177. The Cost of Visibility Why LGBTQ+ Educators Are Under Fire
Manage episode 509992666 series 3501732
They called him a danger just for existing as a gay teacher—then they went after his students.
In this powerful replay, Kentucky Teacher of the Year Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. shares his story of being relentlessly targeted by groups like Moms for Liberty and the systemic failures that put queer teachers and students at risk. From book bans and “parental rights” laws to death threats and harassment of LGBTQ+ youth, Willie exposes the escalating hostility toward queer educators in public schools.
Listeners will hear:
- How school districts often protect parents’ hate over students’ safety
- Why visibility matters for LGBTQ+ teachers, even when it comes at a cost
- The inspiring grassroots movement of queer youth building Rainbow Freedom Libraries in Kentucky
This episode is a raw, emotional reminder of what’s at stake in classrooms today—and why queer educators refuse to be erased.
👉 Tap play to hear Willie’s story of resilience, advocacy, and hope for LGBTQ+ students and teachers everywhere.
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This podcast explores the challenges and successes of queer representation in education, tackling topics like burnout, tokenism, doxing, and the role of advocacy in building inclusive classrooms, safe spaces, and anti-bullying strategies. It centers support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, aromantic, agender, two-spirit, and non-binary teachers, and addresses how gender identity in schools can be honored to combat isolation and foster community.
The podcast explores the challenges and successes of Queer representation in education, addressing issues such as burnout, tokenism, doxing, and the importance of advocacy in creating inclusive classrooms, safe spaces, and anti-bullying strategies, with a focus on supporting gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, aromantic, agender, two-spirit, and non-binary teachers and gender identity in schools to combat the feeling of isolation and lack of community.
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175 episodes