My mentor of blog writing says one should never repeat a blog, but in view of some of the emails we received from young people this week at the church, I really feel a need to give this witness again.
The pain and anguish expressed in some of the messages give me pause and the recognition that despite vast improvement for our LGBT community, it is still devastatingly hard to grow up gay.
The attorney for the Alpharetta teen who's suing his high school over his removal from his position as the school's student body president says that his client's name is being “dragged through the mud” and accuses some students of Alpharetta High School of bullying his client on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.
In a statement released over the weekend, James Radford says that he and his client, Reuben Lack, may have been overwhelmed by the attention that Lack's lawsuit has generated. Lack alleges in his lawsuit that he was kicked off the council after he proposed making the school's prom gay inclusive.
The story may have gotten too big, too fast, and I believe the students, faculty, and administration at Alpharetta High School have found themselves overwhelmed. I know Reuben and his family have felt overwhelmed.
It is very likely that by the time you read this letter, you are doing so with the knowledge that the future of YouthPride, an organization which is so important to all of us, is in a time of crisis. You may be afraid that the programs and services YouthPride offers, the financial trust of funders, and the physical location of the organization are all in jeopardy. While it cannot be denied that there is great reason to be concerned, we come to you today with the committed and reassuring message that your LGBT leaders and allies across Georgia have joined together at a level of determination and unity rarely seen to make sure that we do right by the very young people who are the future and backbone of our community’s movement.
The Atlanta Braves Foundation announced today $150,000 in grants to local nonprofit organizations. The Braves Foundation, the charitable arm of the Major League Baseball team, will present the grants to representatives from each of the organizations at tonight's game, the penultimate of the 2011 season, against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Among the recipients is the Anti-Defamation League Southeast Region, which will use the funds in an ongoing anti-bullying campaign called “No Place for Hate,” according to a representative of the Braves.
The "No Place for Hate" campaign connects the Anti-Defamation League with local schools and provides tools and training necessary to combat youth bullying.
Several Braves players are also featured in an anti-bullying video currently being shown at Turner Field on game days.
The Atlanta Braves won in a dominant fashion on Tuesday night, and for the approximately 200 supporters of LGBT equality who bought special tickets benefiting the state's largest LGBT advocacy organization, Georgia Equality, last night was a chance to watch their hometown team beat up on a division rival in the company of other like-minded baseball fans.
For many of the gay and lesbian fans in attendance, the highlight of the night was not Brian McCann's homerun in the sixth inning that secured a win for the Braves, but instead a short public service announcement focusing on raising awareness for anti-bullying efforts in schools.
The video was displayed on the massive outfield Jumbotron during the pre-game warmups and featured several of the team's big names, including game-winner McCann, speaking about combating youth bullying.
Virtually all LGBT students from Georgia who participated in a recent School Climate survey reported hearing homophobic slurs like "dyke" and "fag," and almost half said they had been pushed or shoved because of their sexual orientation.
The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network surveyed some 7,261 LGBT students across the country for the 2009 National School Climate Survey. The survey — conducted every two years — included 175 high school and middle school students from Georgia. GLSEN released the Georgia-specific results today.
“LGBT students face disturbing levels of victimization in Georgia. We hope this new research will be a wake-up call to Georgia leaders that more needs to be done to ensure that LGBT students are safe and have an equal opportunity to learn,” said Dr. Joseph Kosciw, GLSEN Senior Director of Research and Strategic Initiatives, in a June 27 press release. “Students are clearly saying educators and policymakers are not doing enough to stop anti-LGBT bullying and harassment.”
Atlanta will be the home for Ben Cohen's StandUp Foundation as well as his StandUp brand, it was announced today.
Cohen, the hunky — and straight — rugby star (now retired) from England, has been in Atlanta this week as part of his “Acceptance Tour 2011” to bring awareness about bullying against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people and to find ways to stop it.
“I have a big following, I have a voice, I want to use it,” he said. “I’m in a privileged position and I want to set a precedent. Being gay is not a disease, it’s not a choice," he told the GA Voice in a recent interview.
Making Atlanta the home base for his foundation was a simple choice, Cohen said in statement released late Friday. Because Atlanta has been dubbed in the past as the “gayest city” in America by The Advocate and is home to the civil rights movement, the city "too busy to hate" was the best place.
“I can think of no better place to base our operations and make the differences we intend to make,” Cohen said.
Cohen said he is also the first straight athlete to focus his energy on LGBT causes and anti-bullying measures.
“The Foundation is believed to be the world’s first organization dedicated solely to the cause of anti-bullying, wherever and to whomever it occurs,” states a press release from the StandUp Foundation.
A student at Whitewater High School in Fayette County, Ga., has been arrested on two charges of making terroristic threats after he said he would bring a gun to school to confront bullies who targeted him for allegedly being gay.
"We believe these threats were apparently made in response to a series of taunts by several other students," Fayette County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Brent Rowan told WSB Radio.
According to WSB, the student, who is 16, was apparently being teased for his sexual orientation. He has been suspended for 10 days. It is unclear what punishment, if any, the alleged bullies face at school, but they are not facing any criminal charges.
The last half of MTV's new documentary series "If You Really Knew Me" caught my eye earlier this week. It was past normal programming hours, and looked like a late night "Cable in the Classroom" style PSA intended for teachers to record and use in class — which I'm not even sure teachers do anymore.
An anti-bullying bill backed by gay groups that was thought dead in the Georgia General Assembly was revived Tuesday when language from House Bill 927 was added as an amendment to Senate Bill 250.