Glisten

History

1990s

Kevin Jennings, a high school history teacher in Massachusetts, Kathy Henderson, Assistant Athletic Director at Phillips Academy in Andover, and Bob Parlin, a high school history teacher at Newton South High School lead a coalition of gay and lesbian educators to form what was then called the Gay and Lesbian Independent School Teacher Network (GLISTN).

In Massachusetts, the Governor's Commission released its report, Making Schools Safe for Gay and Lesbian Youth.

GLSTN became a national organization with the founding of the first chapter outside Massachusetts in St. Louis.

GLSTN launches the first LGBT History Month in October with official proclamations from the governors of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

GLSTN hired its first full-time staffer, founder and Executive Director Kevin Jennings.

GLSTN accredits chapters for the first time.

GLSTN started annual celebration of Day of Silence at the University of Virginia.

GLSTN staged its first national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in response to the legislature's effort to prevent the formation of GSAs in the state by banning all student groups.

GLSTN changed its name to GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) in order to more accurately reflect the importance of straight educators in shaping safe schools.

Kevin Jennings meets with President Bill Clinton at the White House to discuss anti-LGBT bias in America's schools—the first meeting of its kind in the Executive Office of the United States.

Out of the Past, a GLSEN-sponsored documentary developed as a resource for high school history classes, wins the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and is broadcast nationally on PBS. Eliza Byard, the film's co-producer, would become GLSEN's Deputy Executive Director in 2001.

2000s

The Chicago chapter of GLSEN was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.

Students ask GLSEN to become the first national sponsor of the Day of Silence. Participation grows from hundreds of college students to thousands of middle and high school youth.

GLSEN begins a partnership with the National Education Association, which asks school districts to protect LGBTQ students and staff by adopting policies that protect students from bullying and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.

U.S. Representative Linda Sánchez introduces the Safe Schools Improvement Act, an LGBT-inclusive federal anti-bullying bill that includes protections for sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.

GLSEN's No Name-Calling Week launches as an annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling of all kinds.

Vermont becomes the first state to pass an LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying law that includes protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.

GLSEN and Harris Interactive release From Teasing to Torment: School Climate in America, A Survey of Students and Teachers, the first national study of the general population of secondary students and teachers to address LGBT issues. This study documents disparities between LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ students and finds that LGBT students were more than three times as likely to not feel safe at school.

GLSEN's Jump-Start National Student Leadership Team develops an idea that turns into the first Ally Week that is now in schools nationwide every October.

GLSEN launches the "Think Before You Speak" public service announcement initiative with the Ad Council, the nonprofit advertising company's first LGBT-focused campaign.

2010s

GLSEN officially launches the Safe Space Campaign, designed to give educators the tools to be visibly supportive allies to LGBTQ students. The campaign goes on to place a Safe Space Kit in every school in the United States.

GLSEN's Executive Director Eliza Byard participates in the first-ever United Nations international consultation to address anti-LGBT bullying in schools.

Several representatives from GLSEN attend the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention, pressing for effective federal action to address bullying, and highlighting bullying prevention programs and approaches that benefit all students.

The White House names GLSEN a "Champion of Change", honoring the organization's two decades of work to fight bullying, violence, and stigma directed at LGBTQ people in K-12 schools and for GLSEN's efforts to prevent suicide among at-risk youth.

GLSEN, the Anti-Defamation League, and National Public Radio's StoryCorps launch "Unheard Voices", an oral history and curriculum project that will help educators integrate LGBTQ history, people and issues into their instructional programs.

GLSEN releases Strengths and Silences: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students in Rural and Small Town Schools. The report documents the experiences of more than 2,300 LGBTQ students who attend secondary schools in rural areas. Findings demonstrate that compared to LGBTQ students in urban and suburban areas, LGBTQ students in rural schools are more likely to hear negative comments about gender expression and sexual orientation; feel unsafe at their schools due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, and experience verbal and physical harassment and assault due to these characteristics.

A GuideStar/Philanthropedia survey of 110 experts on LGBTQ issues names GLSEN one of the country's top three LGBTQ nonprofits making significant contributions on a national level.

GLSEN partners with the leading school mental health professional associations, the National Association of School Psychologists, the American School Counselors Association, the School Social Workers Association of America, and the American Council for School Social Workers, to conduct a national study of school mental health professionals on their preparation and practices related to LGBTQ youth in schools.

2020s

GLSEN appoints Melanie Willingham-Jaggers as the organization's first Black and non-binary executive director.

Wilson Cruz becomes chair of the board, with Imara Jones as vice-chair.

With the support and guidance of Cause Capacity, GLSEN laid off 60% of its employees.

Campaigns and programs

Day of Silence

Glisten's Day of Silence is a national day of action that began at the University of Virginia in 1996 in which students vow to take a form of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBTQ bullying and harassment in schools. Glisten's Day of Silence takes place in 8,000 U.S. schools every year and has spread to more than 60 countries.

No Name-Calling Week

Every January, thousands of elementary and middle schools participate in Glisten's No Name-Calling Week to end bullying. No Name-Calling Week was inspired by the popular young adult novel entitled The Misfits by popular author James Howe, and is supported by over 60 national partner organizations.

Ally Week

Every fall, Glisten's Ally Week serves to educate allies about the role they play in creating safer spaces for LGBTQ youth. Ally Week was started in 2005 by Glisten's Jump-Start National Student Leadership team. Ally Week is supported by over 20 endorsers.

Think Before You Speak campaign

On October 8, 2008, GLSEN and Ad Council released the Think Before You Speak campaign, designed to end homophobic vocabulary and raise awareness about the prevalence and consequences of anti-LGBTQ bias and behavior in America's schools among youth, through the use of television, radio, print, and outdoor ads.

The campaign also aimed to raise awareness among adults, school personnel, and parents. It includes three television public service announcements (PSAs), six print PSAs and three radio PSAs. Television commercials for the campaign include singer Hilary Duff as well as comedian Wanda Sykes. In 2008 the campaign won the Ad Council's Gold Bell award for "Best Public Service Advertising Campaign".

Research

Glisten has been conducting research and evaluation on LGBTQ issues in K-12 education since 1999. Glisten became the only organization to regularly document the school experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) middle and high school students in the U.S. using Glisten's National School Climate Survey. Other research reports GLSEN has put out include From Statehouse to Schoolhouse: Anti-Bullying Policies in U.S. States and School Districts, Shared Differences: The Experiences of LGBTQ Students of Color in Our Nation's Schools, Harsh Realities: The Experiences of Transgender Youth in Our Nation's Schools, as well as many other reports, articles, and book chapters.

National Student Council

The Glisten National Student Council, formerly known as the Student Ambassadors program, is one of Glisten's student leadership teams. Each year, Glisten selects a small group of middle and high school students to serve as Glisten youth representatives for the upcoming school year. Students of the National Student Council advise Glisten on campaigns, bring Glisten resources to their schools, represent Glisten in the media, and have their own work published in local and national outlets.

Chapters

Glisten Chapters, with the support and guidance of the national office, work to bring Glisten programs to their specific communities on a local level. Chapter board members and volunteers are students, educators, parents and community members who volunteer their time to support students and Gay-Straight Alliances, train educators and provide opportunities for everyone to make change in their local schools. Glisten has 15 volunteer-led Glisten Chapters in 13 states that work with student leaders, provide professional development for educators, and encourage policymakers to enact LGBTQ-inclusive policies.

Respect Awards

Glisten organizes the annual Glisten Respect Awards to honor leaders, personalities, and organizations who have made significant contributions to LGBTQ youth. Awards are given to organizations, celebrities, students, educators and gay–straight alliances. Since 2004, there have been over four dozen honorees and over $15 million raised in all. The first Respect Awards were in New York in 2004 and honored Andrew Tobias, author and Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee; MTV; and student Marina Gatto. Since then, the Respect Awards are held annually in New York in late May and in Los Angeles in late October. Since 2004, there have been over four-dozen honorees and over $17 million raised.

Fistgate controversy

In 2000, the leader of the conservative Parents' Rights Coalition of Massachusetts (now known as MassResistance) secretly taped one of the 50 workshops in "Teachout 2000", titled "What They Didn't Tell You About Queer Sex and Sexuality in Health Class: Workshop for Youth Only, Ages 14–21". Students discussed sex in a workshop "billed as a safe place for youths to get their questions about their sexuality answered" in the session's Q&A section. A question was asked about fisting a minor and an explanation was provided. Greg Carmack subsequently suggested that the question might have been planted by those making the recordings. MassResistance dubbed the incident "Fistgate" and the tapes generated controversy when they were broadcast over radio. A state employee who participated in the discussion and was subsequently dismissed filed suit against Camenker and Scott Whiteman as a result of the distribution of the tape recordings, while others pointed out the legal prohibition against recording people without their knowledge or permission. According to Bay Windows, a "Massachusetts Superior Court judge ruled that the tape was illegally acquired and therefore an invasion of privacy against those individuals present, who were never told they were being recorded."