At least 12% of Pennsylvania (brick-and-mortar) public high school graduates come from a school with a racist mascot.

For over five years, the Pennsylvania Youth Congress has been keeping meticulous records of school board policies as they relate to LGBTQ inclusion throughout the commonwealth. This is a very intense process, which involves the tracking  of numerous policies across 500 districts. Many districts do not share their policies online, so this research has us sending regular Right to Know requests, which requires financial resources and can take months to resolve. We are proud to have collected this information and finally have the ability to collate our findings in producing a landmark report on the status of LGBTQ-inclusion in Pennsylvania school district-level policy this winter.

As an intersectional social justice organization, we would be remiss if we did not take this opportunity to identify other ways through policy that Pennsylvania public schools make education systems unsafe for students. After seeing dozens of outright racists mascots in our policy research, we knew this epidemic should be clearly brought to light on a statewide level.

Racist mascots create a hostile school environment for both Native students and students of conscience by promoting wholly offensive imagery as a core community value.

For further reading  on this issue, please go to Native writers and perspectives. A national, Native-led organization was formed in 2014 to challenge the use of racist mascots in the United States in Not Your Mascots. Their website had a ton of information and shares ways to get involved. The National Congress of American Indians has a useful website summarizing this history as well, and is a partner of the Not Your Mascots organization.

In Pennsylvania, there have been campaigns mounted by students at some of these schools to change their mascots.

Recently, the student newspaper at Neshaminy High School in Montgomery County took a bold stand against their mascot being the “R*dskins.” A major battle erupted in 2013 when The Playwickian was refusing to print “R*dskin” in their paper. A complaint was filed with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, which in 2015, ruled the school had 90 day to change their mascot. The legal and community process is ongoing surrounding alleged violations of First Amendment.

Our research is based on the 584 brick-and-mortar public high schools who graduated students in 2016. We identified 67 schools as having racist mascots. Using the most recent enrollment statistics available from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), 59,251 students are enrolled at these schools identified with racist mascots schools. That is about the population of the Lancaster, our commonwealth’s 10th largest municipality. These schools are located all throughout the state. In context with all PDE-designated public school district entities that graduated students in 2016, this means that at least 12% of Pennsylvania (brick-and-mortar) public high school graduates come from an institution with a racist mascot.

Racist Public School Mascot Map

[As of December 2016]

We did not count ethnic-inspired mascots such as the Vikings, Trojans, Scotties, or Dutchmen as racist. While they may present ethnic stereotypes, they do not promote and are not rooted in white supremacy. We also found two schools with Quakers for a mascot. This is felt as inappropriate by many Quakers, but again, not based in white supremacy. 

Several district names are inspired by Native tribal nations located in their regions: The Mohawk School District, in Lawrence County (about halfway between Erie and Pittsburgh). Their mascot is the Raiders.  The Iroquois School District in Erie County has Braves as their mascot.

Of all 584 high school mascots identified, Indians was only second in popularity to Panthers, which were in 26 schools.

Here is a breakdown of the offensive names and their usage:

We can all learn from the strength and commitment of the students at Neshaminy, and others who are actively resisting racist mascot names. These changes will not happen just by identifying mascots as racist. There are many personal conversations ahead in these communities about how much harm they cause people – with students, civic leaders, and ultimately, school board members. 

The time to take action is always now.

#NotYourMascot

#NoHonorinRacism

The Bethlehem Area School District Board of School Directors unanimously voted to add “gender identity and gender expression” as protected characteristics under the district’s nondiscrimination policies and unlawful harassment policies at a school board meeting on Monday, April 20. The district previously only provided protections for LGBT individuals based upon sexual orientation.

Bethlehem Area School District is now the seventh school district in Pennsylvania to adopt nondiscrimination protections for transgender students, joining Pittsburgh Public Schools, Allentown School District, State College Area School District, Abington School District, New Hope-Solebury School District and Lower Merion School District.

School Board Director Basilio A. Bonilla Jr. led efforts to protect transgender individuals within the district. Bonilla said that he was aware of several transgender students within the district, and upon reviewing the district’s policies, saw that these students had no protection from discrimination under current policy. After consulting with LGBT community leaders, Bonilla contacted the district’s superintendent to discuss amending the policy. Following two initial readings at previous Board of School Directors meetings, the policy was voted upon and passed by a 9-0 vote. “Last night Democrats, Republicans, and an Independent came together to protect the rights of all students, and that is something I am really proud of as a Board Member,” Bonilla told the Keystone Student Voice on Tuesday.

Bonilla said that he intends to continue to advocate for the district’s LGBT students. “We’re not done yet,” he stated. “We need be there to support our kids.” He hopes to establish training for the district’s sports coaching staff on working with LGBT students and to implement a transgender inclusive nondiscrimination policy in the Bethlehem Area Vocational Technical School, which serves Bethlehem Area, Saucon Valley, and Northampton Area School Districts.

Bonilla came out as bisexual in March of 2014. He is the first openly LGBT elected official in Bethlehem. In his first year as a School Board Director, he worked with the district’s health insurance provider to offer benefits to same-sex spouses of faculty and staff before marriage equality was legalized in Pennsylvania.

Photo: Express-Times

Disappointment continues to roll in from across the nation regarding the actions of Holy Ghost Preparatory School’s administration in terminating the employment of foreign language teacher Michael Griffin. Mr. Griffin was fired last Friday from the Catholic high school in suburban Philadelphia for obtaining a marriage license to wed his partner.

Father McCloskey, the school President, released a statement saying that the school had “no choice,” but to terminate Griffin, because his decision to marry, “contradicts the terms of his teaching contract at our school, which requires all faculty and staff to follow the teachings of the Church as a condition of their employment.”

In response, LGBT community leaders from Catholic universities across Pennsylvania have written an open letter Father McCloskey and Principal Danilak of Holy Ghost, asking them to reinstate Mr. Griffin. The Catholic students criticized the Holy Ghost administration for treating Griffin in a a way that “does not clearly reflect Christ and His teachings,” and implored the school to “embrace all who devote themselves to the fullness of moving the gospel messages of love and charity to children and the whole world.”

Griffin’s termination has caused outrage among Pennsylvanians, and brought attention to the absence of a nondiscrimination law protecting LGBTQ employees. However, as Holy Ghost is a private religious institution, it is unclear whether a nondiscrimination law would have protected Griffin. The Supreme Court ruled in January of 2012 that nondiscrimination laws do not protect employees of faith-based institutions which perform religious duties.

Former Holy Ghost student, Dan McQuade, criticized the school in an Op-Ed for Philadelphia Magazine:

The school was happy to have him when it could pretend he wasn’t gay, though Griffin says he and his future-husband sat with the school’s president, Jeff Danilak, at a school event. But as soon as it felt it received an official notification, McCloskey said he needed to act.

Bensalem resident and Treasurer of the PC Alliance, Pennsylvania College of Technology’s LGBTQ group, John Fox, said he was “surprised” by the school’s decision. “Bensalem is not known for these kinds of actions. It’s an open minded town.”

“The call to change our legal system includes the moral imperative to change our culture as well. To affirm the human dignity of LGBTQ individuals, the Catholic community must grow in acceptance and in love.” said Jared Schaaf, Convener of the Pennsylvania Student Equality Coalition, a student at Gannon University, a Catholic university in Erie.

A message was posted to the school website Monday by Father McCloskey, which said, “We acknowledge that this decision has been difficult for everyone… We regret the pain that this has caused to any and all involved.” Father McCloskey stated that the administration will keep the school community informed at they “move forward.”

If you are Catholic student in Pennsylvania, whether LGBTQ or an ally, please sign the letter below urging the Holy Ghost Administration to reinstate Mr. Griffin, and move towards a more inclusive and affirming school community. The KSV will not post names that do not have both the full school name and class year.

Of the 26 Roman Catholic colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, 18 currently have an active LGBT student organization. LGBT and ally students at Catholic schools are increasingly finding and building safe spaces on their campus with growing support from faculty and staff. Many of the LGBT student organizations at these schools were formed in the past few years.

**Please note, the lead signatories of the open letter in no way represent the LGBTQ student organizations they helm at their universities,
but have signed on as individuals**

Catholic School Students Across Pennsylvania

Brian Franchuk – University of Scranton ’15
Rebecca Taylor – King’s College ’14
Gabe Romero – King’s College ’15
Julia A. Ramsey – Conwell Egan Catholic School ’99
Amanda Fritschi – Duquesne University ’14, Trinity High School ’11
Daniel Simpson – King’s College ’13
Jared Schaaf – Gannon University ’15
Jesse Harvey – King’s College ’14
Michael Thomas – Archbishop Carroll High School ’05
Vanessa Cherry – Gannon University ’15
Joseph Gnahoui-David – Gannon University ’16
Zak Westfall – Gannon University ’16
Nicholas Ramsey – Conwell Egan Catholic School ’04
Jessica Kluck – Venango Catholic High School ’05
Meghann Taft-Lockard – La Salle University ’17
Caitlin Hammar – La Salle University ’14
Casey Schu – La Salle University ’17, Mount Saint Joseph Academy ’13
Andrew J. King – La Salle University ’17
Amanda Vogel – Chestnut Hill College ’15, John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School ’11
Patrick Herbert – Holy Ghost Preparatory School ’12
Veronica Hamilton – La Salle University ’17
Nicole Benzing – St. Joseph’s University ’14, Mount de Sales Academy ’10
Halee Burke – St. Joseph’s University ’16, Peninsula Catholic High School ’12
Erin McGrody – St. Joseph’s University ’17, Nazareth Academy High School ’13
Luigi Nunez – St. Joseph’s University ’17
Scarlett C. – St. Joseph’s University ’16, Academy of the Holy Cross ’12
Will Johnson – St. Joseph’s University ’16, Gonzaga College High School ’12
Andrew Nguyen – St. Joseph’s University ’17, Saint Louis University High School ’13
Jeannette-Marie Kelley – Holy Family University ’84, Nazareth Academy ’80
Beatrice Ayoub – St. Joseph’s University ’17
Raymond Lubrano Di Caruozzo – St. Joseph’s University ’17, Salesianum ’11
Liz Wardach – St. Joseph’s University ’16
Leyla Capitelli – Villa Joseph Marie High School ’90
Madison Donchez – St. Joseph’s University ’17
Jenna Harrison – St. Joseph’s University ’13
Christina Flynn – St. Hubert’s High School ’00
Eli Mancini – St. Joseph’s University ’16
Kesle Ffrench – St. Joseph’s University ’16
Gerry Gormley Rudewicz – Bishop Conwell High School ’78
Kayla M. Walker – St. Joseph’s University ’16
Terrell Mills – St. Joseph’s University ’16
Theresa Ta – St. Joseph’s University ’17
Catherine Murphy – St. Joseph’s University ’17
Amanda Matrisciano – St. Joseph’s University ’17
Elizabeth Krotulis – St. Joseph’s University ’17, Saint Rose High School ’13
Elizabeth Picca – St. Joseph’s University ’17
Reilly Igo – St. Joseph’s University ’15
Rae Coleman – St. Joseph’s University ’16
Nam Nguyen – Mercyhurst University ’16
Erin R. Mussett – Gannon University ’15
Jessica Johnson – King’s College ’14
Elizabeth Nawrocki – Villa Maria Academy ’12
Jodi Tunstall – Conwell-Egan Catholic High School ’91
Therese Stadelmeier – Conwell-Egan Catholic High School ’78
Emily Abramowicz – Archbishop Wood High School ’12
Joanna Lipniarska – La Salle University ’16
Kelly O’Brien – Nazareth Academy High School ’09
Christian O’Brien – St. Joseph’s University ’13
Catherine Elorette – St. Joseph’s University ’14, Academy of Saint Elizabeth ’10
Summer Rollins – St. Joseph’s University ’14
Jade Marie Nesbitt – St. Joseph’s University ’15

Post Photo Credit: Michael Griffin

Last night, the Richland School Board unanimously approved the formation of a Gay Straight Alliance at their board meeting.

While he was denied the right to run for Homecoming King,  Kasey Caron, a transgender student at Richland Senior High School, is glad something positive has come out of his ordeal.  Kasey sparked an international discussion on the treatment of transgender students when he and his supporters petitioned for his right to be identified as male on the Homecoming Court. When speaking at a Richland School District Board meeting in September, Kasey additionally requested that the school board amend their nondiscrimination policy to protect gender identity, allow him to wear the male’s cap and gown during graduation, and approve the formation of a Gay Straight Alliance.

The main challenge in establishing a GSA, Kasey said, was finding a teacher willing to advise the club. After weeks of searching, business education teacher Sandy Myers volunteered. Myers previously taught Kasey’s eighth grade math class before moving into business education. Once a faculty member agreed to advise the GSA, the School Board prioritized voting on the club’s formation.

Kasey hopes to hold the first meeting next Friday. He is working with Pennsylvania Student Equality Coalition Board Member Mike Campbell to prepare materials for advertising the club and to guide their meetings. Campbell was optimistic about the formation of the club, saying, “Hopefully this is just the start of the positive change happening in Johnstown.”

Richland is the first high school in the Johnstown region to have a GSA. Kasey said he hopes that surrounding high schools will follow suit, particularly neighboring Westmont Hilltop High School, where there is high student interest.

“Even after all of the negatives I went through, a positive came out of it,” said Kasey. “With the formation of a GSA, we will have students working together to prevent my situation from happening again.”

In addition to the approval of the GSA, Kasey told the Keystone Student Voice that he will be able to wear a blue cap and gown along with the other males at his graduation.