Pride Houston 365 Honorary Grand Marshal: Sara Fernandez

“This grand marshal honor signifies that what I have worked on is meaningful. It gives me an opportunity to extend my work and remind everyone that they are an exceptional and valuable part of the community. Your story is important and needs to be preserved. Please save your old photos, brochures, flyers, diaries,  newsletters, etc., and give them to an ARCH member—houstonarch.pbworks.com.” Sara Fernandez

Known For:
Her work with PFLAG (pflaghouston.org) by helping with their programs, newsletter, and Pride parade float, and by staffing events and doing outreach. She has also recorded and broadcast the monthly programs and some parents’ stories on Public Access TV.

As a result of her work, Fernandez was invited to join two organizations. The first was Association for Family and Community Integrity (AFCI), a Houston-based organization with a mission to reduce rejection of LGBTQ youth by educating families and communities. This evolved into creating a website (understandinggay.org) with information to help people understand and accept their LGBTQ family members and friends.

The second invitation was to join Houston Area Rainbow Collective History (Houston ARCH). She worked with ARCH members to develop a series of banners depicting Houston LGBTQ history for the 2014 Creating Change Conference, held in Houston. The project started with 27 banners and now has 50 that travel to events as a pop-up museum.

Advocacy:
Fernandez has attended state conferences for teachers, counselors and social workers to hand out resources and speak about supporting LGBTQ youth. She has encountered people who need to talk, staff that are supportive of their students, staff who are afraid of being accused of turning a child gay, and some who avoid her in order to not be ”tainted.” Unfortunately, “Don’t Say Gay” has had an influence and people are less willing to speak.

Favorite Cause:
What moves her most are human rights, following the Golden Rule.

Dream to Change the World:
Fernandez’s dream was to change the world by providing stories and information. She now says that she was naïve but has nevertheless seen her work—in unity with others—make a positive difference.

Because the world is always evolving—there are births and deaths, people moving through the stages of life, social changes and challenges—we are never finished working to make a better world.

Ultimate Life Mission:
Fernandez says that while some people seem to know what they want to be and what their goals are, she has wandered through life. Her constant is to work to understand herself, to be a better human being and pay attention to what needs to be done.

Favorite hashtag:
#PFLAGNational

What: The 46th Annual Official Houston LGBT+ Pride Celebration: Festival & Parade
When: Saturday, June 29 (Parade is 7:30–10:00 p.m.)
Where: Houston City Hall, 901 Bagby Street
Info: pridehouston365.org