Monday, March 23, 2009

A Commitment Ceremony in Harlem


Chance Nalley, a 32-year-old math teacher from the Columbia Secondary School, is having a commitment ceremony with his partner...and he has invited the entire seventh grade to attend.

“They kept asking if they were invited,” he said of his students at Columbia, a selective public school that specializes in math, science and engineering. “Originally, I said no. But when I found a venue that turned out to be big enough I said, ‘O.K., you can come.’ I invited their parents, too.”

There are some haters, but others are open to it.

I think this is wonderful. It takes courage for him to open his life to his students. I think this can be a good lesson for them. This is life...and as the times change, it will be good for our children to see love and the celebration of love. I really hope this works out.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

that's REAL special...wish I could be there to watch the ceremony

Anonymous said...

Good for him! This is what it takes to let people know we're out there.

Jason Howard Green said...

Good for him. I'm loving the fact that a 7th grade teacher is out to his class. Congratulations on the ceremony.

J. Clarence said...

Such an adorable story. I hope his ceremony goes off well, and hopefully soon that he will be able to have another with all of the legal rights it deserves.

I think someone is in line for gay teacher of the year for sure.

Joy said...

A sign of progress for sure. He must be an effective and popular teacher. 7th, 8th, and 9th graders are my least favorites to teach (to put it mildly).

Good for him!!

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Viktor is a small town southern boy living in Los Angeles. You can find him on Twitter, writing about pop culture, politics, and comics. He’s the creator of the graphic novel StrangeLore and currently getting back into screenwriting.