Groundspark

Great news from the Alameda School Board! Last night, the board approved their LGBT-inclusive bullying prevention curriculum, despite the outspoken conservative critics from outside the district who flooded their town hall meetings. Their approval contains no opt-out provision, which means every student in the district will receive instruction on learning empathy and respect for difference. While opponents of the curriculum are now threatening lawsuits, the board heard support from folks like you, and knows they have the strength of their community to move forward creating classrooms that are safe and welcoming for every student.

You can read more about the decision in today’s San Francisco Chronicle.

Debra Chasnoff was on the Laura Ingraham show on May 19th where she debated Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute about the Alameda School District’s plan to include sexual orientation non-discrimination in their anti-bullying programs.

Chasnoff stated, “Anti-gay harassment is increasingly contributing to some of the worst cases of bullying and of mental health problems in schools. I just want to say really really clearly, I applaud the school district in Alameda for taking pro-active action because in the last month alone there have been two children…who hung themselves in their own closets at home because of suffering from anti-gay bullying that the schools were doing nothing about.”

In response to Vallejo Unified’s settlement of a lawsuit about anti-LGBT harassment, the Angie Coiro show is going to be talking about safe schools litigation tonight. On the show from 6:30-6:50ish will be Lance from Straightlaced, who filed his own lawsuit. He will be talking about his own experiences as well as Straightlaced.

You can listen live at http://www.green960.com/pages/tgs.html.

Our Los Angeles Premiere of Straightlaced–How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up was last week and we had a wonderful turn out!

We were thrilled to have Academy Award winners, Dustin Lance Black and Bruce Cohen of Milk, on hand to help welcome the film. You can watch their opening remarks below!

Dustin Lance Black and Bruce Cohen

GROUNDBREAKING DOCUMENTARY ON GENDER NORMS IN HIGH SCHOOLS STRAIGHTLACED PREMIERES IN NEW YORK, TUESDAY MAY 26 AT HUNTER COLLEGE

New York, NY : The New York City benefit premiere of the new feature-length documentary Straightlaced–How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up, will be held at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College 7:00pm on Tuesday, May 26. Directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker Debra Chasnoff, Straightlaced reveals a culture of intense pressure to conform to gender roles in American high schools. Introducing the film are Jennifer Raab – Hunter College President, Eliza Byard – GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) Executive Director, and Mia Herndon –Third Wave Foundation Executive Director.

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News from around the world that directly connects to the issues GroundSpark works on in our Respect for All Project!

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We’ve heard about two different, yet very important causes that deserve some much-needed attention.

The first regards the tragic murder of Luis Ramirez, the 25-year old father of two who was beaten to death last summer. Evidence and testimony surrounding the beating and death of Luis Ramirez suggest that the defendants’ actions in the beating were motivated by Luis’ national origin, Mexico.

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The monthly magazine, Lesbian News, featured a fun interview with me this past April. We discussed everything from why I decided to start making films, to my family and GroundSpark’s latest film–Straightlaced!

While the article isn’t available online, you can view the first page here and the second page here.

The find out more about Lesbian News, please visit their website, www.theLNMag.com

In 1984 I made my first documentary film, and launched what was then Women’s Educational Media into the world of filmmaking combined with activist educational campaigns. Choosing Children, which was co-directed and co-produced with Kim Klausner, my kids’ other mom, explored the then unheard of idea that if you were gay or lesbian, you could also become a parent. We interviewed some of the brave pioneering moms who had had kids AFTER coming out. Lesbians (and some gay men) watching their stories at screening events we organized across the country had lightbulbs go off in their heads. They went home, found sperm donors or applied to adopt. And voila – the lesbian baby boom exploded. Today there is hardly a PTA in the country without a gay or lesbian parent in it!

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News from around the world that directly connects to the issues GroundSpark works on in our Respect for All Project!

This week we bring you not only the news of the week, but a selection of articles from RadicalParenting.com, an organization that focuses on youth development from a kid’s perspective.
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Anne Mitchell, of Equality Kansas, sent us the following message after hosting two Straightlaced screenings in south-west Kansas:

Screening Straightlaced in Garden City and Dodge City, Kansas was so exciting, and brought together over 50 educators, youth, and activists. This was the first time we have hosted a proactive event, instead of being reactive to negative situations we hear about.

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News from around the world that directly connects to the issues GroundSpark works on in our Respect for All Project!

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