Tomorrow, October 19, is Spirit Day, in which millions of people all across the country wear purple to raise awareness of and stand up to anti-LGBT bullying, in support of LGBT youth. It was started in 2010 by a Canadan teenager named Brittany McMillan; over 1.6 million people around the world indicated via Facebook that they would be participating in that first year alone. Since then, the popularity of the event has grown, and it is now promoted by GLAAD with the participation of many celebrities.
But of course, Spirit Day isn’t just for celebrities, it’s for everyone. GLAAD has produced a handy graphic listing all the ways that you can participate in tomorrow’s Spirit Day commemoration and raise awareness about the harmful effects of bullying. We’ll be participating here at TWO and hope you will too.
By the way, in case you were wondering why the color purple was chosen, it’s because according to creator Gilbert Baker, each color in the rainbow flag has its own symbolic meaning. And what does the purple stripe represent? You guessed it: spirit!
