Am I Safe Here?

“Am I safe here?” LGBTQ students ask this question every day within the school system. In this timely book, Donn Short treats students as the experts, asking them to shine a light on the marginalization and bullying faced by LGBTQ youth. They identify what makes a school safe – insightfully explaining that safety doesn’t come merely from security cameras and dress codes, but from a culture that values equity and social justice. The students reveal the reality of going to school in an environment that implicitly endorses homophobia, heterosexism, and heteronormativity, sharing their ideas about how to change school culture. They envision a future in which LGBTQ youth are an expected, respected, and celebrated part of school life.

Am I Safe Here? offers a path to creating equitable and inclusive schools, drawing on the spontaneous and relevant words of LGBTQ students to show that nothing less than a total culture change is needed.