檚 banned? And you can鈥檛 say 鈥渕y moms are gay鈥�?
Q. The June 1969 Stonewall riots were a series of confrontations between police and LGBTQ activists outside the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. The uprising is viewed as the catalyst for the gay rights movement and the reason that pride celebrations are typically held in June. How do you present to young children what happened without unduly scaring them?
A. I think the tone is right around saying what happened, but also keeping the story moving along. Yeah, there was a fight; you weren鈥檛 allowed to be gay and the activists felt that was wrong and they stood up and fought back and that started this movement. And then we kind of keep the story moving.
Q. Does your book aim to balance the significance of Stonewall with the joy that鈥檚 often associated with pride parades?
A. There鈥檚 a line in the book: 鈥淢ore and more gathered to fight back in the heat. Some started a kick line in the middle of the street.鈥� Stonewall is not well-documented, but one of the stories I鈥檝e heard is there were queer people who formed a kick line, which is so campy and so hilarious. At this moment鈥攊t鈥檚 really hot; it鈥檚 the middle of the night; it鈥檚 getting very escalated with the police. I thought, I need to build a book around this, because kids will think that鈥檚 hilarious, that part of our movement, even in the most intense times, is dancing. Part of what鈥檚 extra special about being part of the queer resistance is we always bring the camp, the craziness. It鈥檚 not just a fight, it鈥檚 also a dance party, even at its very root. That strikes a chord with kids, being silly and being over-the-top and getting in a costume and dancing. It鈥檚 one of my favorite parts of the book. It鈥檚 a fight, but it鈥檚 fun.