Although there is plenty of work to do, recognizing wins is an important part of the journey. Reflecting on wins helps sharpen a focus on future achievements. Recently, there has been major progress to end workplace discrimination against LGBTQ workers in educational environments. Cases in point, the U.S. Supreme Court decision on June 15, 2020 regarding Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga., No 17-1618, Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda, No. 17-1623, and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, No. 18-107 (Liptak, 2020). The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of LGBTQ rights in a 6-to-3 ruling. The justices' decision focused on the interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits workplace discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and sex– sex decidedly including the meaning of sexual identity, gender expression, and gender identity (Liptak, 2020). In the Opinion of the Court, Justice Gorsuch said, "An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex" (Bostock v. Clayton, 2020, p. 2). In one case, a government employee who helped neglected and abused children was fired after joining a gay softball league. In another case, an employee was fired after a customer complained he mentioned having a husband. In the last case, an employee was fired after coming out as transgender.
(Image Source: The New Yorker. Photograph by Bill Clark/Congressional Quarterly/ZUMA)
Justice Neil Gorsuch said this about the ruling, "We can't deny that today's holding– that employers are prohibited from firing employees on the basis of homosexuality or transgender status– is an elephant. But where's the mouse hole? Title VII's prohibition of sex discrimination in employment is a major piece of federal civil rights legislation. It is written in starkly broad terms. It has repeatedly produced unexpected applications... This elephant has never hidden in a mouse hole, it has been standing before us all along" (Bostock v. Clayton County, 2020, p 30).
(Video source: PBS NewsHour on YouTube).
This movement of more inclusive educational environments acknowledges that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling helps eliminate employment discrimination against LGBTQ faculty, but it does not necessarily change the attitudes of those against LGBTQ students and faculty that are inclined to fire them if this decision did not exist. In fact, there are multiple examples of local education agencies firing and suspending faculty for mentioning their relationships or coming out prior to this ruling, like Stacy Bailey who was mentioned in one of our first blog posts. These attitudes inflame environments that are prone to bullying and harassment. Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling does not protect LGBTQ workers from other types of discrimination– beyond the scope of employment. Discrimination can include lack of access to healthcare, exclusion from programs, violation of privacy, refusal to honor names/pronouns, exclusion from facility access, and unequal treatment.
A Hero That Highlights Our Values
Brett Bigham is a hero who demonstrates the values of inclusivity and resilience towards equality. Brett Bigham was named Oregon Teacher of the Year in 2014. He's an accomplished special education teacher who writes Ability Guidebooks that supports people with autism (Bigham, n.d.). He is Co-Editor of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY Social Justice Book List and has won several education awards, including the 2015 NEA National Award for Excellence in Education (Bigham, n.d.). When Bigham won the award of Oregon Teacher of the Year in 2014, he also publicly announced he was gay. His school district, Multnomah Education Service District (MESD), told him he could not say he was gay (Frazier, 2019). Bigham attempted to speak about suicide prevention at a GSA meeting, but was told he could not because speaking to gay students "had no value to the school district" (Bigham, 2020). He was disciplined (some would say harassed) when he made a statement in support of LGBTQ youth in his White House Honoring Ceremony. His picture with President Barack Obama is below. Bigham filed state and federal complaints against the district after several incidents of harassment from his administration. He was later fired, reinstated, put on leave, and then settled to cancel his contract. By this time, the school board had multiple turnovers. Bigham only filed complaints and sought agreements through systemic processes, but was met by severe opposition from the school board. Bigham is now involved in initiatives like Global Special Education and advocating for LGBTQ youth. His state and federal complaints were part of a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case that led to LGBTQ protections (Bigham, 2020). MESD publicly apologized to Bigham for their discriminatory actions two days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. His determination for justice is an example of how we cannot lose. Without a win towards inclusivity, it's either win or no deal.
(Image Source: Wikipedia Commons).
What we need to win
The need of this movement is to change the hearts of those who oppose LGBTQ inclusive environments, and for those in opposition to understand winning on our side of the stick is a win for them, as well. There is a necessity to create LGBTQ inclusive environments to decrease youth suicide and create better places for LGBTQ students to learn and LGBTQ teachers to teach. Stephen Covey offers some great insight about five elements that must work together to achieve a win/win environment.
(Image source: Covey, 1989).
1. Character: including integrity (keeping commitments to ourselves and others), maturity (balance between courage and consideration), and abundance mentality (denying the mentality that there is limited opportunity, and acknowledging there is unlimited space for growth and protections) must all be in check. Abundance mentality is especially a concept our movement may need to teach to those who originally oppose LGBTQ inclusive spaces. By adding protections to LGBTQ students and teachers, that does not take away privileges of non-LGBTQ peoples.
2. Relationships: both parties are invested in trying to understand one another, focusing on issues– not personalities or positions. In Brett Bigham's story, MESD did not focus on issues, they focused on positions. This leads to a relationship where emotions are not deposited into a relationship bank. In other words, despite winning teacher of the year, the school district placed no trust in him, and the relationship unfortunately spiraled. Had MESD put trust into Bigham, there could have been room for the next element, agreement.
3. Agreements: Outlining desired results, specifying guidelines, identifying resources, setting up accountability, and discussing consequences.
4. Systems: Implementing systems that incorporate cooperation over competition (Covey, 1989). The U.S. judicial branch is an example of the systems that can be utilized to implement rightful protections. The U.S. Supreme Court ensures the promise of equal justice under law, and functions as a guardian and interpreter of the Constitution (Supreme Court of the United States, n.d.).
5. Process: Parties must see the problem from the other point of view, identify key issues, determine results, and identify new options to achieve results (Covey, 1989).
How to win/win
First, we must donate to organizations that support LGBTQ inclusive educational environments through judicial processes, like the American Civil Rights Liberties Union (ACLU), Human Rights Campaign (HRC), and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The SPLC provided a brief that contained Brett Bigham's example in the June 15, 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Bigham, 2020).
Second, show your character of integrity, maturity, and abundance mentality by participating in the conversation. This week, February 9-11, HRC is hosting a virtual workshop called 'Time to Thrive' to learn more about promoting safety, inclusion, and well-being for LGBTQ youth. The event is co-presented with the National Education Association and the American Counseling Association. Through speakers and workshops, Time to Thrive is a great space to hear inspiring stories, build awareness and cultural competency, and learn about current and emerging practices from leading experts in the field. Register now and join the conversation.
I'll participate in the workshops:
•Post Bostock: Legal Rights of LGBTQ Youth in K-12 Public Schools
•Developing Policies That Promote Safety and Inclusion
•Creating LGBTQ and Gender Inclusive Elementary Schools
•Creating LGBTQ-Inclusive Classrooms Through Anti-Bias Education
•Addressing LGBTQ Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
•Creating Active and Sustainable Gender and Sexuality Alliances
•Responding to Resistance: LGBTQ+ and Gender Inclusive Practices
•As well as the opening and closing speeches, and the virtual exhibit halls for networking.
–See you there!
Image Source: HRC
How can you utilize systems and processes to create change? How can those who oppose LGBTQ inclusion in educational environments better understand why the culture needs to change?
Resources
Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, 590 U.S. 2-30 (2020).
Bigham, Brett. (n.d.) Homepage. Mr. B's Classroom. http://www.mrbsclassroom.com
Bigham, Brett [@2014ORTOY]. (2020, June 15). I had plans to speak about Suicide Prevention with a Gay Student Club. I was told I would be fired if. Imet with them because meeting with gay students "has no value" to this school district." [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/2014ORTOY/status/1272606704933285888
Bigham, Brett [@2014ORTOY]. (2020, June 15). Today, the Supreme Court rules that #LGBT people are protected in the workplace. Down inside that case is a brief by the @splcenter that shows how LGBT workers are discriminated agains. I'm one of their examples. My case was part of that decision today in DC. (more). [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/2014ORTOY/status/1272606717696602113
Covey, S. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Simon & Schuster.
Frazier, L. (2019, January 9). Multnomah Education Service Dsitrict terminates 2014 teacher of the year. The Oregonian. https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2015/04/multnomah_education_service_di_2.html
Liptak, A (2020, June 15). Civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers, supreme court rules. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/us/gay-transgender-workers-supreme-court.html
Supreme Court of the United States. (n.d.). About the Court. U.S. Supreme Court. https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/about.aspx
Media Sources:
Human Rights Campaign Staff. (2020, February 16). [Image of Time to Thrive attendants] HRC News. https://www.hrc.org/news/hrc-foundations-2020-time-to-thrive-conference-comes-to-a-close
PBS NewsHour [Username]. (2020, June 15). Why Supreme Court's LGBTQ employment discrimination ruling marks a 'milestone'. [video]. YouTube. https:youtu.be/Fxh_epZ3d60
Clark, Bill, Congressional Quarterly, ZUMA. (2019, October 19). The Supreme Court considers LGBT rights, but can't stop talking about bathrooms. [Image: Hundreds of activists stood outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday, as oral arguments were heard in cases on anti-LGBT discrimination]. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-supreme-court-considers-lgbt-rights-but-cant-stop-talking-about-bathrooms
Wikipedia Commons. (2014, May 1). [Image: President Barack Obama and Oregon State Teacher of the Year, Brett Bigham]. Wikipedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brett_Bigham_with_President_Obama.jpg
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