Wilson High School in D.C. claims that it may be the only school in the country to hold a LGBTQ+ Pride Day. So it wasn’t entirely unexpected that there would be repercussions. The Westboro Baptist Church announced a protest to take place only three days after the school’s second-ever Pride Day.
“You celebrate and glory in your sin,” a message on the church’s website said.
But at the protest this morning, Wilson and the surrounding community responded in full force, with hundreds of students, parents and area residents contributing to a massive counter-protest.
“It was really just like a second Pride Day for us,” said Tao Marwell, co-head of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, which led the demonstration.
Students held up colorful signs bearing slogans such as “Go rainbow or go home” and “God hates figs,” a take on Westboro’s infamous anti-gay signs. Call-and-response chants kept the crowd upbeat even as temperatures climbed into the upper 70s later in the morning.
The Westboro Baptist Church itself was limited to a small group shielded by the police from interacting with students. They were out of sight to almost all of the counter-protesters.
The biggest star of the event was arguably Wilson principal Pete Cahall, who came out as gay on Pride Day. Openly gay D.C. councilmember David Catania was also present in support.
“Everyone is welcome in our city and everyone is equal,” Catania said.
Several Whitman students attended the counter-protest, including rising senior Hannah Walter.
“We believe that people should not be tormented just because of their sexuality or religion or any other thing,” she said. “The next generation is not going to stand for hate.”
When the Westboro Baptist Church came to Whitman in 2009 to protest Walt Whitman’s sexual orientation, they were also met with a large-scale counter-protest.
“We had a marvelous experience ourselves several years ago,” said Dr. Goodwin. “We’re glad that they [Wilson] were able to have a positive experience themselves.”
Despite the Westboro protest, Wilson students don’t seem to regret Pride Day.
“We just want everyone to love each other, we want people to accept people for who they are,” said Marwell. “We want justice and love.”
***Video by Zoe Berkovitz.***
