Remembering Constance McMillen as the School Year Ends

In March, 18-year-old Mississippi high school student Constance McMillen made national headlines for standing up to homophobic school administrators and classmates, by suing her school, Itawamba Agricultural High School, in order to attend her senior prom with her same-sex date. The drama that unfolded is enough to make the Real Housewives of New York City seem sedate.

Constance's school said she couldn't attend the prom. The ACLU intervened on behalf of Constance. The school, rather than allow an LGBT student have their chance at happiness, decided to cancel the prom altogether. The ACLU kept the lawsuit moving forward, wanting a ruling that verified the school did something unconstitutional by blocking Constance from attending prom. A judge ruled that the school messed up royally.

Oh, but this case didn't close then. An alternative prom was scheduled, so that seniors could have at least some outlet to celebrate their final days in school. Constance was allowed to attend this event, which she did. The only problem? It was a "sham prom," where only seven students showed up (including Constance and a handful of other students deemed outsiders by their classmates), while the bulk of Itawamba's senior class gathered in a secret location to celebrate prom (and their homophobia, apparently).

In many respects, that's where Constance's story left off, at least in terms of mainstream press. Constance, gracious for all the nationwide support, expressed a hearty thank you to her supporters, while the Itawamba Agricultural High School came off with a reputation as homophobic as it gets. But the story has continued.

For starters, the ACLU and Constance are still in court seeking monetary damages for all the grief and discrimination that Constance faced as a result of her school's (and her school's student population's) actions. By next week, lawyers for the Itawamba Agricultural High School are supposed to file a brief in the lawsuit.

But beyond that, Constance has also announced that because of the toxic environment created by school administrators and students at Itawamba Agricultural High School, she has had to transfer to a high school in Jackson, Mississippi in order to finish out the school year.

According to the Associated Press, Constance will wrap up the year at a school in Jackson, Mississippi, about 180 miles away from Itawamba Agricultural High.

"There was a lot of stuff going on at Itawamba. It was just really hard to do my homework, so I transferred to Jackson to get my diploma,” McMillen said. “There’s a large gay community there. All the teachers are very nice and very helpful."

Amazing what a difference it can make when teachers and administrators treat their students with a little dignity and respect, instead of back-biting and shame. All the more reason to make sure a bill known as the Student Nondiscrimination Act passes the U.S. Congress.

And there was some welcome news on that front this week, as U.S. Sen. Al Franken introduced the measure into the U.S. Senate. The bill would extend protections to students who face discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

"Our nation’s civil rights laws protect our children from bullying due to race, sex, religion, disability, and national origin. My proposal corrects a glaring injustice and extends these protections to our gay and lesbian students who need them just as badly," Sen. Franken said in introducing his measure.

If anyone demonstrates the need for this bill more, it's Constance McMillen.

Meanwhile, the crazies at the Westboro Baptist Church are actually traveling to Itawamba Agricultural High School to protest Constance McMillen's graduation. Not sure if the Westboro Baptist Church missed the memo that Constance no longer goes there, or if they're really just not all that bright to begin with. (I'm betting on the latter.)

Photo credit: Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend to the Prom