School District Blacks Out Photo of Male Student Kissing Boyfriend

As much of the gay community celebrated Pride over the weekend, one New Jersey graduating high school senior received a crude lesson in the hostility that often accompanies being out and proud. Eighteen year old Andre Jackson, a senior at East Side High School in Newark, wants an apology and a new yearbook after school officials blacked out a photo of him kissing his boyfriend.

The Newark Star-Ledger: "Jackson said he showed up at the banquet, excited to collect his yearbook. He'd paid an additional $150 for the special tribute page filled with shots of boyfriend David Escobales, 19, of Allentown, Pa., and others. Jackson learned what happened to his page moments before the books were distributed. While the students waited, staff members in another room blacked out the 4 1/2-by-5-inch picture from approximately 230 books."

“I didn’t intend to say, ‘Oh hey, look at me, I’m gay,’ ” Jackson tearfully told reporters. “It was just a picture showing my emotion, saying that I’m happy, you know, whatever. It was to look back on as a memory...I was upset. I was hurt. I felt embarrassed and abused.”

The crude censorship—reminiscent of the Soviet Union's former treatment of political non-desirables—was the decision of Newark Superintendent of Schools Marion Bolden who "called the photograph 'illicit'. "It looked provocative," she said. "If it was either heterosexual or gay, it should have been blacked out. It's how they posed for the picture."

However, as The New York Times notes, the yearbook features many "heterosexual couples embracing and kissing. On the page immediately opposite Mr. Jackson’s, a young man and a young woman kiss on a couch, his hand on her leg as she sits on his lap."

Some more info on the young couple: Andre Jackson says he came out when he was 16 and that he and David Escobales have been together since October. Best of luck to them and both should be commended. Few adult gay men are willing to kiss their boyfriends in public, much less in a high school yearbook.

Picture of Teen Love Newark Couldn't Face [Star-Ledger]
School Officials Black Out Photo of Gay Kiss [NYT]

Comments

[emanuel xavier]

Hey papi . . .

Thanks for keeping the community updated. I was referred to your site and hope you don't mind me reposting your article (with a proper link, of course) on my own blog at blog.myspace.com/emanuelxavierartist. I rarely do this but would like to share the information with my own list. Hope you're great and much love always.

Peace,
emanuel

[Derrick from Philly]

I was just thinking how brave young gay people are now, and Mr Jackson certainly is an inspiration to me. Maybe we should send that superintendent bitch some Cocodorm photos to put in next year's yearbook.

Oh, Rod, I read your article in The Advocate on Shirley Q Racist It was very good, and so was the interview with AfterElton. But you must get a new photograph of yourself to use, the one showing the broad shoulders and sexy biceps is just too illicit--just ask that Newark superintendant bitch.

[C. Baptiste-Williams]

will be interesting to see what happens with this.

[Karim]

As a product of Newark, I am ashamed of my city.

[Mel Smith]

Heterosexual privilege. The superintendent was really saying that the young man sexuality is not equal to the heterosexual children.

[jayden]

At least I hope they give him a refund for buying that yearbook! Anyway congrats on graduating; and starting a new chapter in your life. Alot of men should look up to you, for being so brave.

[Brokeassnigga]

My heart goes out to this young man and I really hope this act of foul act of ignorance by grown-ass adults doesn't sway him from achieving his dreams. Take this as a sign people: if the U.S. supreme court can rule in favor of schools on the topic of free speech today and pretty soon every student like this Andre Jackson will be forced into closets by insecure administrators both literally and figuratively.