Action Steps
Out, Safe & Respected Toolkit
You can do many things to increase awareness of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) students and issues at your school. Don’t feel overwhelmed if you don’t have a gay-straight alliance or an organized LGBTQ group to work with. You can easily start small (for example, give your English teacher a list of LGBT-themed books or put up a display for LGBT History Month). Be creative. And remember — you have legal rights, but they only matter if you use them and insist that they are respected. Here are some ideas on how you can take action:
Make wallet-sized calendars with holidays and important school events on one side and famous people or events in LGBT history on the other (for example, the Stonewall riots, Harvey Milk’s election or assassination or the LGBT marches on Washington).
Put on a school play with LGBT themes. You can invite local activists or representatives from LGBT organizations to come and speak after a performance.
Conduct a school-climate survey, and find out how your school measures up. Visit www.glsen.org for more information.
Work with other student organizations to host a Diversity Day. Students can share their experiences with all forms of prejudice and participate in discussion groups about diversity.
Create a bibliography of age-appropriate LGBT-themed books to give to your English or history teacher for the next semester.
Pop some popcorn, make rainbow-colored Jell-O and host a movie night with one or two of your favorite films about LGBT issues.
Write an article or column for your school newspaper on LGBT issues at your school. Or cast your net even wider and write an essay for a national youth publication.
Organize a book club and plan to meet once a month after school to discuss a book by a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender author.
Save the date!
Be sure to keep track of these days in your calendar — they’re great times to showcase some of the ideas listed above.
National Freedom to Marry Day (February 12): Falling on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and just before Valentine’s Day, Freedom to Marry Day combines the themes of equality and love, and builds support for marriage for same-sex couples and for LGBT civil rights in general. Visit www.freedomtomarry.org for more information.
National Day of Silence (in April each year): A student-led day of action where those who support making anti-LGBT bias unacceptable in schools take a daylong vow of silence to recognize and protest discrimination and harassment against LGBTQ students and their allies. Visit www.dayofsilence.org for more information.
Pride (usually in June but varies in some places): Events include parades, marches, rallies, festivals and other activities celebrating LGBT people and culture and often commemorating historic events in LGBT history.
National Coming Out Day (October 11): The day commemorates the first march on Washington by LGBT people in 1987 and is dedicated to promoting honesty and openness about being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
LGBT History Month (October): Modeled after Black History Month and Women’s History Month, LGBT History Month is designed to promote the teaching of LGBT history in schools, as well as in LGBT communities and mainstream society.
