In our episode coinciding with the first day of Pride Month, we talk to two high school students, Hannah Strom and Annie Wang, and their teacher Caitlin Grieve, about their successful efforts with the other students in ‘Ridge Pride’, the Gay-Straight Alliance at Iroquois Ridge High School, to have three Rainbow Crosswalks installed in Oakville.
We are also joined by Whitney Ross, one of the co-leads for Pflag Halton – the local Halton region chapter of Pflag Canada. Pflag is a national non-profit organization that offers peer-to-peer support for 2SLGBTQ+ individuals and families. Pflag Halton is committed to building visibility, representation, and inclusivity for the 2SLGBTQ+ community in the Halton region. We address with Whitney the implications of Halton Catholic School Board scuppering a student-led initiative to raise the Pride Flag over HCDSB schools during June, the importance of symbols, and the journey that still needs to be travelled in Halton and across the 905 to build a truly inclusive society.
With thanks to all four guests, and a special mention to Hannah for spending time over the weekend helping us recover from some technical issues.