I was an out gay public school teacher for most of my 30 years teaching choral music and musical theater in some of the most socially conservative regions in the United States.  I became aware early on that I could lose my job in North Carolina simply because I was gay.  I became passionate about equity for our community when I was 18 years old in 1982, and Ronald Reagan wouldn't talk about HIV or take action related to the disease and millions of gay men died because of the inaction.   I created a 501c3 in 2004 called "Boycott for Equality" in response to President George W. Bush's call for a constitutional amendment banning Same Sex Marriage.  Throughout my 30 years teaching public school, all of the 300+ students who elected to take my class each year did so in large part because they felt safe there...whether or not they were LGBTQ+ and that is what I hope to do here on Outschool with this class.

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