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Moreover, Mayor Walkup and Council Member Paul Cunningham have proclaimed September 23, 2010 (today) as Anti-LGBT Bullying Awareness Day.

“A recent increase in reports of Anti-LGBTQ bullying and harassment at area schools motivated Wingspan advocates and staff to organize the event. The target audiences for the event are affected youth and their guardians, educators, school administrators and staff, as well as concerned community members.

The goal for the event is to raise awareness of this specific type of violence and to gain a commitment from attendees to address this type of violence in their respective schools and campuses. Local advocates and experts will be speaking at the event. Representatives from local organizations working to end violence will be available at a community resource fair held in conjunction with the event. ”

For more information on the event or to participate in the resource fair, please contact AVP Manager Oscar Jimenez at ojimenez@wingspan.org, or 520-624-1779.

And congratulations to Wingspan for just being awarded the Tucson Weekly’s 2010 “Best Local Activist/Advocacy Group” award for seven years in a row. (Tucson Weekly’s Best of Tucson issue of 9/23/10, www.tucsonweekly.com).

And for a movie on this very topic — Himmel Park Branch Library will be hosting a re-screening of “Out in the Silence” on Saturday, September 25, 2010 between 2:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. Local musician and singer Namoli Brennet wrote and performed the music for this film. This PBS documentary is open to the public and free.

DVD movie cover

“Out in the Silence is more than a movie, it’s part of the movement for fairness, equality and human rights for GLBT people.” (from the movie’s website)

I saw this movie at an earlier screening at Himmel library, and it is a powerful documentary about a 15 year old male teenager in rural Pennsylvania, facing discrimination and constant harassment for being openly gay at his high school. Find out what he has to do to overcome this bullying. It really made me reflect upon how difficult it is to be “different” in a rural setting, and how sad it is when adults (teachers & administrators) let the bullying continue. For more info contact Librarian Suzanne (Sue) Parker at 520-594-5305, suzanne.parker@pima.gov.

Himmel Library is at 1035 N. Treat Ave (SW corner of E. 1st St, south of Speedway).