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Stand up for Pride

AUSD School Board Member Ryan LaLonde shares the importance of Pride and concerns about anti-gay legislation

As we close out LGBTQ+ Pride Month, this Pride is different. It is normally a celebration of progress but at this moment in history, it feels like progress is waning, if not regressing.

Across the country, members of the LGBTQ+ community have been under attack in state legislatures and city governments. In fact, in the last year there have been more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ pieces of legislation introduced in state legislatures. A large portion of these have been focused on our transgender youth.

Alameda Post - Ryan LaLonde, husband Chris Moody, and their son Farber. Courtesy photo.
Chris Moody, Ryan LaLonde, and their son Farber. Courtesy photo.

Attempts to remove protections and rights always have ripple effects. Where we see these attempts and ripple effects is often in our school districts, targeting our LGBTQ+ youth. From removal of LGBTQ-positive books to fighting gender neutral bathrooms or not allowing our trans youth the opportunity to play their desired sport, school districts are in the crosshairs of hate groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom and Moms for Liberty.



We don’t need to look far to see how their rhetoric and fear-mongering are permeating our communities. Only 350 miles away in Glendale we see barricades keeping back throngs of protesters hurling anti-LGBTQ hate in opposition to a simple Pride proclamation. And in Temecula Valley Unified School District we see a board erasing LGBTQ history and Harvey Milk from its curriculum.

These attempts to remove LGBTQ rights and history are noticed by our youth. LGBTQ students are twice as likely to report being bullied or harassed at school as compared to their heterosexual peers; they know hate is being empowered. And with LGBTQ+ youth reporting six times higher rates of suicidal ideation compared to their heterosexual peers, we can all see why this work is important—it is a matter of life or death.

So it is critical that schools continue to be not only safe havens for youth but also allow them to know LGBTQ history and celebrate what makes them so unique.

Pride month is also supposed to be a rallying cry to keep the faith—we can’t let hate steal our collective joy. We can celebrate the positives. For one, this is my first Pride after the voters of Alameda elected me to the Alameda Unified School District Board of Education.

Alameda Post - City Hall with a pride flag and a group of people gathered in front
Alameda residents gather to observe Pride on the steps of Alameda City Hall on June 24, 2022. Photo Adam Gillitt.

As the first openly gay person to win an election for the school board, I know the great responsibility I have not only to the larger community, but specifically to the LGBTQ families, students and community members. It is a responsibility steeped in lived experience. As a gay dad of a teenage student at Alameda High School, I know we are in a different time and space then when I was closeted gay teen with a lesbian parent in a rural Michigan high school. But resilience remains key—and I see it every day in our students and the work and success they achieve.

I had the honor to be present at all the middle and high school graduations here in Alameda. I was so inspired to see LGBTQ scholars take stages of honor and talk about their identity in heartfelt, articulate, and authentic ways. I was beaming with pride in their success. I know there is still work to do, but it was certainly a moment to celebrate!

So, while this rainbow of Pride month may be fighting storm clouds of hate and opposition to shine, it is important that we not lose faith in Pride, celebrate the joy and love of community, and fight to protect our LGBTQ youth as well as youth with LGBTQ families. I know the majority of Alamedans are ready to protect the rights of our LGBTQ+ community so we can see ourselves in history books, compete in sports we love, and feel safe when stepping onto a school campus. Let the rainbow shine.

Thank you, Alameda, for your support!

Ryan LaLonde
Alameda Unified School Board Trustee


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