LINCOLN, Neb. — A Nebraska state champion speech student will be allowed to perform a poem about gender identity for television after originally being asked not to by a statewide schools organization.
Michael Barth, a senior at Gordon-Rushville High School, was asked to change the content of a performance to be recorded for Nebraska Educational Television.
Barth won the Class C-1 poetry division with poems that combined lyrics from hip-hop artist Macklemore’s “Same Love” and a poem called “Swing Set” by Andrea Gibson. Gibson’s poem is about a lesbian kindergarten teacher whose students don’t know if she is a man or a woman.
Earlier, Rhonda Blanford-Green, executive director of the Nebraska School Activities Association, said people could have perceived that the NSAA endorsed the speech content and it would invite controversy.
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“We want to keep it as it was intended, to be a showcase for talent, not a platform for individualized agendas,” she said.
Later, the NSAA released a statement that said it would allow Barth to perform his poetry interpretation as he did in the speech championship.
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The NSAA’s original decision drew criticism from the ACLU of Nebraska. Amy Miller, legal director, said in a statement the NSAA is constitutionally obligated to allow students to present speeches without censorship.
“Claiming that this particular speech advances a political agenda is particularly troubling,” she said. “The lives of gay and transgender people should be able to be discussed without being labeled as a political agenda.”
NET News said in a Facebook post that NET Television would record the performance of Barth’s choosing.
The program, called “Best of the Best,” is scheduled to air April 20 at 9 a.m. on NET 1.
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