(Image courtesy of GLSEN)
With the COVID-19 pandemic preventing public gatherings and events, LGBTQ activist organizations have been forced to rethink their traditional strategies for raising public awareness about the many other important issues impacting the community.
One such organization, GLSEN, is planning a new approach to an event that has been an annual touchstone for LGBTQ young people for 25 years.
GLSEN, the nation’s leading organization on LGBTQ issues in K-12 education, will be hosting the 25th annual Day of Silence April 24. A student-led protest of the silencing and erasure of LGBTQ people, last year’s Day of Silence engaged nearly 8,000 GSA clubs across the country.
This year, Day of Silence faces the challenge of school closures due to the COVID-19 shutdown, which leaves many young LGBTQ people particularly vulnerable. With GLSEN unable to work within the school setting, protest organizers are instead doubling down on the use of social media campaigns, virtual meetings, artwork, videos and resource guides to connect and empower these at-risk individuals, and they expect the virtual rally, which will close out the day of protest, to be the largest-ever online gathering of LGBTQ youth.
“For 25 years, the Day of Silence has helped thousands of students connect to their community, but with the COVID-19 pandemic isolating many LGBTQ youth from their support networks, this year’s Day of Silence is more important than ever,” said GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard. “It’s time for LGBTQ youth to live free of harassment and discrimination, and to feel empowered to break the silence, today, and every day.”
According to GLSEN, four out of five LGBTQ students don’t see positive LGBTQ representation in their curriculum, eight in 10 experience anti-LGBTQ verbal harassment, and over a third miss school for feeling unsafe or uncomfortable. Exacerbating the issue, many of the most vulnerable LGBTQ students are unable to connect to their school communities due to lack of access to appropriate technology.
One of the main talking points of this year’s protest, GLSEN insists, is that “plans to rebuild and reopen schools” after the current crisis “must address these inequities and make our schools safer and more affirming for LGBTQ students.”
Chris Staley, a high school student on GLSEN’s National Student Council, says, “By participating in the Day of Silence, LGBTQ students like me are advocating for our community and building a more inclusive future for all young people. This year, we’re using social media, creating artwork, hosting virtual rallies and encouraging our family and friends to join us as we fight for our rights and representation.”
The online day of protest will culminate in a national virtual rally to break the silence, featuring celebrity and activist speakers. Last year, celebrities including Laverne Cox, Ellen DeGeneres, Julia Roberts, Kerry Washington and many more voiced their support for Day of Silence.
This year’s Day of Silence theme is “Shaping Our Future” and GLSEN’s virtual rally will kick off a campaign to register and pre-register LGBTQ students to vote. Information about the campaign, running until the fall, can be found at GLSEN.org/break-silence-your-vote-your-voice.
