I’d like to invite the bookternet and beyond to participate in an event to raise up positive stories that portray LGBTQA characters. A Literacy Memorial for Orlando was created by my friend Rebekah in the goal to “fill our communities with positive images and stories of the LGBTQA community.”

Participation is simple. Donate books with a positive portrayal of LGBTQA characters. Donate them anywhere you feel they are needed. Schools, libraries, prisons, little free libraries, your coffee shop “give a book take a book” etc. It is asked that you add a bookplate or a inscription with the language below:

This book is dedicated in remembrance of those who lost their lives in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016. We hold those individuals in the LGBTQA community in the light and wish for a future of hope and understanding.

One of the easiest ways to create empathy for marginalized groups is to share our stories. We know that in reading even fictionalized accounts of characters with different experiences than our own it creates a greater understanding and acceptance. Change comes from going into our communities and showing them that we exist. We are their  neighbors and co-workers. We are the soccer moms and the doctors and the fast food cooks and the CEOs and the bus drivers and the clergy and the children who haven’t decided which of these they will be.