Free Speech Voices: Freedom to be students in King George County

A.A.P. and Z.J.W., whom the federal court refers to by initials to protect the youth’s privacy, met each other for the first time at a King George County School Board meeting. A.A.P. came with his mom, Susan Park, to speak out against the school board’s decision to block a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), which Z.J.W wanted to create at King George Middle School (KGMS).

A.A.P.: “Gay kids are going to be gay. They are going to grow up gay whether you want them to or not. If we have this club, they’re going to go for it and see that it’s normal. But the school board is telling these kids: ‘This is not normal.’”

Z.J.W.: “Schools are where you make friends and figure yourself out. Clubs help you make friends as well. That’s what they are for: doing things that you like. [The school board] telling you it’s not okay, you can’t do that, pushing a certain belief on someone –I just hate it when someone knew it was wrong and didn’t do anything about it.”

Out of their own conviction, both A.A.P. and Z.J.W., teenagers who love to skateboard and watch anime, stood up to the school board and fought back against its attempts to violate students’ First Amendment rights. Z.J.W.’s parents, Teresa Catoe and John Wheeler, and A.A.P.’s mother, Susan Park, were brought together by their children’s advocacy.

Susan: “It took a lot of courage to stand up in front of the school board. They created very passionate and articulate statements. They were very eloquent. There were not a lot of adults who would go up in front of the school board and use their voices to speak up for something that they believe in. And for two young people to do it, it’s just so impressive to me. And I am just so proud of them.

“Even if the outcome had gone a different way and had not been an outcome that we wanted, it would have been a positive experience because they were speaking up for other kids who felt like they couldn’t speak up.”

After the school board meeting where they both advocated for the GSA, A.A.P. and Z.J.W. bonded, and so did their parents. They waited for the next meeting so they could continue to speak up against the board’s discriminatory actions, and they quickly realized they were not alone. When they talked to more people from the community who also came out to support the GSA, they found out there were more allies in their rural and quiet community than they expected. But despite all of their organizing efforts, the school board continued to stand in the way of the club’s formation.

Susan: “We were hoping that the school board would see reason, but they were dragging it out for so long. So when the ACLU-VA decided to [represent us when we] file[d] a lawsuit, we were so happy about that: because we knew we were right. They were discriminating against the club without any basis.”

John: “I love this country. One of the founding principles when we created this country is the ability to redress our grievances against our government. I’ve always thought that I would only read about this stuff, but you can actually redress your grievances with the government. I am proud to have been a part of it.”

Working closely with ACLU-VA Senior Transgender Rights Attorney Wyatt Rolla and Staff Attorney Julia Kahn, both families sued the school board – and won. As part of the settlement, King George County School Board agreed to reverse course to give fair consideration to all applications to form noncurricular organizations, including one for a potential GSA.

A.A.P.: “The club won’t only be affecting those students who are interested in the club or queer kids in general. It will be affecting the entire school and change how they think [about] and see queer kids.”

Z.J.W.: “I’d like it to be a place where people want to go and are excited to be there – a safe place for people who don’t always have a safe place to be. People can talk about their experience and what they are going through and have other people help them and support them. A fun place to be [and] do fun stuff.”

The case made an impression even outside of King George County. Virginia Commonwealth University, located in Richmond, invited the families to an unveiling ceremony of a historical marker honoring the first LGBTQ+ student-led organization to form at VCU.

Proving that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme, it was an ACLU of Virginia lawsuit that enabled VCU’s Gay Alliance of Students to form in 1976 – paving the way for similar GSAs to form in colleges and universities in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland – exactly 50 years before the ACLU of Virginia again fought for students to form an LGBTQ+-led student organization in King George County.

At the ceremony, reflecting on half a century of fighting for LGBQT+ rights, a speaker from VCU thanked the students from King George County for standing up for what is right, for refusing to be silenced, and for advocating for their peers.

Teresa: “My key takeaway is learning that the kids are stronger than I thought. I am really proud that [they] both stood up for what [they] knew was right and continued to talk about it.

“Walking through that process of seeing them talk at the board meetings, seeing how passionate they were, and then talking with the ACLU about how to move forward, that’s my key takeaway – just watching how they are being activists.”

Z.J.W.: “One thing I’ve learned is to not give up. I’ve always been stubborn. It’s a character [trait] in our family. Standing up for what you know is right. Standing up for what you believe. And just keep doing that until something actually changes.”

A.A.P.: “This is not where I am going to stop. I am definitely going to a lot more protests, possibly more school board meetings. I want to keep making poster signs.”

Now that the case is behind them, A.A.P. continues his activism at the high school while Z.J.W. looks forward to organizing the first meeting for King George County Middle School’s first-ever GSA. To queer youth everywhere, they had these messages:

A.A.P.: “No one should be forced to hide. You will be a lot happier when you’re yourself. You will meet a lot of people who may surprise you on how awesome they are.”

Z.J.W.: “I want [you] to know to never be ashamed of yourself, never be ashamed of who you are. [You] should be proud of who [you] are. Be happy for who [you] are. No one else can say who you are, and honestly, try[ing] to be someone you’re not is not fun. It’s very exhausting. Just be who you are. Don’t let anyone tell you who you should be.”