Until her 90s, Frances Goldin, spent every last Sunday of June at the Pride parade. She brought the same sign she brought since the early 1970s. The sign said, "I adore my lesbian daughters -- Keep them safe."
After almost 50 years, the mother of two lesbian daughters was not able to join the parade this year. Goldin died last May at the age of 95.
The Mother's Support to Her Daughters
Goldin's daughters came out in the early 1970s. Since then, Frances supports her daughters.
One of Goldin's daughters, Reeni, recounts the moment she and her sister came out. Frances told Reeni, "Oh, why didn't you tell me sooner?!"
Since then, she took part in the Pride parade in New York City. Someone would always take a photograph of Frances with the sign.
Why It's Important For the Mother To Join the Pride
In an article by BuzzFeed in 2016, Reeni said that her mother joins the parade because France believes in equality and fairness.
"She really puts her money where her mouth is. She works for it. That's her life," Reeni added.
Even if Reeni and her sister can no longer join Frances in the Pride because they do not live in New York anymore, Frances still joins the parade. Most of the time, when Frances attends the Pride, she would "adopt" other queer women. She said, "Whoever came with me; they were my daughters."
The History Behind The Sign
Goldin's old roommate created the sign. The same person who created the sign also thought of the message. "I don't think I could have dreamed up the same wording that had as much emotional appeal to gays and lesbians as he did," Goldin said.
Three years after carrying the same sign, the mother of two lesbian daughters added three words, "Keep them safe," to the signage. Goldin said that she thought of adding these words after seeing an increase in recorded violence against gays and lesbians.
The People's Reaction To the Sign
According to Goldin, the sign works like a charm. Every year, people would come near Goldin and kiss her. Some of the gays and lesbians would tell her to call their parent, which Goldin always did.
Frances says she reached out to several parents over the years. Whenever she makes the calls, she would tell other parents what they are missing. She said, "I told them what they were missing, how they were wounding their children by not reaching out to them."
Goldin only missed one parade for almost fifty years. She suffered from a heart attack then. However, when she returned in the following year, people from the parade shared how they missed her. One of those who approached her after missing on Pride was a police officer from NYPD.
These instances made Goldin feel touched and amazed over the years.
