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South's Schools Getting GLSEN-Trained Activists Thirteen Chapter Leaders Organizing in Education |
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Compiled By GayToday
College Park, Maryland--The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is the largest national organization fighting anti-gay bias in America's K–12 schools. It has now "graduated" fifteen Southern activists from its fifth annual Leadership Training Institute, held last month in College Park, Maryland.
Established nationally in 1994, GLSEN now has over 85 chapters working in communities across the country. Representatives from Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas participated in this intensive weeklong training regiment, aimed at increasing the ability of chapter leaders to organize effectively in hometown schools and communities. According to Brenda Barron, GLSEN's newly-hired, Atlanta-based Assistant Director for Southern Organizing, the seven-day event is a critical part of the work to end homophobia in Southern schools.
Whereas the national failure rate rested at 46 percent, Southern schools rated far poorer with a 75 percent failure rate. "Change in Southern schools has come slowly, with great struggle," said GLSEN National Field Director John Spear. "But with the Southern chapters having been well-represented at the Leadership Training Institute, the recent opening of our new field office in Atlanta, and with Brenda Barron leading our Southern organizing efforts, we're in a better position than ever to challenge anti-gay harassment in Southern schools" GLSEN will also host its third annual national conference, Teaching Respect for All '99, in Atlanta, October 1&1503. Expected to be the largest-ever gathering of activists dedicated to ending anti-gay bias in K–12 schools, the event will feature over 65 workshops, a keynote address by U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-Georgia), entertainment by comedian Margaret Cho, and a special workshop track on organizing in Southern schools. |
