school apologizes for blacking out same-sex kiss in yearbook
David on Jun 27th 2007
Safe and inclusive schools are always on our minds. Just last week, we released the Rainbow Report Card to work towards that ideal. It’s ironic that just one day after its official release, a news story broke that a high school in New Jersey blacked out a picture of two male students kissing in every copy of the school’s year book, deeming it “inappropriate.”
But the story doesn’t end there.
Advocates in New Jersey and across the country were quick to respond. Garden State Equality issued an action alert rallying up the troops. The story quickly made national headlines. Not only was the school’s action marginalizing, it was illegal. In New Jersey, it’s illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
The school released a statement of apology and announced that the year book would be reissued (and the picture unmarked).
This situation speaks to the power of our community and our ability to speak up, step up and right a wrong. Our schools should safe and inclusive, with curriculums supportive of equality and freedom rather than discrimination and censorship.
Wow! It’s amazing how much progress we have made and how much further we have to travel. Still, it’s encouraging to see that if we didn’t have these anti-discirmination laws on the books, then the school would have continued with it’s blatant discrimination.
This story and it’s joyous outcome give me the strength to continue fighting for our naturally given civil rights!