New Jersey School Blacks Out Gay Couple’s Yearbook Photo

A New Jersey High School has taken every copy of its new yearbook and blacked out a photo of a student kissing his boyfriend—even though it left photos of opposite-sex couples kissing. The photo appeared in a section of pages that students may purchase to fill with pictures of family and friends. NJ.com reports:

Newark Superintendent of Schools Marion Bolden called the photograph “illicit” and ordered it blacked out of the $85 yearbook before it was distributed to students at a banquet for graduating seniors Thursday.

“It looked provocative,” she said. “If it was either heterosexual or gay, it should have been blacked out. It’s how they posed for the picture.”

Russell Garris, the assistant superintendent who oversees the city’s high schools, brought the photograph to Bolden’s attention Thursday afternoon. He was concerned the picture would be controversial and upsetting to parents, Bolden said.

What about the parents to whom removing the photo would be upsetting? Parents of those students, parents of their friends, parents of other LGBT students, LGBT parents, parents of students who fear prejudice for being in some way different, fair-minded parents of all types? What about all the students, too, and the message of exclusion they received?

NJ.com is showing a copy of the photo. Doesn’t look provocative to me. They’re at an angle where they’re not even in a full-on lip-lock. This is a simple case of discrimination. It’s time to stop worrying about upsetting small-minded people, however vocal, and start doing the right thing. Our children deserve no less.

You can send a message to Superintendent Bolden through the Garden State Equality Web site. (Yes, this happened in a state that is among the leaders in recognizing same-sex couples. Yet another sign of how much remains to be done.)