Hostile School Environments and Book Bans: Ensuring Social, Racial, and LGBTQ+ Justice for Youth and their Families

Join us for a free, virtual presentation to raise awareness and increase mobilization efforts about book bans and learn methods to promote advocacy to deal with them. Speakers include:

• Michael LaSala (Professor, Rutgers School of Social Work)
• Edward Alessi (Associate Professor & MSW Program Director, Rutgers School of Social Work)
• Kate Salerna and Heather Diane (Sparta School District)
• Barbara Simon (Senior Director of News at GLAAD)
• Joseph Wade (MSW Student, Rutgers School of Social Work)
• Antoinette Y. Farmer (Professor and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Rutgers School of Social Work)

Kate Salerna is a lifelong resident of the ultra conservative Sussex County and has extensive knowledge regarding it and its various municipalities. She is an activist and outspoken ally for the LGBTQIA+ and other marginalized communities. Kate has taken active roles involving ongoing issues in the area, including a grassroots anti-warehouse movement, campaigns supporting progressive-minded town council candidates, and dealing with far right conservatives and the highly contentious Board of Education elections. She considers her role “boots on the ground”, connecting various people and groups, attending meetings and gathering as much up to date information as possible, helping with events and fundraising efforts, and taking on other various tasks as they arise. Her goal is to bring a more progressive balance to a rapidly diversifying red-rooted New Jersey county. 

Heather Diane runs a popular exclusive Facebook group called Sparta Progressives and has been a leader for civil rights and progressives in Sparta. Heather was instrumental in flipping the historically far-right town council of Sparta blue in one single vote. Heather's work paved the way for further collaborative actions in Sparta, including passing the Flag Ordinance which ensured that the Pride Flag and the Juneteenth Flag flies at the Town Council for years to come. Heather continues to fight for LGBTQIA+ rights at the Sparta Board of Education where the school board was hijacked by a far-right group running under the bigoted dog-whistle campaign tag, Sparta First. Here, Heather, progressives, and groups like PFlag have made great strides but are up against a BOE President who is leading the BOE with an iron "First" mentality. 

Barbara Simon (she/her) is Senior Director of News at GLAAD, the LGBTQ media advocacy organization working to ensure accurate and inclusive representation and visibility of LGBTQ people. 

Joseph Wade (he/him/they/them) is a student at the Graduate School of Social Work. His clinical work is currently focused on those suffering in the midst of homelessness and housing crisis. His previous work to advance LGBTQIA+ rights was to feature a veteran who happened to be transgender on his first show in his first series at PBS Thirteen which went national with Tom Hanks and Jon Stewart headlining the series. In Sparta, Joseph's role is as a connector of people and organizations in a very small way. His most significant work in relation to advancing LGBTQIA+ rights was to garner letters of support from professional LGBTQIA+ groups around the nation who represent the Nine Line, a term that represents the Far Right's most revered professions including police, firefighters, veterans, and EMS among others. These letters were then requested from the Mayor's office and released on social media by grassroots groups around Sussex County. My best work is behind the scenes, organizing, connecting and writing.