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From YouTube: Sara Heisey Receives James. B. Hunter Human Rights Award
Description
Sara Heisey received the James. B. Hunter Human Rights Awards, held in Arlington VA on Dec. 13, 2012. Heisey, a 2012 graduate of Wakefield High School, devoted much of her senior year to fighting for the rights of gender and sexual minorities. Heisey has been a powerful student advocate for inclusion, tolerance and diversity. The James B. Hunter Human Rights awards were sponsored by the Arlington County Human Rights Commission.
A
Good
evening
I'm,
James,
Fisher
and
I've
been
on
the
Human
Rights
Commission.
It
seems
like
forever,
but
I
think
it's
about
15
years.
Jim
hunter
was
a
friend
of
mine
who
was
a
beloved
friend
of
mine.
The
James
be
hunter.
Awards
traditionally
have
been
awarded
to
honor
those
Arlen
Tony
ins
like
Kip
Laramie,
who
have
achieved
a
long
record
of
human
rights
advocacy
over
the
past
decade.
A
We
have
honored
decade
and
a
half,
actually
we've
honored
real
heroes
for
human
rights
in
our
community,
who
have
set
an
example
for
all
of
us,
and
almost
always
these
are
people
who
have
been
around
a
while.
Almost
always
they
say
just
like
Kip
did.
I
knew
Jim
hunter.
If
you
were
doing
anything
in
Arlington
that
was
of
importance,
Jim
hunter
found
you
and,
as
Kip
said,
he
introduce
you
to
somebody
else
and
ask
you
to
do
something
more.
A
However,
the
Human
Rights
Commission
is
increasingly
seeing
moving
examples
of
Human
Rights
leadership
among
young
people,
who
did
not
know
Jim
hunter
but
might
someday
replace
him
with
a
wave
of
social
media
and
the
power
of
the
internet
that
fuels
connection
and
communication.
Among
today's
youth,
they
become
more
aware
of
a
wider
variety
of
human
rights
issues
than
people
before
them,
and
they
are
willing
to
take
action
in
creative
ways
that
reflect
the
way
they
communicate
today,
acknowledging
the
growing
influence
of
young
people
in
addressing
human
rights
issue.
A
This
year,
the
Human
Rights
Commission
made
a
special
effort
to
encourage
the
nomination
of
young
pioneers,
who
have
become
examples
among
their
peers.
The
young
woman
and
the
two
organizations
that
are
being
honored
this
year
represent
the
Commission's
hope
that,
through
their
leadership
today
and
tomorrow,
the
future
holds
even
greater
promise
for
equal
treatment
for
all.
A
As
a
leader
of
Wakefield's
GSA,
she
reached
to
Washington
Lee's
high
schools
GSA
and
brought
the
groups
together
to
plan
events
leading
to
the
development
of
multiple
Facebook
pages
for
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual,
transgender
and
supportive
students
across
Arlington
and
the
metro
area.
These
pages
on
Facebook
offered
a
safe
place
to
plan
events,
exchange
ideas,
express
feelings,
find
friends
and
show
support
the
groups
organized
to
march
in
Washington's,
Martin
Luther
King
Day
parade
held
a
dance
among
a
variety
of
other
activities
through
the
year
that
brought
them
together.
A
Continuing
her
own
leadership,
Sara
appeared
on
an
anti-gay
bullying
panel,
sponsored
by
the
gay
lesbian
straight
education
network,
to
talk
about
the
impact
of
bullying
in
schools
and
the
pain
that
it
causes
as
a
senior
project.
She
also
created
a
separate
social
networking
website
for
young
people
to
share
their
views
and
concerns
and
get
informational
resources
on
sexual
and
gender
identity
issues.
A
Her
work,
she
said,
was
not
without
some
risk.
She
recalled
feeling
concerned
about
the
reaction
of
fellow
students,
particularly
when
posting
things
publicly
at
high
school.
The
benefit,
though,
was
the
resulting
connection
between
young
people,
who
found
a
safe
and
supportive
outlet
in
events
at
meetings
online
to
share
their
feelings
and
concern
and
feel
the
caring
of
others.
At
a
time
when
they
may
have
been
feeling
very
alone.
She
took
the
risk
she
did
the
work
and
was
a
human
rights
leader.
A
She
said
because
it's
for
the
people
who
aren't
brave
enough,
yet
we
thought
if
a
few
people
could
get
together,
we
could
change
people's
minds.
Jim
hunter
himself
was
a
strong
and
wonderful
advocate
for
the
gay
and
lesbian
community
in
Arlington,
and
he
did
it
for
the
very
same
reasons,
and
so
I
am
so
pleased
tonight
to
present
the
Human
Rights
Award
in
his
name
to
Sarah
hi
C.
Please
come
forward.
B
First
of
all,
I'd
like
to
say
how
deeply
honored
I
am
to
be
receiving
this
award
and,
most
of
all,
how
amazing
I
feel
it
is
to
be
recognized
for
advocacy
for
people
of
gender
and
sexual
minorities.
This
really
would
have
been
possible
20
years
ago,
as
you
said,
and
looked
down
upon
a
mere
10.
So
I'd
really
like
to
thank
the
Commission
for
that
alone.
B
I'd
also
really
like
to
thank
Washington
leads
GSA,
as
well
as
the
other
GSA's
in
the
DC
Maryland
Virginia
area,
who
really
came
together
last
year,
I
think
more
than
ever
before,
and
without
them
we
would
have
been
able
to
do
so.
Many
amazing
things
I'd
also
like
to
thank
the
Northern
Virginia
chapter
of
the
gay
lesbian
and
straight
education
network,
as
well
as
David
upon
T
for
all
their
help
as
well.
B
I
really
look
forward
to
continuing
the
development
of
my
online
support
network
as
well
as
working
with
the
GSA
at
university
of
mary
washington,
which
I
would
be
attending
next
fall
and
last
year
really
was
only
the
beginning
of
this
work
for
me,
and
I
really
am
really
excited
to
see
where
I'll
go
from
here.
So
thank
you.