FOR IMMEDATE RELEASE - April 26, 2022
LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education Boycott
States with “Moral Panic” Laws
Through a recent Board of Directors online vote, LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education and its subsidiary organization, LGBTQ Leaders in Higher Education, will boycott all states that have passed recent laws that: discriminate against trans youth and their families; prohibit curriculum, speech, and library materials about gender identities and sexuality; or prohibit curriculum, speech, and library materials about racial discrimination as it exists now and historically. LGBTQ Presidents and Leaders will no longer consider states such Florida and Texas for board or membership meetings or for their in-person Leadership Institute. (LGBTQ Presidents’ last meeting in a state now affected by the boycott was in Florida in 2013.)
“Our small, but quickly growing organizations will not provide any tourist and hospitality business to U.S. states that silence students, teachers, and parents who wish to learn about social justice for people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals and families,” states the Co-Chair of LGBTQ Presidents, Erika A. Endrijonas, president and superintendent of Pasadena City College, California. Endrijonas also notes that employees of the State of California are already forbidden to use state funds to travel to many states that discriminate against LGBTQ youth.
Executive Director, Terry L. Allison adds that, “We do not wish to assist those who are inflaming this new McCarthyism, the fear mongers stoking a moral panic about Critical Race Theory, trans and non-binary youth, and young people’s ability to have age-appropriate discussions about sex and sexuality. This current wave of laws are not designed to protect children and parents, but to enforce conservative religious beliefs and to promote patriotic propaganda above actual history and social studies. Some of these laws provide extraordinary punishments for students, teachers, and parents simply for telling the truth.”
On June 15, 2022, at their Leadership Institute at Pasadena City College, LGBTQ Leaders in Higher Education will present a panel, “Confronting the Current Moral Panic: Higher Education & K-12 Collaboration.” Executive Director Allison will moderate a panel that includes a Dean of Education and School Board Member as well as speakers from the Intercultural Development Research Association and The Trevor Project. More details about the Leadership Institute can be found here
LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education and its subsidiary, LGBTQ Leaders in Higher Education are registered charitable organizations incorporated in the State of Illinois.
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