PRESS RELEASE: Claiming Space for Queer Students of Color

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: November 22  , 2022

Contact: Vanessa Clinton, vanessa@weare-nc.org, 757-478-1400 

Claiming Space for Queer Students of Color 

Local Organization Supports Students in the Midst of Nationwide Attacks 

Durham, North Carolina— Local non-profit organization we are, which stands for ‘working to extend anti-racist education,’ is claiming space for queer students of color.  Last month a virtual panel of local students and leaders amplified the experiences of community members who find themselves at the intersection of attacks on both the LGBTQ+ and Black communities.  In the midst of violent attacks,  “Don’t Say Gay” laws, anti-CRT movements, and criticism over the rights of trans-gender athletes, guidance on how to support queer students of color is needed now more than ever before. 

 “This moment calls for urgency and intentionality around who we prioritize. Our hope for the panel was to center the experiences and ideas of queer students of color,” Dr. Sarajaneé Davis, Educator Programs Coordinator said. “The panelists’ reflections reminded our community that while it is both a privilege and a responsibility to serve our young people, there is also so much joy in letting them be their full selves. Their insights also highlighted that what is good for our most marginalized students, really benefits all learners.”

“Our schools should exemplify and teach inclusivity and equity, modeling safety, acceptance and dignity for all students.  Many in our society are pleading for this right now.” Dr. Ronda Taylor Bullock, Executive Director and Lead Curator of we are said. “Our schools need to be a place where children of different races and identities are allowed to be their whole selves.  The identities of all our students must be understood, acknowledged, and respected in these learning communities. This type of education mitigates identity-based discrimination and targeted attacks. Five people recently lost their lives due to systemic failures that block our children from learning to respect differences in background, race, sexual orientation, etc. These failures continue to keep truth and dignity out of our classrooms.”

 "I don't have to be who they- the system, my family, others, want me to be. I get to define myself. Once you realize that the system is set up to make you hate yourself, but that it has nothing to do with you, it is so much easier to find joy in who you are." Jasmine Simmons, UNC-Chapel Hill Student

 "It's important that Black queer students have spaces where they can be all parts of themselves, without having to explain who they are." Mariah McCann, UNC-Chapel Hill Student 

"As an educator, when students tell me who they are it is my job to say, 'Okay' and move forward from there." Eric Martin, NCCU LGBTA Resource Center Coordinator

 When asked, “What are the most urgent issues for queer students of color?,” Danielle Johnson-Webb, Director of Equity & Community Engagement at Cary Academy, responded, "There are so many, but what I hear is being seen. Seen means respected and belonging, all of those things."

Background:

 
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