![]() and I had the space to do that in my own time.” I told the people close to me, but I wasn’t ready to come out to everybody yet. “I changed my name to Leo, and for a while it was tough,” he said. A shift to using he/him pronouns followed. The changes felt right.Īt school outside Philadelphia, Leo started telling teachers about using a different name and they/them pronouns, and the teachers were immediately accepting. In late 2020, during the pandemic school closures, Leo Burchell started using different pronouns, trying on new clothes and shorter hair. ‘NEUTRALITY’ POLICY MAKES SCHOOL FEEL LESS SAFE And teachers wary of breaking new rules have shied from discussions related to race, gender and other politically sensitive topics, even as students say they desperately need to see their lived experiences reflected in the classroom.Īmong them are a transgender student at a Pennsylvania school where teachers are directed to use students’ birth names, a bisexual student in Florida who sensed a withdrawal of adult support, and Harmony, a Black student outside Nashville alarmed by efforts to restrict lessons on Black history.įor these and other students of color and LGBTQ+ kids, it can feel like their very existence is being rejected. Some schools have insisted on using the names transgender students had before they transitioned. ![]() Others have been pushed by local activists or school boards arguing teachers need more oversight to ensure classroom materials are appropriate.īooks have been pulled from libraries. ![]() Ron DeSantis, who say they are necessary to counter liberal influence in schools. Some of the new restrictions have been championed by conservative state leaders and legislatures, including Florida Gov. ![]() Why do they care what we personally prefer, or what we look like?”Īs conservative politicians and activists push for limits on discussions of race, gender and sexuality, some students say the measures targeting aspects of their identity have made them less welcome in American schools - the one place all kids are supposed to feel safe. “When I heard they were removing African American history, banning LGBTQ, I almost started crying,” said Harmony, 16. The law was broad, but to her, the potential impact was crushing.Īs Supreme Court considers affirmative action, colleges see few other ways to diversity goals So when Tennessee began passing legislation that could limit the discussion and teaching of Black history, gender identity and race in the classroom, to Harmony, it felt like a gut punch - as if the adults were signaling this kind of ignorant behavior was acceptable. As she saw the students receive light punishments, she grew increasingly frustrated. In sixth grade, a boy dropped trash on the floor and told her to pick it up, “because you’re a slave.” She was stunned - no one had ever said anything like that to her before.Īs protests for racial justice broke out in 2020, white students at her Tennessee high school kneeled in the hallways and chanted, “Black lives matter!” in mocking tones. On a playground, a girl picked up a leaf and said she wanted to “clean the dirt” from Harmony’s skin. ![]() (AP) - The first encounter with racism that Harmony Kennedy can remember came in elementary school. ![]()
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