Lesbian L.A. School Board President Gives a Lesson on LGBTQ+ Inclusion
Author: Trudy Ring
Amid anti-LGBTQ+ protests at schools, the Los Angeles Unified School District’s board, led by its out president Jackie Goldberg, has taken a stand for diversity and inclusion.
She said some protesters at Saticoy said they couldn’t be homophobic because they have gay relatives, which she called “B.S.” “You can be homophobic and have a gay friend, a gay neighbor, a gay son, a gay anything,” she said. “Talk to all the gay kids that get thrown out of their houses and onto the streets by parents who say I won’t have you in my house any longer, and tell me that having a gay relative means you’re not homophobic.”
Those who protested, Goldberg said, did so “based on hearsay” from “agitators … from outside their community who saw an opportunity to take advantage of the real fears of people.” She added that she doesn’t expect anyone to love or accept her but just to treat her with the same respect they show any other person. The protests made every gay kid and gay worker in the city afraid, she said. “How dare you make them afraid because you are?” she continued.
Her son was harassed for having two moms, but her grandchildren haven’t been, and “that’s progress,” she said. She also promised that no one in the district will ever “sexualize” children, as the far right has baselessly accused LGBTQ+ activists of doing. Those who believe this might happen are invited to review curriculum materials, attend assemblies with their children, and opt their kids out of assemblies they find objectionable, she said. She doesn’t believe in forcing anyone to do anything that violates their values, as “we don’t all have to agree,” she concluded.
Videos of her speech have gone viral, receiving hundreds of thousands of views.
Goldberg’s speech and the adoption of the resolution came the same night as protests in a neighboring school district, in the L.A. suburb of Glendale. The Glendale Unified School Board was scheduled to vote on a resolution proclaiming Pride Month, and anti-LGBTQ+ protesters clashed with LGBTQ+ rights supporters outside the board office. Three people were arrested. The board, however, ended up adopting the resolution.
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Original Article on The Advocate
Author: Trudy Ring
