The Fire

At Ed Week, New York City elementary school teacher Joleen Hanlon writes a blazing article about homophobia in our schools and observes that, despite some progress on civil-rights:

“…children are still receiving the message that it is abnormal for two people of the same gender to love each other. Words such as “gay,” “fag,” and “queer” are often used as the most hurtful insults students can throw at one another. Two men showing any affection is frowned upon. When I watched the presidential inauguration with 2nd graders, the children exclaimed, “Ewww! That’s gross!” as the male politicians kissed one another on the cheek.”

In 2007, research showed that 86.2 percent of LGBT youths reported verbal harrassment at school because of their sexual orientation. Nearly half of the young people surveyed were physically harassed.

Also: James Baldwin w/ Kenneth Clark