Out of the mouths of babes ... or in this case, out of the mouth of an incredibly wise fifth-grader named Kameron Slade (who must have incredibly wise parents, too). The Queens, NY boy chose same-sex marriage as his topic for a school-wide speech contest, and guess what? Kameron's smart, sympathetic words (more on those later) won him the title of best speech in his class. Yay, Kameron! Unfortunately, when Kameron got to the next phase of the competition -- best speech in the whole school -- he ran into a bit of a snag.
A snag in the form of a principal with really messed-up ideas about the definition of "inappropriate." Yup, as you probably guessed, Kameron's principal thought the subject of same-gender marriage was an inappropriate one to discuss in front of the entire school. Kameron was given two choices: Change the speech, or drop out of the contest. Based on what you know about Kameron already, I bet you can guess which choice he made ...
That's right, he dropped out! As IF a fifth-grader with that much integrity would ever change his words to suit a narrow-minded authority figure. Again, hats off to Kameron's parents for raising a tolerant, thoughtful child who'll stand up for his beliefs. We need more kids like Kameron!
Anyway, as it turned out, Kameron was able to spread his message to a much wider audience -- by giving his speech a NY1 news camera.
You can check out the whole speech below, but here are a few of my favorite lines:
"Marriage is about love, support, and commitment. So who are we to judge?"
"If we judge people like this, this is a form of prejudice."
Telling a story about a day he spent with friends of his mother who are a lesbian couple: "These two women are in a relationship together ... they have a beautiful daughter, Kayla. This family seemed like any other family. They seemed happy and, best of all, they loved each other. I was curious to learn more."
"My mom is very open to me about same gender marriage. However, some adults may think it's inappropriate to talk about to children ... parents and teachers should begin to discuss these issues without shame to their children."
"In conclusion, i hope that everyone understands how important it is to respect other people for who they are."
He speaks with such adorable conviction, too:
If this kid ever runs for president, he's got my vote. Love is never inappropriate.
Do you think Kameron's school principal should have let him give his speech in front of the school?
Image via ThinkProgress TP/YouTube
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Comments 8
yes, i do. he won the contest fair and square, based on his speech as it was. therefore, he should have been allowed to continue the competition with the same speech. the fact that he was willing to drop out to stand for what he believed in (good for him!) is amazing, and my hat goes off to the kid! however, he should have never been forced to make that decision in the first place.
hehe-- My little girl was in a pageant she was 11 and they had an on stage interview for the top five they asked the girls " what has been the most exciting thing for you this week end" Girl one; " being here with old friends and meeting new" girl two: "I finallllllly got to go to American Girl Doll!" girl three: " Why right this moment being in the top five!' My daughter " That last night New York became the sixth state and the largest to come out of the dark ages and realize same sex marriage should be legal!" I don't think anyone heard what girl number five answered...
The principal should be ashamed!
The school put him in a tough spot, knowing there was a chance he'd win. If they felt the content was inappropriate they should have told him that up front. I also think if the content is deemed appropriate by readers, would they be just as supportive if an opposing viewpoint had won?
kisses5050 - Your child sounds wonderful!!! Keep up the awesome work :)
I do think he should have been allowed to continue with his original speech. His speech, as it was, is why he was even in the competition. What a wonderful child with a strong sense of his morals!!!