June 6th, 2018: On June 5th 2018, Harry Styles twitter account @HSHQ announced that a limited edition of Harry Styles “Treat People With Kindness” t-shirts will be available online for the month of June to show support for “Pride Month”. The two t-shirts are a black and a white one and feature the quote “Treat People With Kindness” in the colors of the rainbow. @HSHQ announced that the proceeds from the sale of these t-shirts will be donated to GLSEN.
GLSEN is a USA based educational organization that works to support an inclusive and safe school environment grades 1 through 12. GLSEN (formerly known as Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) was founded in 1990 by Kevin Jennings, a high school history teacher in Boston, Massachusetts. Kevin Jennings led a coalition of gay and lesbian teachers to form what was initially called the Gay and Lesbian Independent School Teacher Network (GLISTN). The organization was subsequently renamed GLSEN to include the participation of straight allies.
The organization was established in response to the widespread bullying and harassment of LGBTQ children and youth in schools across the nation. It was noted that in addition to feeling marginalized, LGBTQ students often suffer a drop in academic performance as a result of the bullying which too often causes these children to skip school.
At the time in which the organization was founded, it was supported by the work of 70 LGBTQ teachers who volunteered their time to train teachers to implement measures to provide a safe environment for LGBTQ students. Since then, GLSEN has expanded exponentially and has now 39 chapters in all the 26 states, 20,000 educators, and more than 8,000 registered student clubs.
The work of GLSEN is guided by research such as GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey, which provides information on the challenges that LGBTQ children face every day in school. Based on this research GLSEN has developed resources including lesson plans, classroom material and training programs for teachers on how to support their LGBTQ students. One of the successful plans put forth by GLSEN is called Ready, Set, Respect! This is an elementary school toolkit which was developed to help teachers provide a safe environment in which students feel respected.
GLSEN has also numerous initiatives throughout the school year to bring awareness to bullying and discrimination of LGBTQ students. These include GLSEN’s Day of Silence, a day in which students practice a form of silence to bring attention to the silencing by bullying and harassment of the LGBTQ community. The first day of silence was 1996 and was organized by students at the University of Virginia.
The day of silence now takes place in over 8,000 schools across that USA and has spread to more than 60 countries. GLSEN’s No Name-Calling Week: this is an initiative that takes place in elementary and middle schools across the country to support the end of bullying and to celebrate kindness. No Name-Calling Week is inspired by the novel The Misfits by James Howe. GLSEN’s Ally Week was started in 2005 by GLSEN’s Jump-Start National Student Leadership team. This is a week in the fall dedicated to educating allies about the important role they play in creating a safe and inclusive environment for LGBTQs. Finally, the Think Before You Speak campaign was first launched in 2008 with the goal of eliminating homophobic vocabulary and anti-LGBTQ biases. The campaign is aimed at raising awareness among students but also adults including teachers, school personnel, and parents. The campaign runs through TV and radio commercials.
GLSEN has steadily expanded its scope and reach in the last 28 years leading also to the establishment of a national student council. GLSEN continues to conduct research not only to document the challenges of LGBTQ youth in schools but also to improve its approach to fight bullying and harassment. GLSEN headquarters are in New York City and it has an office of public policy in Washington DC. You can learn more about GLSEN’s work by visiting their website.
Picture of Harry Styles credited to @Harry_Styles.
A Charitable Direction 