5th Grader Banned From Giving Speech Supporting Marriage Equality

A New York City fifth grader’s winning speech in favor of marriage
equality will never be heard by his classmates after his school’s
principal deemed it inappropriate.

Kameron Slade won a class competition and was scheduled to deliver
his speech at PS 195 in Queens. However, because the speech was to be
about same-sex couples, his principal told Slade he would be removed
from the contest if he did not choose a different topic.

NY1 reports
that after winning the class event, Slade was getting ready to deliver
the speech for a schoolwide competition with the help of his mother and
teacher. Here’s an excerpt from the speech:

“Like President Obama, I believe that all
people should have the right to marry whoever they want,” Slade says in
the poignant speech, which he delivered in full on NY1. He also speaks
about his own experiences with a lesbian couple, who are friends with
his mother.

“In conclusion, I hope that everyone
understands how important it is to respect everyone for who they are,”
he says. “I believe that same-sex marriage should be accepted worldwide,
and that parents and teachers should start to discuss these issues
without shame to their children.”

You can hear this entire, amazing speech by clicking here. Kameron Slade’s mother has raised quite a child!

As Think Progress points out,
in addition to the fact that young people can easily learn about this
issue from the President of the United States, many are bound to
encounter same-sex families among their friends and classmates. To
censor such topics is an attempt to erase gay and lesbian people from
communities entirely.

Numerous studies have found that schools are safer for LGBT students when curricula are LGBT-inclusive.

California passed an LGBT-inclusive education bill last year, and a study released last week
confirms that not only did LGBT students feel safer, but they also
performed better academically and felt more connected to the school,
their teachers, and their future.

Slade should be applauded, not censored, for doing for his peers what
his school community refuses to do. What kind of lesson is this
teaching him?

What do you think?