Bryant Huddleston is a graduate of Sloan-Hendrix High School, a school in northeast Arkansas. He’s a single dad and TV Writer and producer in Los Angeles. His younger sister is graduating this June from Sloan-Hendrix.
He had been invited to speak at Sloan-Hendrix High School's graduation this year, but, apparently, when it was discovered that Huddleston is also a gay man, he was disinvited.
And he decided to write to the school board, and the superintendent, Mitch Walton, expressing his dismay over being asked not to speak:
To the Sloan-Hendrix School Board and Superintendent Mitch Walton:
Dear Mr. Walton,
I am writing to express my disappointment in your recent decision to recant your invitation for me to be the keynote speaker at my little sister, Madicyn's, graduation from Sloan-Hendrix High School this year, based solely on the fact that I am gay.
What baffles me Mr. Walton is that you chose to disregard the fact that I grew up in Imboden, and my career accomplishments--KAIT news anchor and reporter, successful television producer in Hollywood, producing shows such as E! News, Access Hollywood, etc., --were dismissed and instead you chose to make me a hot bed controversial issue.
Mr. Walton, your decision forced the members of the Sloan-Hendrix School Board to vote on my participation but what was equally unfair is that you forced the President of the Board Steve Huddleston (my father), to abstain from voting, thus forcing a tie and then declared there would be "no speaker this year," ultimately nixing any opportunity to share my pathway to success with the graduates. Was this in the students' best interest or is this a decision based on religious beliefs?
During my years at SHHS, I was the student body president for two years in a row. I also helped lead our Student Council to receive state-wide recognition for the first time-- all despite being bullied on campus for many years. Mr. Walton, your decision here is like being bullied again twenty-three years later. Personally, it's both sad and disappointing. I'm disappointed that board members Preston Clark and Aaron Murphy, who represent the school that my sisters and I hold so dear, fear that I would be unfit as a role model, and I'm saddened that you Mr. Walton, appear to be more concerned with what your congregation might say on Sunday, rather than doing what is right for the students.
I understand that Mr. Clark and Mr. Murphy both stated there would be "concern from the community" if I were allowed to speak. I'm curious--did you think my speech would have focused on recruiting youngsters and passing out "Go Straight to Gay" cards over sharing the tools that I used to achieve success? You might be surprised to know that "recruitment" does not and never will work. And just for the record, just so we're clear, my words were not going to address a "certain agenda," but I was hoping to empower your students to continue their education. My speech would have also touched on the importance of women, like my sister, who will go out into the world and know that they can now pull their chairs right up to the table of equality. To encourage them that they can no longer sit in the back and let men make the important decisions for them. And for that matter, letting them know that someday a woman or two or three can become a member of the Sloan-Hendrix School Board. After all, there's an opening, since my father will resign from the Board later this month.
I could just sit back and let this slide, but if I did, the discrimination that has taken place here would go unnoticed like it has so many times in history. Unless my arguments here cause you to reevaluate, nothing will change. But what must change, is the way we treat our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth because, News Flash, the world is changing and it starts in our homes, our schools and yes, even in our places of worship. The suicide rate amongst LGBT teens is staggering. As Superintendent, Mr. Walton--I hope you are aware that LGBT youth already attend classes on your campus. They are going from class to class with a fear of being outed or being treated horribly by their classmates--so adding educators and mentors to that mix prohibits these teens from thriving. The Board represents them too, and by silencing me, you're telling those students that it isn't okay to be who they are.
Being gay is not all that I am and it's certainly not something I chose. I'm a loving son, brother, a professional, and a fantastic friend. But what I am first and foremost is a father who tries every day to do the best he can to raise a kind and loving son. My little boy came into my life from the Los Angeles foster care system. I was the luckiest man in the world when, as a single parent, the adoption was complete. I'm raising him to understand that there are all kinds of people on our planet, all kinds of families and all kinds of love. While you want me to steer clear of the commencement podium, I am asked to speak annually to hundreds of potential parents about the importance of adopting these forgotten children.
Finally, I heard someone say that progress comes from those who are willing to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. We are currently fighting against inequality in our country. It's a fight--by the way--which we will ultimately win. Your decision to ban me from speaking solely because I'm gay is not unlike the arguments white men made years ago, to not allow black children to share the same school house halls with white children. It's the same thing, Mr. Walton, it's called discrimination. And, in closing, in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt:
"...Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world."
Today, by your actions, that small place is in a small town called Imboden, where decisions are made around a small table, surrounded by five men and a School Superintendent. So, next time you're faced with an important decision, I hope you take time to think twice, have a proper dialogue, and most importantly choose to be on the right side of history.
Bryant Huddleston, Sloan-Hendrix Class of 1990
While the minutes of school board meetings don't reflect the vote on whether or not Bryant Huddleston should be allowed to speak, they do show that his father School Board President Steve Huddleston was reportedly not allowed to participate. Huddleston identified School Board members Preston Clark and Dr. Aaron Murphy as the key votes against his appearance, though the decision was reached privately by the superintendent and some of the board members.
In other words, Mitch Walton and the two board members who didn’t want a gay man speaking at graduation, Preston Clark and Dr. Aaron Murphy, voted No. Steve Huddleston said the two other board members wouldn't oppose his son speaking but that Clark and Murphy “thought there would be backlash if we allowed an openly gay man to speak."
In 2013. I mean, I know its Arkansas, but it’s 2013.
This is Mitch Walton’s response:
Sloan-Hendrix has had individuals to speak at graduation in the past. Contrary to what has been said, no invitation was extended this year to anyone. As superintendent, I have the authority to decide about who the speaker will be or whether we have a speaker at all. The school board does not vote on speakers for graduation.
This year, Mr. Steve Huddleston, a board member, suggested his son as a speaker. Bryant Huddleston graduated from Sloan-Hendrix in 1990 and went on to success in the entertainment industry. He was never invited by me to be the graduation speaker. After visiting informally with board members, no agreement was reached as to who should be invited to speak. Therefore, my decision was to do what had been discussed in the past—to discontinue the use of outside speakers and thereby shorten an already lengthy graduation program.
Sloan-Hendrix has exceptional graduates. Graduation this year and in the future will feature only student speakers. Graduation is a celebration of the accomplishments of Sloan- Hendrix students and a time to let those students shine for their families and the community at large. We welcome the presence of everyone in the community to share in this event.
Sincerely,
Mitch Walton
Superintendent Sloan-Hendrix School District
Funny, that.
Walton says they’ve always used outside speakers at graduation. He admits that Bryant’s father, Steve Huddleston, a board member, suggested his son as a speaker, but then says no one talked about it after that.
Is that odd only to me? They’ve always used outside speakers, until this year, when a gay man is suggested, and then suddenly Mitch Walton decides to abolish the practice and just let students speak.
I hope the students do speak, and I hope they speak about Mitch Walton’s apparent discomfort with having a gay man speak at graduation, because, guess what y’all, lots of gay folks graduate high school; lotsa gay folks go on to have something worthwhile to pass on to future generations of people. And, as Bryant Huddleston said, he wasn’t going there on a recruitment mission, he wanted to talk about his time at school, and how it made him the man he is today.
Not a gay man, because he was already gay when he was in high school, but how it made him a man. Too bad Mitch Walton, and those other board members, never got that lesson.
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