These Girls Broke Barriers!

Growing up in Fulton, Mississippi, Constance McMillen dreamed of attending her prom. By the time she was a senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in 2010, the 18-year-old had come out as gay and wanted to take her girlfriend to the dance. There had never been an openly gay couple at her public school before, so Constance asked the principal for permission to attend with her girlfriend.

He told Constance that the girls could go to the dance—but not together. He also said they’d be thrown out of the event if they were caught slow-dancing or holding hands. In addition, he refused Constance’s request to wear a tuxedo.

Constance knew she was being discriminated against. She contacted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for help. The legal rights group sent a letter to Constance’s school demanding that same-sex couples be allowed to attend prom. A week later, the Itawamba County School District canceled the dance altogether.

In response, the ACLU sued the school district on the grounds that it had violated Constance’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression. The judge in the case agreed. The Itawamba County School District had to pay Constance a settlement. It also created a district-wide policy that protects students from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Although Constance didn’t get to attend her own prom, she ensured that countless other students after her could attend theirs—with whomever they choose. In the process, she strengthened the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) students everywhere.

Constance McMillen grew up in Fulton, Mississippi. She dreamed of attending her prom. By the time she was a senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in 2010, the 18-year-old had come out as gay. She wanted to take her girlfriend to the dance. There had never been an openly gay couple at her public school. Constance asked the principal for permission to go with her girlfriend.

He told Constance that the girls could go to the dance, but not together. He also said they would be thrown out of the event if they were caught slow-dancing or holding hands. In addition, he refused Constance’s request to wear a tuxedo.

Constance knew she was being discriminated against. She turned to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for help. The legal rights group sent a letter to Constance’s school. It demanded that same-sex couples be allowed to attend prom. A week later, the Itawamba County School District canceled the dance altogether.

In response, the ACLU sued the school district. The suit argued that the school had violated Constance’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression. The judge in the case agreed. The Itawamba County School District had to pay Constance a settlement. It also created a district-wide policy that protects students from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Constance did not get to attend her own prom. But she ensured that countless other students after her could attend theirs—with whomever they choose. She strengthened the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) students everywhere.

Alice de Rivera was a math whiz. In 1969, not only had the 13-year-old skipped a grade, she had earned one of the highest scores on a region-wide math exam. Yet the New York City ninth-grader longed for greater challenges.

She wanted to attend nearby Stuyvesant High School. Widely regarded as one of the country’s best public schools, Stuyvesant offered a specialized math and science program. 

However, like many of the top U.S. high schools and universities at the time, the school accepted only boys. Knowing she had the grades to attend the school, Alice requested an application anyway. She was promptly denied by the school’s principal.

So with the help of a lawyer, Alice filed a lawsuit against the state of New York’s Board of Education. The suit claimed that Stuyvesant High School was discriminating against Alice because of her gender. 

The trial lasted several months. Finally, just as the case was about to be decided, the Board of Education repealed Stuyvesant’s gender restrictions. For the first time, the school, which was founded in 1904, would accept girls!

In the fall of 1969, 13 girls enrolled there. But Alice, who is now a doctor in Maine, wasn’t among them. That’s because her family moved away soon after the trial. Still, her case had a historic impact on education in the United States. Across the country, male-only schools, including some top universities such as Princeton and Yale, began accepting girls and women. And today, more than 50 years after the lawsuit, nearly half of Stuyvesant students are female.

Alice de Rivera was a math whiz. In 1969, the 13-year-old skipped a grade. She also had earned one of the highest scores on a region-wide math exam. Yet the New York City ninth-grader longed for greater challenges.

She wanted to go to nearby Stuyvesant High School. It was known as one of the country’s best public schools. Stuyvesant offered a specialized math and science program.

However, the school accepted only boys. That was true of many of the top U.S. high schools and universities at the time. Alice knew she had the grades to attend the school. So she asked for an application anyway. She was promptly denied by the school’s principal.

With a lawyer’s help, Alice filed a lawsuit against the state of New York’s Board of Education. The suit claimed that Stuyvesant High School was discriminating against Alice because of her gender.

The trial lasted several months. Just as the case was about to be decided, the Board of Education repealed the school’s gender restrictions. Stuyvesant High School was founded in 1904. For the first time, it would accept girls!

In the fall of 1969, 13 girls enrolled there. But Alice, who is now a doctor in Maine, was not one of them. That is because her family moved away soon after the trial. Still, Alice’s case had a historic impact on education in the United States. Across the country, male-only schools began accepting girls and women. That included some top universities such as Princeton and Yale. And today, more than 50 years after the lawsuit, nearly half of Stuyvesant students are female.

In 1955, several months before Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama, a 15-year-old high school student took the same brave stance first.

Claudette Colvin had had enough of the racist Jim Crow laws that segregated black people from white people in the South. At the time, African Americans couldn’t eat at most restaurants, were forced to drink from separate water fountains, and, in Montgomery, had to give their seats to white passengers on public buses.

On March 2, Claudette was sitting on a crowded bus when the driver demanded that she give her seat to a white woman. Claudette refused, stating that it was her constitutional right to sit there. The driver called the police, who arrested her.

In 1955, Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. Several months earlier, a 15-year-old high school student took the same brave stance first.

Claudette Colvin had had enough of the racist Jim Crow laws that segregated black people from white people in the South. At the time, African Americans could not eat at most restaurants. They were forced to drink from separate water fountains. And in Montgomery, they had to give their seats to white passengers on public buses.

On March 2, Claudette was sitting on a crowded bus. The driver demanded that she give her seat to a white woman. Claudette refused. She said that it was her constitutional right to sit there. The driver called the police, who arrested her.

Tatyana McFadden was born in Russia with a condition that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Unable to care for her, her mother left her at an orphanage when she was just a baby. 

In 1994, when Tatyana was a young girl, she was adopted and brought to Maryland. Tatyana was underweight and in poor health, so her adoptive mother enrolled her in wheelchair sports to help build her strength. Tatyana took part in everything from basketball to ice hockey. But she found her true talent—and passion—in wheelchair track and field.

By the time Tatyana was 15, her racing skills had qualified her for the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. There, she won two medals.

Tatyana McFadden was born in Russia with a condition that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Her mother was unable to care for her. She left Tatyana at an orphanage when she was just a baby.

In 1994, when Tatyana was a young girl, she was adopted and brought to Maryland. She was underweight and in poor health. Her adoptive mother enrolled her in wheelchair sports. That was to help build her strength. Tatyana took part in everything from basketball to ice hockey. But she found her true talent and passion in wheelchair track and field.

By the time Tatyana was 15, her racing skills had qualified her for the 2004 Paralympic Games. They were held in Athens, Greece. She won two medals at the games.