Wear it Purple Day Speech

Below is a heartfelt and wonderful speech, delivered at assembly by proud Fortian, Kit White, on Wear it Purple Day 2024

Hi everyone, I’m Kit, my pronouns are they/them, and I’m here on behalf of the Diversity Committee to talk a bit about Wear It Purple Day.

Wear It Purple Day is held annually to advocate for and celebrate LGBTQIA+ people. It was founded in 2010 by Katherine Hudson and Scott Williams, in response to the death of eighteen-year-old Tyler Clementi, who took his own life after being outed as gay by his roommate. Tyler’s death prompted numerous young queer people to share similar stories of bullying and harassment resulting from the lack of acceptance of their sexuality or gender identity.

Wear It Purple Day aims to show support for queer people, spreading hope, love, acceptance, and the message that they have the right to be proud of who they are. Every year, on the last Friday of August, schools, businesses, councils, community groups, and thousands of people wear purple as a display of solidarity, support, acceptance, and celebration for members of the queer community.

Fort Street’s Diversity Committee first held Wear It Purple Day 9 years ago, in 2015. The first celebration I was here for, was in Year 7 in 2020, held in the miraculous period between the two lockdowns. In early Year 7 I came out as gay and discovered, as many queer kids do, that I coincidentally befriended almost entirely queer kids. There’s something to be said about our flocking together, the intrinsic camaraderie that makes queer people gravitate towards each other. Anyways, I was met with acceptance and support, but almost immediately after the entirety of NSW was plunged into the first COVID lockdown. Despite being only for a few weeks, it left me and a lot of my fellow Year 7s feeling disconnected from the school community, which is why Wear It Purple Day felt so meaningful that year. Seeing Petersham Station and Palace Street overrun by Fortians and teachers donning sparkly purple fits (or interesting red and blue ensembles, for the clever pedantic), I felt that as a young queer kid, I was not and never would be alone at this school.

That being said, it can be easy to take an accepting and inclusive environment like this for granted. Truth is, other schools, and the world as a whole are nowhere near as progressive and understanding as Fort Street. It’s important to acknowledge how blessed we are as a community to hold events like this, and for so many queer people to feel safe being out and proud. Today is about celebration, but I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the many queer people in Australia and even in this room who don’t feel safe being out and proud today. Days like this can be hard, for kids who have to make excuses to transphobic parents as to why they’re not wearing school uniform, or who don’t feel brave enough to come out of the closet and feel invisible when surrounded by so much joy. Wear it Purple Day is for them too. It is my hope that one day we can create a world where no queer person has to hide a part of who they are.

I’m sure you’re all eager to get involved with the celebration. We’ve got a couple of things going on today, all in the Fountain Quad: at recess, we have a wonderful stall set up just outside, where you can get pride flag pins, sign up for Diversity Committee, take photos, or find out more about Wear It Purple Day. This year’s theme is “Your passion, your pride”, and we’ve set up a message wall for anyone to share their passions, queer experiences, or words of support. At lunch, we’re holding a bake sale in the Fountain Quad, and in the Hall will be the Purple Parade and the Best Dressed Competition, with book vouchers for the most fantastic students in year 7, year 8, years 9 to 10, and years 11 to 12 and a crown for the best-dressed teacher. We look forward to seeing you there!

Standing on this stage, looking out at a sea of purple clothes and rainbow flags, I can honestly say I’m proud to be a Fortian. A progressive and open environment like ours doesn’t come from nowhere, and I thank everyone who came before me, the previous iterations of Diversity Committee, who shaped Fort Street into this wonderful community. I hope that everything we, the Diversity Committee, do will allow future students to share this pride and joy. Thank you.