A Timeline Of The Boy Scouts’ History Of Discrimination—Plus A Few Items They Forgot
(You can see the full size chart at the link, for some reason it won't show when put on Photobucket.)
In the wake of yesterday’s news that the Boy Scouts of America was keeping its ban on gay scouts and leaders, GLAAD whipped up the handy graphic below to remind us all of their long history of discrimination.
One of those markers is about Ohio mom Jennifer Tyrrell, who was axed as a troop leader for being a lesbian earlier this year. (Today, Tyrrell is delivering more than 300,000 signatures calling on the ban to be lifted to BSA headquarters in Dallas.)
If we were better at Photoshop, we’d squeeze in some more historical notes:
*1910: The original Boy Scout manual encouraged members to be loyal to employers and refrain from joining labor unions.
* 1910-late 1940s: Though founder W.D. Boyce insisted the organization not bar African-Americans, the Boy Scouts allowed districts to segregate by race with “colored troops” well into the 1940s.
* 1920s-1980s Boy Scout leaders covered up more than 5,000 accusations of child molestation, including anonymous tips and signed confessions, in its so-called “perversion files.”
* 1939: Robert Baden-Powell, the father of the Scouting movement, noted in his diary: “Lay up all day. Read Mein Kampf. A wonderful book, with good ideas on education, health, propaganda, organisation etc.”
* April 10, 1997: The ACLU of Illinois filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicago, challenging its operation Boy Scouts troops and programs—claiming the requirements of heterosexuality and a belief in God constituted discrimination.
We’re sure there’s tons more.
Full story here: http://www.queerty.com/chart-a-timeline-of-the-boy-scouts-history-of-discrimination-plus-a-few-they-forgot-20120718/#ixzz216BxVgEc
