June is national Pride Month, honoring the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan — considered “a tipping point for gay liberation in the U.S.”
As Tyler organizers prepare special Pride Month events including a march, a display by the East Texas chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays at the Tyler Public Library has changed locations.
This afternoon, a PFLAG organizer said they were notified by phone that the Tyler Public Library’s Pride Month display was removed from the first floor and relocated to a display case upstairs — a directive from the office of the City of Tyler’s city manager, Ed Broussard.
Lou Anne Smoot of East Texas PFLAG said the organization has filled the first floor display case throughout the month of June since 2015. The second floor display case receives little traffic, Smoot said.
Smoot said an East Texas PFLAG advocate received an email from Broussard stating the reason for the display’s relocation:
“We decided to have the Pride Month display at the Library be located on the second floor as it relates to emotional life decisions for people. This provides an appropriate location for these conversations for our patrons and citizens.”
Smoot urges residents to reach out to Broussard to “let him know of your dismay and displeasure” by contacting the Tyler city manager’s office by phone at 903-531-1250 or in person at 212 N. Bonner Ave.
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