Gay history month
sparks district debate
By Susan Snyder,
philly.com from the Web September 28, 2006
The Philadelphia School District has
received about 120 complaints -- including one from a parent who said she would
keep her child out of school for the entire month of October -- because the
district recognized Gay and Lesbian History Month on its school calendars.
Gay and Lesbian History Month was added for the first time this year in an
effort to be more inclusive and follow a long-standing district policy requiring
equity for all races and minority groups, said Cecilia Cummings, the district's
senior vice president for communications and community relations. It is
one of four special history months noted, along with Hispanic Heritage in
September, African American in February, and Asian Pacific American in May.
Cummings said the district was not planning to roll out any districtwide
curriculum or hold celebrations to coincide with the month, although individual
schools with gay-straight alliances may have observances. The uproar in
response to the calendar addition was not unexpected.
"We knew that this would be controversial," Cummings said. "When you deal
with diversity, there are some hot-button issues that emerge."
An irate Senita Watson went to school district headquarters yesterday to find
out how she could homeschool her daughter for the month of October. She
won't let her 7-year-old second grader attend Emlen School during that period,
she said.
"How can you celebrate gay and lesbian month? What are you going to teach
my daughter?" asked Watson, who said she was calling on other parents to boycott
the district in October. "They need to have a nonviolence month, not a gay
and lesbian month... Our children have enough to worry about with drugs."
Cummings said that about 200,000 calendars had been sent to parents, agencies
affiliated with the district, and other district partners, and that there had
been some calls of support for recognizing gay history month. The
publication is paid for by the district. The calendar controversy was the
talk of the Mary Mason show on WHAT-AM (1340) Tuesday.
Greg Wade, president of the district's Home and School Council, the parents
group, said he supports the decision to include gay history month.
"I understand that there are many people out there who have their problems with
the gay community, but they're part of our community, and we, as a council, have
to support every parent and every student in our school district," he said.
Kevin Jennings, executive director of GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network) in New York , said mayors, including Rudy Giuliani, and
governors have recognized gay history month.
"It's not exactly a fringe concept," said Jennings, a former high school history
teacher and one of the founders of gay history month, first recognized in 1995.
He praised the district for adding the month to the calendar and said it also
should do more to teach the history of gays and lesbians. A study released
by the group this week showed that gay and lesbian students continue to be
victims of bullying and harassment in Pennsylvania schools.
In schools where the history is raised in the curriculum, only 17 percent of gay
and lesbian students reported feeling unsafe, as opposed to 32 percent in
schools where it is not taught, he said.
Cummings said there had been some reports of the district's gay and lesbian
students being harassed.
The district has received complaints about its calendars in the past, but never
as many as the gay history month notation has generated, she said.
Some people complain about African American history month each year, she said.
" 'Why isn't there a white male history month?' we'll hear," she said.
One person this year complained about the Muslim holy month of Ramadan being
mentioned, because that person had a relative die in the 9/11 attacks, she said.
"They said they couldn't bring the calendar in their home because of Ramadan
being noted," Cummings said.
The calendar also notes special Jewish holidays, the International Day of
Disabled Persons on Dec. 3, and the National Day of Silence Against Anti-Gay
Bullying on April 18.
"We have our policy that says the district is committed to foster knowledge and
respect for all," she said.
Cummings said a decision on whether to include gay history month on next year's
calendars would be made later.
"Our calendar this year is a celebration of diversity. Whether it will
continue to be the theme in years to come, we're not sure," she said.
Contact staff writer Susan Snyder at 215-854-4693 or
ssnyder@phillynews.com.
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