Pride Edition: An unprecedented post

Happy Pride, my dear readers! 🌈 This newsletter is about the LGBTQ+ community every month of the year, but this June I’m going to bring you stories about how Pride is playing out in Scouting. So enjoy this first installment of the Pride Edition, and come back next week for more.

Gavin Cho knows a thing or two about representation.

When he joined the Order of the Arrow in 2015, he didn’t see many people that looked like him. He rose to the level of lodge chief, but didn’t feel like he could go any further.

“As a biracial scout, I have been affected and impacted by the organization’s lack of representation at the higher levels. For me it was at times un-empowering,” he said.

That began to change when he saw a poster at a lodge event featuring Raymond Cheung, another Asian American scout who had risen to national leadership in the OA. Seeing someone who looked like him made him realize that he could advance in the organization, too. It wasn’t long before Cho would rise to national office himself, serving as Western Region Chief after two terms as a section chief.

So when Cho co-founded the Admonition Team — a new group dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism and mental health in the OA — he knew the impact this work could have firsthand. He was eager to make tangible progress and became the team’s youth leader this year.

And in that role, Cho has helped Scouting do something it never has before: Create a Pride-themed social media post recognizing and affirming the organization’s LGBTQ+ members.

“We wanted to send a clear message, using accessible language, that Scouting is a place for everyone,” Cho said.

The post appeared on the OA’s Instagram page at the very beginning of Pride month and received a deluge of positive comments. “We’ve come a long way baby,” said one user. “Shook,” said another. “This is why I'm proud to wear my Scouting uniform and OA sash!” And one, very simply, said: “Seen.”

There were some negative comments, too. (It is social media, after all). But Cho sees it as the OA’s duty to take a bold stance on inclusion.

“If we’re the honor society of Scouting, then we are the ones who need to live into the Scout Oath and Law to the fullest extent possible,” he said.

“Although inclusion itself might not necessarily be a point in the Scout Law, there are other points in the Scout Law that clearly indicate that we should be welcoming and inclusive to every member,” Cho said. After all, a scout is kind, brave, friendly and cheerful, among other things.

Cho said he’s already seeing the positive impact of the post play out in tangible ways: One hesitant parent said it convinced her to bring her kid to a Scouting event and stay involved in the program.

“This is actually adding members just through a single post,” Cho said.