At this morning’s general session, Kenji Yoshino spoke about the demands institutions place on individuals to conform to a set of societal norms. The pressure to act White, straight, or more masculine is equivalent to checking your identity at the door.

He shared his views on the gay rights movement’s journey through conversion to passing to covering.

• Conversion – LGBT individuals were subject to aversion therapy, electric shock therapy, or more severe forms of conversions in order to embrace heterosexuality.
• Passing – The rise of gay rights movement attacked the need for conversion but moved us into passing. The Don’t Ask Don’t Tell era warned those in the military to stay in the closet all their life.
• Cover – The gay rights issue of the day is gay rights marriage. You can be gay and say that you’re gay but don’t flaunt it – cover it.

In his documentary, The Prep School Negro, Andre Robert Lee also spoke of his joys and struggles at the Germantown Friends School.  Mr. Lee felt embraced and at home at GFS. There were Educators of Color and White educators who had his best interests in mind and yet, he checked his entire identity at the door. On his website he writes the following:

“While at GFS, I also thought of the family and the community I had left behind. We had been trained to live as second-class citizens, and I felt guilty about gaining access to this world of privilege and knowledge. I wanted to share this new world with those who were not able to walk with me. The idea for The Prep School Negro grew out of my first days at GFS. It has been with me ever since. As I reflect back, I can see more clearly the internal struggles I faced as an adolescent and as a young adult.”