I feel like such a bummer whenever I write in this space. Last month, it was the news around the abduction and killing of Sarah Everard, and the mass shooting in Atlanta, Georgia, that had me enraged. This month, I watched with jaw dropped as the number of anti-trans bills built from a trickle to an overwhelming cascade. And then, last week, Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd, something we didn’t need a trial to know. It was a relief and the verdict was just but, as many have pointed out in the days following the verdict, it was not justice. In fact, as the trial played out, more Black bodies were being gunned down.
The things we do can feel so small in the face of so much systemic rot and hate.
But what can we do but move forward? Continue advocating for change? Continue doing the work we do?
I’m so grateful for those of you who are doing the work that you do.
In that realm:
- In Alabama, legislation requires that — if sex ed is taught — lessons must include language about how “homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public and that homosexual conduct is a criminal offense under the laws of the state.” But a new bill seeks to repeal that, and the bill just passed the Alabama House in a 69-30 vote. The bill heads to the Alabama Senate next.
- The governor of Arizona recently vetoed legislation that would have made the state’s sex education laws some of the strictest in the nation. The proposed law would have barred all discussions about gender identity, sexual orientation, or HIV/AIDS in sex education classes unless parents opted in. It also would have banned any sex ed classes before 5th grade. Click through to read more on the proposed bill, and on other bills being considered across the country.
Action Items
- Support this Kickstarter for Yes Means Yes!, an adorable-looking picture book about consent.
- And just a reminder that if you’re a parent looking for workshops for either yourself or your child, I recently launched an Events Calendar on the site, on which I track educational events being offered by other educators on my radar.