• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Body
  • Daily Resist
  • POLITICS
  • Travel
  • Music
  • Theatre
  • Film
  • TV
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Men
  • Marriage Equality
  • Space
  • Trans Rights
  • Books
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • TowleREAD

Gay Arkansas Teacher Says He Lost Job Over Rainbow-Colored Peace Sign in Classroom – VIDEO

January 26, 2016 by John Wright Leave a Comment

Screen Shot 2016-01-26 at 7.46.50 AM

A gay graduate student in Arkansas says he lost his job as a teaching assistant after putting up a poster in his high school mathematics classroom saying “Tolerance = Peace,” below a rainbow-colored peace sign.

rainbow-colored peace signMichael (above), who didn’t want to use his last name, said students complained about the poster to parents, who in turn contacted school administrators, leading to a campaign by “a church group” associated with the principal and assistant superintendent.

Michael resigned from Osceola High School in tiny Osceola, Arkansas, in September, citing a hostile work environment.

“”This isn’t the place to promote that agenda.’ That was their words,” Michael told KARK-TV.

Losing the internship caused Michael to graduate without a teaching license from a master’s program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He said the school refused to place him in another internship, accusing him of a “pattern of misconduct” even though he’d received positive reviews at two prior student-teaching assignments.

Michael said he never mentioned his sexual orientation at Osceola High School because he was under strict orders from administrators not to do so, and because it had nothing to do with mathematics. The poster was one of four in his classroom stressing tolerance, but the only one featuring rainbow colors. The equals sign in the poster is also similar to the Human Rights Campaign’s logo.

“The important thing in education is being tolerant of each other,” Michael said. “We’re all different in different ways and it is important that students understand that. … Tolerance equals peace. There’s nothing gay about that. That’s just true.”

The school superintendent denies that Michael was discriminated against based on his sexual orientation. Arkansas has no law protecting public employees against discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, Michael reportedly has filed a complaint under Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1973, which prohibits schools that receive federal funds from discriminating based on sex. Federal case law also protects gay public school teachers under the principle of equal protection.

Michael is now pursuing another master’s degree and working as a teaching assistant at another school.

“I am moving forward, but this just isn’t fair,” he said. “I can’t seem to make this wrong right no matter how hard I try.”

He said he won’t be putting up any tolerance posters in the future.

“I’m just too afraid to cause that kind of controversy again,” he said.

Watch KARK’s report here.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Arkansas, Discrimination, Education, Gay Rights, Human Rights Campaign, LGBT Rights, little rock, Osceola High School, Title IX

Recent Posts

  • Maskless Leopard Print ‘Karen’ Goes Down Shrieking at Palm Beach Bagel Shop: WATCH

    Maskless Leopard Print ‘Karen’ Goes Down Shrieking at Palm Beach Bagel Shop: WATCH

    11 hours ago
  • Pete Buttigieg Confirmation Hearing Scheduled for Thursday

    Pete Buttigieg Confirmation Hearing Scheduled for Thursday

    12 hours ago
  • Married Lincoln Project Co-Founder John Weaver Admits Sending Sexually Inappropriate Texts to Male Job Applicants, Says He’s Gay

    Married Lincoln Project Co-Founder John Weaver Admits Sending Sexually Inappropriate Texts to Male Job Applicants, Says He’s Gay

    12 hours ago
  • Bill Maher Shoots Down Kellyanne Conway’s Defense of Trump’s Legacy, That Many Folks Are Better Off: ‘A Lot of Them Are Dead!’ — WATCH

    Bill Maher Shoots Down Kellyanne Conway’s Defense of Trump’s Legacy, That Many Folks Are Better Off: ‘A Lot of Them Are Dead!’ — WATCH

    13 hours ago
Previous Post: « Donald Trump Launches into ‘Wacky Lying Jerk’ Ted Cruz, Says He Has ‘Powerful Endorsement’ Coming: WATCH
Next Post: Tuesday Morning News: Tom Delay Threat, Adorable Sloth, Tony Abbott, Refugees, Banksy, Muscle Motivation »

Primary Sidebar

  • Maskless Leopard Print ‘Karen’ Goes Down Shrieking at Palm Beach Bagel Shop: WATCH

  • Pete Buttigieg Confirmation Hearing Scheduled for Thursday

  • Married Lincoln Project Co-Founder John Weaver Admits Sending Sexually Inappropriate Texts to Male Job Applicants, Says He’s Gay

Recent Posts

  • Maskless Leopard Print ‘Karen’ Goes Down Shrieking at Palm Beach Bagel Shop: WATCH

    Maskless Leopard Print ‘Karen’ Goes Down Shrieking at Palm Beach Bagel Shop: WATCH

    11 hours ago
  • Pete Buttigieg Confirmation Hearing Scheduled for Thursday

    Pete Buttigieg Confirmation Hearing Scheduled for Thursday

    12 hours ago
  • Married Lincoln Project Co-Founder John Weaver Admits Sending Sexually Inappropriate Texts to Male Job Applicants, Says He’s Gay

    Married Lincoln Project Co-Founder John Weaver Admits Sending Sexually Inappropriate Texts to Male Job Applicants, Says He’s Gay

    12 hours ago
  • Bill Maher Shoots Down Kellyanne Conway’s Defense of Trump’s Legacy, That Many Folks Are Better Off: ‘A Lot of Them Are Dead!’ — WATCH

    Bill Maher Shoots Down Kellyanne Conway’s Defense of Trump’s Legacy, That Many Folks Are Better Off: ‘A Lot of Them Are Dead!’ — WATCH

    13 hours ago
  • Ralph Lauren Drops 7-Year Sponsorship of Pro Golfer Justin Thomas Over Homophobic Slur

    Ralph Lauren Drops 7-Year Sponsorship of Pro Golfer Justin Thomas Over Homophobic Slur

    13 hours ago
  • James Lankford, Dolly Parton, Vaccine Rollout, Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor, Palm Beach, The Big Lie, Joshua Bassett: HOT LINKS

    James Lankford, Dolly Parton, Vaccine Rollout, Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor, Palm Beach, The Big Lie, Joshua Bassett: HOT LINKS

    1 day ago
  • Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney Takes Down QAnon GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert After Accusations He Named Her as Member Who Gave ‘Reconnaissance Tours’ of US Capitol Ahead of Trump Insurrection

    Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney Takes Down QAnon GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert After Accusations He Named Her as Member Who Gave ‘Reconnaissance Tours’ of US Capitol Ahead of Trump Insurrection

    1 day ago
  • ‘Where They Countin’ the Votes?!’: New Video Details Tense Moments as Capitol Mob Sought Out Lawmakers — WATCH

    ‘Where They Countin’ the Votes?!’: New Video Details Tense Moments as Capitol Mob Sought Out Lawmakers — WATCH

    1 day ago
  • Capitol Police Officer Gives Chilling Account of Being Dragged Down Steps by Trump Mob: ‘Kill Him with His Own Gun!’ — WATCH

    Capitol Police Officer Gives Chilling Account of Being Dragged Down Steps by Trump Mob: ‘Kill Him with His Own Gun!’ — WATCH

    1 day ago
  • Brie Larson ‘Gay’ Comment Sends Internet into a Frenzy: WATCH

    Brie Larson ‘Gay’ Comment Sends Internet into a Frenzy: WATCH

    1 day ago

Most Commented

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Footer

Copyright © 2021 · Log in