Florida teen goes viral for defying Don’t Say Gay law & teaching class about Stonewall

As Florida’s Don’t Say Gay law continues to make LGBTQ students feel silenced, one high schooler in the state is refusing to let that happen.

Will Larkins, a gay and nonbinary junior in Winter Park, Florida, has repeatedly spoken out against the anti-LGBTQ law, including writing an op-ed for the New York Times, organizing a massive school walkout, and testifying against the bill before the state Senate. Now, a video has gone viral of Larkins teaching their U.S. history class about the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.

Larkins posted the video to their own Twitter account, writing “LGBTQ American history is not taught in Floridas public schools, so I took it upon myself to explain the events of the Stonewall Uprising to my 4th period US history class. #SayGayAnyway.”

LGBTQ American history is not taught in Floridas public schools, so I took it upon myself to explain the events of the Stonewall Uprising to my 4th period US history class. #SayGayAnyway pic.twitter.com/A73TKPlWXF

— Will Larkins (@ProudTwinkie) April 3, 2022

They later told the Washington Post that the presentation came about after Larkins asked their teacher if they’d be covering Stonewall during their 60s and 70s unit and even the teacher didn’t know what Stonewall was. After first sharing the presentation with their teacher, they were granted permission to share it with the class.

Larkins also responded directly to haters of the video on Twitter.

“I’m a 17 year old high school junior teaching a historical event to my classmates. We have learned much more intense history in this class. How are y’all calling me a groomer and a pedo rn. Stop sexualizing and harassing minors like me,” they wrote.

for more context: we were in the late 60s early 70s unit and when i found out we were gonna learn about stonewall (1969) i made a presentation and my teacher let me show the class

— Will Larkins (@ProudTwinkie) April 3, 2022