Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend to the Prom (Info You Haven't Seen Before)
I'm sure everyone following this blog has heard this by now, but Savage Love this week offers some new info for the cause.
Constance McMillen is a senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi. When she asked the school if she could attend prom with her girlfriend, she was told no. When Constance pressed her case, the Itawamba County School Board canceled prom rather than allow Constance to attend with her girlfriend. The school board had to know what would happen next: The other students at Itawamba Agricultural blamed Constance for getting prom canceled and “ruining senior year.” Constance is now being harassed and bullied.
The school board claims it canceled prom to avoid “distractions.” Now it’s up to us-to decent people everywhere-to make sure that bigotry and discrimination are a much bigger distraction for the Itawamba County School District than inclusion and tolerance ever could’ve been.
• Contact Itawamba Schools superintendent Teresa McNeece by phone (662-862-2159 ext. 14)
• Contact her by fax (662-862-4713)
• Contact her by e-mail (tmcneece@itawamba.k12.ms.us)
• Contact Itawamba Agricultural principal Trae Wiygul by phone (662-862-3104)
• Contact by e-mail (twiygul@itawamba.k12.ms.us)
• Join the Facebook page “Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend To Prom”.
• Make a donation (if you can) to the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition (mssafeschools.org), which is organizing an alternate prom that will welcome all students, and make a larger donation to the ACLU LGBT Project, which is defending Constance and other gay teenagers across the country.
Call, write, fax, donate. Constance needs to know that there are people all over the world who are on her side! And, more importantly, Itawamba County Schools needs to know that we’re not going to let them get away with this. Be respectful, but be relentless. Let’s show these bigots what a real distraction looks like. Get ’em.
I fully intend on doing as many of the "checklist" as I can (down to the writing and calling in!). I strongly suggest you do the same. It's free, it's little enough, and this is a major civil rights issue. Please pass this along as much as you can in your own blogs-- everywhere!
Constance McMillen is a senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi. When she asked the school if she could attend prom with her girlfriend, she was told no. When Constance pressed her case, the Itawamba County School Board canceled prom rather than allow Constance to attend with her girlfriend. The school board had to know what would happen next: The other students at Itawamba Agricultural blamed Constance for getting prom canceled and “ruining senior year.” Constance is now being harassed and bullied.
The school board claims it canceled prom to avoid “distractions.” Now it’s up to us-to decent people everywhere-to make sure that bigotry and discrimination are a much bigger distraction for the Itawamba County School District than inclusion and tolerance ever could’ve been.
• Contact Itawamba Schools superintendent Teresa McNeece by phone (662-862-2159 ext. 14)
• Contact her by fax (662-862-4713)
• Contact her by e-mail (tmcneece@itawamba.k12.ms.us)
• Contact Itawamba Agricultural principal Trae Wiygul by phone (662-862-3104)
• Contact by e-mail (twiygul@itawamba.k12.ms.us)
• Join the Facebook page “Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend To Prom”.
• Make a donation (if you can) to the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition (mssafeschools.org), which is organizing an alternate prom that will welcome all students, and make a larger donation to the ACLU LGBT Project, which is defending Constance and other gay teenagers across the country.
Call, write, fax, donate. Constance needs to know that there are people all over the world who are on her side! And, more importantly, Itawamba County Schools needs to know that we’re not going to let them get away with this. Be respectful, but be relentless. Let’s show these bigots what a real distraction looks like. Get ’em.
I fully intend on doing as many of the "checklist" as I can (down to the writing and calling in!). I strongly suggest you do the same. It's free, it's little enough, and this is a major civil rights issue. Please pass this along as much as you can in your own blogs-- everywhere!