Monday, October 25, 1999
7:30pm   Egyptian Theatre

Educating Our Youth: Teaching Anti-Homophobia in the Schools

Suffer the Children: Answering the Homosexual Agenda in Public Schools
American Family Association; 1999; USA; 30 minutes; video

CHILD CARE AVAILABLE
ASL INTERPRETING PROVIDED

Created by the American Family Association, Suffer the Children aired on KCTS early this summer as part of their series on diversity. It followed the airing of It's Elementary, a documentary that focuses on discussing gay issues in the schools. By presenting Suffer the Children as "the other side" of the story, KCTS diminished the importance of fighting homophobia in our public schools. Several political groups, including P-FLAG and Dyke Action, have protested the airing of Suffer the Children. A right wing piece of propaganda, Suffer the Children excerpts clips from It's Elementary in order to argue that "homosexual activists" are promoting the gay lifestyle to children through indoctrination. Our panel will focus on the challenges of teaching about gay issues in schools, in the context of recent Seattle controversies.

Panel participants include: Tina Podlodowski, Seattle City Council Member; Tracy Flynn, Comprehensive Health Specialist of the Seattle School District; Greg Stair, teacher and secretary of the nation's first gay PTSA; and Bob Wheaton, teacher and GLSTN representative.

$5 SHOW