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On Wednesday, September 7th, the Miami-Dade County School Board voted 8-1 against recognizing LGBTQ+ History Month, which honors the profound impacts, struggles, and contributions of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community.
As a youth-led LGBTQ+ organization, PRISM is rooted in the power and impact that LGBT-inclusive education– or lack thereof– has had on our lives. We condemn the board for giving credence to the notion that US Supreme Court cases Obergefell v. Hodges and Bostock v. Clayton County, the law of the land, are too controversial or inconsequential to deserve recognition in our schools. For queer youth like us, these foundational moments in our nation's history were life-altering. LGBT history is American history because LGBT Americans are Americans.
We also condemn the board for offering pleasantries and warmth to the people who wish to do us harm, who called us sinners, groomers, and terrible people because of our fight for LGBTQ+ students to feel supported and seen.
This decision showed what we knew from the start: HB1557, commonly known as the "Don't Say LGBTQ" law, was specifically engineered by anti-LGBT politicians to make local school districts do the work on their behalf for fear of prosecution or forceful removal from their positions as rightfully elected leaders by Governor Ron DeSantis. It intimidates school board members into applying the law's vague wording to the fullest extent possible and erasing LGBTQ+ people from the classroom.
Now, PRISM turns to what we do best: ensuring that LGBTQ+ youth feel seen, heard, and represented in their curriculum, both in and outside the classroom. We promise that LGBTQ+ History Month will be in full force in Miami-Dade schools, board vote or not.
In solidarity,
PRISM FL, Inc