001[Music] Pride to me means firstly just accepting that person for who they truly are and acknowledging that they belong and as a middle school teacher just kind of helping them figure that out as they are coming into that for the first time and exploring their identity. to be able to affirm a student's personal journey, their pronouns, and how affirmative it is when I hear my students be able to correct themselves or if they share a little bit about their own um pronoun use. I remember that when I was a kid, uh back at the turn of the century, um pride meant largely just visibility, right? Um if you felt safe and brave, Pride Month was a chance to be your true and whole self, even out in public. um or if you weren't feeling so
002bold, others were doing it for you and you could feel the safety of the community. To me, pride means showing up for myself and for others. It's about being unapologetically real, supporting people who need it, and creating a world where no one has to hide who they are. Because after all, we're all human. In the 1990s, I was let go from my first teaching job because I was gay and I was told, "We don't like gay people here and uh we don't want you on our retirement plan." So, for me, pride means having the right to be out, to be visible, and to be protected from job discrimination. I now get to create a classroom where students can thrive, where they can be seen, where they are safe, and where they are celebrated for exactly
003who they are. To me, pride is ignoring and rejecting any the labels and boxes that have been put on me by other people and inventing my own. Pride is recognizing your values even when no one else will. Pride is unequivocal love. Pride is equity. Pride is being able to feel comfortable with yourself without the fear of others judging you. Pride is about accepting all others and accepting yourself no matter what. is a time not just for tolerance, not just for acceptance, but for celebration of those uh who may be LGBTQ. And I want to make sure that everyone in our community from our staff to our students who identifies somewhere within this wonderful acronym within this wonderful community uh represented by so many colors in the rainbow that you are valued, you are loved, and
004we are better off for having you here with us here in Arlington Public Schools. [Music]