Brief History: In 1972, Jeanne Manford started an international movement when she marched with her son Mortie in New York’s Gay Pride Parade. Enraged that her son had been beaten at a gay rights protest two months before while police did nothing, she carried a sign at the Pride march that said, “Parents of Gays: Unite in Support of Our Children.”

30 years later, PFLAG has grown to include more than 500 chapters nationwide, over 200,000 members, supporters, and affiliates, representing the largest chapter network in the struggle for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) rights.

The Western South Dakota Chapter of PFLAG was chartered in 2004. Since then the organization has worked with the various agencies to assist the GLBTQ community. The local chapter provides a safe non-judgemental venue for parents,families, and friends to deal with their loved ones who have “come out”, by providing discussion groups, seminars and direct counseling. For more information contact the Black Hills Center for Equality at 605-348-3244 or Sandy Magnavito at 605-348-0567 or email us at pflag@bhcfe.org