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Jamie Nabozny Kicks Off 2001-2002 Speakers' Series By Sharing His Shocking and Inspiring Story with His First Catholic Audience

On November 14th, kicking off CPCSM's 2001-2002 Speakers' Series in the church basement at St. Albert the Great Church in Minneapolis, Jamie Nabozny once again shared the same story he had shared all across the country over the past six years, including before President Clinton at the White House and before a crowd of 10,000 on the mall of the US Capitol in Washington, DC. However, ironically, this time Jamie was standing before his first Catholic audience. Jamie began his talk by saying how honored and grateful he was to speak for the first time to a Catholic group,

since he was raised Catholic and actually had had positive experiences with his local parish and in the parish elementary school that he attended in his early childhood and briefly in eighth grade. Following his talk, Jamie responded to a number of questions and positive comments from the audience.

As a student in the Ashland, Wisconsin public school system, Jamie suffered years of relentless physical, sexual, and verbal harassment for being gay. He was beaten to the point of requiring surgery, urinated on, called anti-gay epithets, and made to suffer repeated assaults and indignities. In July 1996, a precedent-setting federal appellate court decision spelled out the constitutional obligation of public schools everywhere to treat abuse of lesbian and gay students and of boys as seriously as any other abuse. Then, after a two-day trial in November 1996, a federal jury found school officials liable for not protecting Jamie. In a landmark settlement reached after that verdict, he was awarded over $900,000 in damages.

Jamie stressed four major points as he reflected on the meaning he has found in his story:

1. He is not anyone special, but just one person who was willing to stand up and say that the harassment he experienced was wrong and that he was not going to allow it to continue to go on in that school district -- which is all, he says, that is often needed in situations of injustice;
2. Homophobia, as was true in his case, is not as much based on fear of GLBT persons' sexuality as it is on their failure to conform to society's gender role expectations -- i.e., gay teens engaging in traditional female activities and lesbian teens playing traditional male roles;
3. Often gay-bashers are actually struggling with fears about their own sexual orientation and assault openly gay teens to make sure their straight peers do not have any doubts about their sexual identity (e.g., four of the 10 perpetrators identified at Jamie's trial are now gay men); and
4. Harassment of GLBT students does not just negatively affect those being harassed but also their families as well as the straight students, teachers, and administrators who witness the harassment and do nothing to intervene -- in short, it affects the community as a whole.

Jamie reports that many positive changes regarding GLBT persons have taken place over the past six years in the Ashland area because of his precedent-setting court case. In Jamies' former school district GLBT teens now report feeling safe about being "out," and some are even taking same-sex partners to school proms. Also, there have even been recent discussions about holding a pride festival in the Ashland area. Jamie still frequently receives words of gratitude from GLBT persons who currently live there and from their supporters.

Jamie's warm and friendly manner and confident and upbeat speaking style belie the post-traumatic scars with which he continues to struggle. However, he does report that after years of psychotherapy much healing has already taken place. He now lives in St. Paul and, in addition to lecturing on anti-gay harassment issues, is pursuing an undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Minnesota. His current career plans are to work with and on behalf of GLBT persons in the human services, especially continuing to help schools safe places for GLBT teens, as a consultant or an educator.

Jamie was an ideal person to inaugurate this year's CPCSM Speakers Series, for his story personifies the very theme of the series: The Sacramentality of Human Experience: Empowerment toward Prophecy. By sharing his inspiring struggle in which he courageously claimed his power in his search for justice and systemic change, Jamie's words have become prophetic as they beckon his listeners to follow his example and work for justice in their lives as well.

Thank you, Jamie, for gifting us with the sacramentality of your life's journey. We wish you all God's blessings in your future holy work.

Jamie chats with a member of the audience after his presentation.
Michael Bayly and Tom White ask some follow up questions.
Jamie with CPCSM leadership members ( l to r): Michael Bayly; Susan Hames, CSJ; Bill Kummer; David McCaffrey; and Baya Clare, CSJ
To order a videotape of Jamie's presentation, click here.

For the complete story of Jamie's case, click on:
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund Web Site
Lambda Legal Case: Nabozny v. Podlesny

For the full text of Jamie's successful July 1996 appeal decision, in which the court ruled that Jamie's rights of equal protection under the 14th Amendment
had been violated, see:
http://www.kentlaw.edu/7circuit/1996/jul/95-3634.html

Please note: Searching via www.google.com (under "Jamie+Nabozny") results in about 575 web articles regarding Jamie's story. The following are two of those articles, for your review:

National Association of School Psychologists Web Site
Gay Student Wins Sexual Harassment Case With NASP Support
By Patricia Boland, NCSP

Million-dollar court case sends a clear message to schools:
Protect gay students equally or pay
by Deb Price
The Detroit News, 11/29/96

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Future 2001-2002 Speakers' Series Events

January 16, 2002 -- Rainbow Families Panel
February 20, 2002 -- Peter Liuzzi, O.Carm.
March 20, 2002 -- Mary E. Hunt, Ph.D.
April 17, 2002 -- Rev. Anita Hill, M.Div.
May 9, 2002 -- Dick Sparks, CSP, Ph.D.

For more information on these future events,
please see 2001-2002 Speakers' Series .

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