Rainbow Homecoming organizers Jayla Brown, left and Libby Gonzales
Young and old celebrated together at teen-created event
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
A group of teens recently staged a homecoming meant for all ages at Samuell Grand Recreation Center last week to give those older folks who could not celebrate before and teens who didn’t feel welcome at their schools’ events a chance to celebrate.
“We had a lot of kids who were part of the community,” said Rainbow Homecoming 2024 organizer Jayla Brown, daughter of Carter and Espy Brown, founders of Black Trans Advocacy Coalition. “Also siblings, allies and parents. We had adults who didn’t get to go to their own homecomings.”
Security was tight. Dallas Voice was asked not to put the event in the calendar or announce its location ahead of time.
Still, thanks to word-of-mouth, turnout was good, and the event went off without incident, reported organizer Libby Gonzales.
Last year, Gonzalez was an organizer of the trans prom at the U.S. Capitol.
One of the most popular activities at the party was a take-off of a Texas homecoming tradition: A mum making station with garters was featured, Gonzales said.
There was also a DJ booth, a popcorn machine, a photo booth and lots of free merch from sponsors, Brown said.
Among the organizations and community resources with booths was Meow Wolf, the interactive art installation company with a local presence in Grapevine Mills. Brown said they were giving out free tickets to the Grapevine Meow Wolf location.
“They had lots of interactive things, things you could touch,” Brown said, and Gonzales added that Meow Wolf is a great place to go for birthdays.
Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign, PFLAG and Equality Texas were there offering information on how they are working for LGBTQ rights. Northaven Church was on hand offering local support for the community, and Moms Demand Action offered ideas for common sense gun control, an issue on the minds of most students.
Gonzales has worked with Equality Texas and was in Austin several times during the last legislative session, testifying about her rights as a trans teen and how proposed legislation would take those rights away. Gonzales’ mom, Rachel, is now HRC’s senior regional organizing lead in Texas.
Even though Libby and her family are deeply involved in the community, she said she had not known about Kin•dom Community, and she was glad to learn about what she described as summer camp for queer kids. The organization describes its program as a “summer camp experience for LGBTQ+ youth that affirms the goodness and wholeness of their identities.”
Pride Frisco representatives also traveled to the East Dallas rec center to let participants know about the free Oct. 6 Pride main event being held at Toyota Stadium this weekend. The stadium is a just 20-minute ride up the Tollway, they pointed out.
Both organizers talked about why this event was so important to them.
“It was important because it’s been a really hard time for LGBT youth,” Gonzales said. “It’s important to get to know my community better.
“I’ve seen a lot firsthand of how the community works,” added Brown, talking about growing up in a family that has created national organizations beginning with Black Trans Men Inc., then Black Trans Advocacy Coalition and more recently working with those who are nonbinary.
Brown, who describes herself as an ally, said, “I would want to say to the kids not able to go that there are so many ways to find community. I want them to know there’s so much love for them.”
“We want to give kids a chance to just be kids,” Gonzales said. “LGBT kids are being leveraged as political pawns.