Students create change in CA
Did you hear the inspiring church justice story out of San Francisco this month? Students at a Catholic high school saw an injustice, raised their voices, and made a change.
It started with Jessica, a senior who learned that her photo would not appear in the yearbook because she chose to wear a tuxedo, a violation of a gender-normative dress code. Jessica and her peers were surprised and saddened by this news – and the student body organized. On Friday, May 16, students made national news by wearing ties to school in solidarity with Jessica.The story gets better. By Monday, the school publicly apologized to Jessica and her family and promised to change the antiquated policy! “We are a community that can and does fail,” they wrote. “We are a community that is open to self-reflection, and to the constructive criticism and leadership of its students.” Church justice advocacy for the win!
CTA 20/30, the young adults of Call To Action, joined the nationwide outpouring of support for Jessica, by posting photos of themselves in bowties online. Check out the pictures and story on the 20/30 blog. We are proud to have been Catholic voices calling for inclusion of diverse sexual orientations, genders and gender expressions – in Catholic schools and everywhere. Their success is worth celebrating, but we all know the work for creating an inclusive church is far from over. May the students of Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep inspire you and your community in your good work to bring about justice in our church!
