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Loading...5th Grader Banned From Giving Speech Supporting Marriage Equality
A New York City fifth grader’s winning speech in favor of marriage equality will never be heard by his classmates after his school’s principal deemed it inappropriate.
Kameron Slade won a class competition and was scheduled to deliver his speech at PS 195 in Queens. However, because the speech was to be about same-sex couples, his principal told Slade he would be removed from the contest if he did not choose a different topic.
NY1 reports that after winning the class event, Slade was getting ready to deliver the speech for a schoolwide competition with the help of his mother and teacher. Here’s an excerpt from the speech:
“Like President Obama, I believe that all people should have the right to marry whoever they want,” Slade says in the poignant speech, which he delivered in full on NY1. He also speaks about his own experiences with a lesbian couple, who are friends with his mother.
“In conclusion, I hope that everyone understands how important it is to respect everyone for who they are,” he says. “I believe that same-sex marriage should be accepted worldwide, and that parents and teachers should start to discuss these issues without shame to their children.”
You can hear this entire, amazing speech by clicking here. Kameron Slade’s mother has raised quite a child!
As Think Progress points out, in addition to the fact that young people can easily learn about this issue from the President of the United States, many are bound to encounter same-sex families among their friends and classmates. To censor such topics is an attempt to erase gay and lesbian people from communities entirely.
Numerous studies have found that schools are safer for LGBT students when curricula are LGBT-inclusive.
California passed an LGBT-inclusive education bill last year, and a study released last week confirms that not only did LGBT students feel safer, but they also performed better academically and felt more connected to the school, their teachers, and their future.
Slade should be applauded, not censored, for doing for his peers what his school community refuses to do. What kind of lesson is this teaching him?
What do you think?
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Read more: childrens rights, fair act, kameron slade, lgbt-inclusive curriculum, marriage equality, ps 195, queens new york, same-sex marriage
Photo Credit: screenshot from Youtube video
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Recent Comments from Causes
great story
Let's hope this is a positive situation.
Brian, I do not mind if you quote, but at least get it right. I did not say that the glaciers in Greenland…
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262 comments
+ add your ownThe kid was comfortable doing it; the principal, not. What a lesson this child can give to the latter!
What a nice kid!!!
What a great kid for wanting to make a speech like that!
i'm amazed that people have to condone a children's actions who speaks like an adult, whilst the idiots who are against such words are nothing more than ignorant bigots who are afraid of anything that is different to them. So much for the land of the free!
When I taught pre-school, one of the items that you needed to address in order to pass your state and federal certification was 1) that you have books and items (dolls etc) displayed and set out in the areas that reflect the differences in family constructs- I was required to have books like "My Two Mommies", Weekend at Daddies,Hope and Will Have a Baby...etc...
These had to be out because the reality of different family constructs is here..
I had pre school students that had 2 Mommies, were children of surrogates and artificial insemination, children who had parents that were in jail, or in another country(India, Mexico etc). I had children who were victims of abuse and domestic violence, or children of addicts (including alcohol), I had books that were age appropriate and touched on each of these topics...I found that discussing the differences when they were brought up, left less chance for bullying due to ignorance...
This was all very important to me personally as well, because I remember a time when I was made fun of at school because my parents were divorced, and we lived with my Grandparents temporarily, I was made fun of because my Mom was a post-polio survivor and walked with a limp, I was made fun of because I had been an "army brat", I was called a Nazi because we had just moved back from West Germany.-these things happened, because the children of that time lived the life of 1 Mom, 1 Dad, a sister/brother, in a home that was reminiscent of the Cleavers. (from
he should have been permitted to share it. they are basically telling him that his voice doesnt deserve to be heard, and that the things he believes in are not important
I see the trolls have come out again and 28 of them voted with their cold hearts.
When I was 8-13 years old, I wrote a lot of stories, some fictional, some about real things. Noone put ideas in my head, so why should anyone have put ideas in the head of this courageous boy? Children do have minds of their own and it's time some of you give them credit for that! Besides, prejudice come with age. Most kids, at least those that grow up in inclusive families, learn by curiosity, asking questions, observing and make their own decisions about the world around them. At least I did. It wasn't until adulthood I realized how much prejudice there were among my peers. So give Kameron Slade the right to speak his mind and don't take away his right to freedom of speech!
I applaud his mother, father & would love to give him a hug :)
jl , exactly. to love your neighbors, not their acts. it's funny how lot of people tell others " love their neighbors" and their the ones who can't get along with them.
So sad that people want to take judgement that God reserved for himself as theirs instead of following Christ's command to love all their neighbors...
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