One Durham, North Carolina teacher went above and beyond to help bullied LGBT students to relearn self-love.
Eighth-grade teacher Taylor Schmidt wants all of his students to feel safe and loved. After several students reportedly left Central Park School for Children due to bullying, he wanted to do something about it. So, he did.
The News Observer reports Schmidt recruited local drag queens and LGBT activists to help both the bullied and bullies.
Schmidt teamed up with fellow eighth-grade teacher Schara Brooks to host a week of activities helping end bullying and create understanding. The two invited local drag queens Vivica C. Coxx and Stormie Daie to speak to students at the school’s Pride & Liberation Event this week.
Central Park School for Children is a progressive charter school that inspires all students to be themselves.
“If we’re going to be a school that’s focused on equity and justice, and if we’re going to be a school that believes in the act of liberation, we need to be creative with our approach,” Schmidt told The News Observer.
City councilwoman Vernetta Alston and Executive Director of the LGBTQ Center of Durham, Helena Cragg, also educated students about the importance of acceptance. They were called out to speak because of their commitment to helping LGBT people of color.
The Pride & Liberation event was essentially an education festival teaching tolerance and LGBT history. According to the News Observer, students learned about gay icons like mathematician Alan Turing, author and activist James Baldwin and astronaut Sally Ride.
“As a charter school, we believe that our role in North Carolina is to strengthen and support public schools,” Schmidt told the outlet. “If this can be a liberatory event where we liberate not just the bullied but the bullies, where every child can be seen and loved, the dream is that this can be provided to other schools as well.”
Data retrieved from the Trevor Project shows gay youth are more likely to commit suicide due to depression and bullying. Sadly, LGBT youth face extreme harassment leading to severe mental health issues, suicidal thoughts and self-harm. More data show suicide is the second leading cause of death for gay young people from the ages of 10 to 24.
Ninth-grade student Nigel Shelby was the latest victim of relentless bullying. His untimely death reignited conversations over the treatment of LGBT youth in schools.
Thankfully, there are people like Vivica C. Coxx and Stormie Daie and Schmidt, Brooks, Alston and Cragg to help change the paradigm.
“Everyone, no matter their age, deserves respect for being exactly who they are,” Alston told the Central Park students on Monday.
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