January
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
January 18
What is Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day?
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 18, 2021, is the 26th anniversary of the day of service that celebrates the Civil Rights leader’s life and legacy. Observed each year on the third Monday in January as “a day on, not a day off,” MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. Dr. King's is important to LGBTQ folks for a variety of reasons. During the civil rights movement, he used civil disobedience tactics and organizational methods that the LGBTQ community benefits from today. King’s right-hand man, and the organizer behind March On Washington was Bayard Rustin, an openly gay Black man born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. When we look at issues impacting the LGBTQ community, it’s necessary to look at the intersectionality of race and how that can inform our response and actions. We celebrate MLK to remember his important message of love and his honorable pursuit of non-violence in the face of terrifying prosecution. In that spirit we aim to show love for others by lended a helping hand with communities in need.
From: https://time.com/2332/what-the-gay-rights-movement-should-learn-from-martin-luther-king-jr/From: https://www.nationalservice.gov/serve/mlkdaygov/project-resources
Celebrating MLK Day With Your GSA
Honoring our nation’s most famous civil rights leader gives us the opportunity to reflect on and step up our own work to fight injustice. Do you believe GSA clubs should fight racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and other oppressions? Does yours? Gay-Straight Alliance clubs are effective vehicles for fighting all types of oppression because the GSA movement was founded on the belief that we can end oppression by building alliances. GSA activists can use their leadership and organizing skills to ensure that everyone can go to school free from harassment and discrimination. In your GSA, MLK Day is an important time to reflect on the purpose and aim of your GSA and cultivate a space of loving and showing that love for those we care and tolerance, not complacency, for those who choose to fight us in our struggle for equality and safety.
From: https://gsanetwork.org/updates/honor-the-legacy-of-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-jumpstart-your-gsas-work-to-end-racism-and-other-oppressions/
GLSEN No Name-Calling Week
January 18 to 22
What is GLSEN No-Name Calling Week?
GLSEN’s No Name-Calling Week, (NNCW) is a week organized by K-12 educators and students to end name-calling and bullying in schools.The week is rooted in the idea of #KindnessInAction — not merely recognizing the importance of kindness, but actively adding kindness into our every action. Use this week to share tools and resources for disrupting anti-LGBTQ+ harassment and bias-based bullying, and invite LGBTQ+ students to assert who they are and what they want to be called.
No Name-Calling Week With and Your GSA
LGBTQ+ students face a disproportionate amount of bullying in school. They are often told that who they are is wrong, a phase or an act for attention. Because of this, many LGBTQ+ students have a difficult time claiming their identity freely and without shame. Student-led Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs in schools can be a lifeline for young people dealing with bullying and a launching point for students to challenge discrimination and educate their communities to create safer schools. Research shows students with GSA clubs at their school feel safer and more supported. However, many students still have a difficult time identifying bullying in progress, going to someone when they are victims or even seeing a path to free themselves of their bully. That being the case, it is important for GSAs to take the time to educate themselves and their communities about bullying, to look at the policies about bullying in your school, and to identify ways to report and deal with bullying before it leads to an unfortunate outcome.
