The Day of Silence is a national student-led demonstration where LGBTQIA+ students and allies all around the country—and the world—take a vow of silence to protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQIA+ people in schools. Students who participate often hand out “speaking cards,” which explain the reason for their silence. The Day of Silence is held on a different day in April each year. This year, it will be held on Friday, April 22.
The Day of Silence was first organized in 1996 by a group of students at the University of Virginia. Created for a class project on nonviolent protest, more than 150 students participated that first year. In 1997, student organizers took their efforts to the national level, with nearly 100 colleges and universities participating. In 2001, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) became the official organizational sponsor with new funding, staff, and volunteers. Although GLSEN supports students’ efforts to organize Day of Silence activities in their schools, Day of Silence is still very much a student-led event.
A 2013 national school climate survey conducted by GLSEN found that four out of five LGBTQIA+ students reported verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school and a third reported missing at least one day of school in the past month out of fear for their personal safety. Day of Silence gives hundreds of thousands of students in more than 10,000 schools nationwide an opportunity to stand together and “speak out” against the endemic name-calling, bullying, and harassment faced by LGBTQIA+ students and their allies.
Learn more at GLSEN Day of Silence.