James Beard Foundation President, Susan Ungaro
Nice.
Susan Ungaro was scheduled to receive an honorary award from the Boy Scouts of America. Ungaro is occasionally featured as a judge on Bravo's reality TV show Top Chef and is the President of the James Beard Foundation. Beard was a chef, an cookbook author and a icon of the foodie culture.
He was also an unapologetically out gay man.
Activist and journalist Michelangelo Signorile reached out to Ungaro through her publicist and informed her of the Boy Scout's long ugly history of anti-gay policies. He also posted a piece asking "Is James Beard Rolling in His Grave Over Foundation President's Award From Anti-Gay Boy Scouts?" Only a few hours later, he received notice from Ungaro she had reconsidered her acceptance.
Signorile reports at the Huffington Post she has released this statement:
While I support all the poverty and hunger-fighting programs of the Boy Scouts of America, including sending at-risk youth to camp, your report brought to my attention that accepting the Distinguished Citizen Award implied I support their anti-gay policy, which I absolutely do not. When I accepted the honor, I was focused on supporting the New Jersey chefs and restaurant community.
I have informed the Boy Scouts of America that I am rescinding my acceptance of the award.
Good for her.
The Boy Scouts of America's anti-gay policies are back in the news, yet again, as it has been learned they ousted a woman in Ohio from leading her son's scout troop. This is of course because she is a lesbian and in no way reflective of her actual leadership of the troop, nor her popularity with the kids or their parents.
Jennifer Tyrrell with her son.
The mom at the center of the storm relays the events this way:
My name is Jennifer Tyrrell. I am a devoted partner, mother, friend and community leader in Bridgeport, Ohio. I’m also a former Tiger Cub den leader with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). I was recently removed from this volunteer position, and my membership was revoked after nearly a year of service – just because I happen to be gay. Shortly after registering my son for Cub Scouts, I was asked to assume the role of den leader and was persuaded by a platform of tolerance, acceptance and support. Throughout the year, my cubs performed volunteer service at a local soup kitchen, collected canned goods for area churches to distribute in food baskets, participated in bell-ringing for the Salvation Army, and, at the time of my removal, were working on a conservation project for a state park. My Tiger Cubs earned multiple Scout badges for service and skills, while learning and exercising the 12 Core Values of Scouting: citizenship, compassion, cooperation, courage, faith, health & fitness, honesty, perseverance, positive attitude, resourcefulness, respect, and responsibility. The revocation of my membership came shortly after I was elected treasurer of my pack and uncovered some inconsistencies in the pack's finances. Within a week of reporting these findings to the council, I received notice that my membership had been revoked, based on my sexual orientation, citing that due to being gay, I did "not meet the high standards of membership that the BSA seeks".
GLAAD reports:
Bob Drury, a scout executive for the Ohio River Valley told WTOV-TV last night: “We do not grant membership to individuals who are open or avow homosexuals.” He continued: “The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to develop a character and leadership skills and [for] the youth of today to become the leaders of tomorrow. And anything that distracts from that mission, distracts from what our program is.” WTOV-TV reported that the decision was “solely based on her sexual orientation.”
WTOV-TV reporter Ryan Eldredge said he was struck by “just how much support the former leader had from the members of her troop.”
Ugh. I think Dury's statement speaks legions. I also have heard rumors that Dury is an avowed heterosexual deeply committed to pushing the radical heterosexual agenda, but they are unconfirmed.
GLAAD has much more on this developing story here and has a Change petition here, that has amassing 35,000 signatures asking the Boy Scouts to reconsider.
As a private organization the Supreme Court has affirmed their right to do as they wish on this issue, indefinitely. A public rebuke like this from Ungaro is really the only means to pressure change. So, thank you to Ms. Ungaro, the gay community appreciates your support, and you have served the founder of your Foundation well and the values of fairness and inclusivity.
These stories are of particular interest to me as I was very involved in Scouting as a kid, and an Eagle Scout. It was without exception a great experience, and I have many happy memories. My troop was not Christian fundamentalist, nor particularly concerned with much of all that. We skied, camped, and it helped open doors for me to learn about careers, interests and vocations that I might never otherwise encountered. It was also the conduit of many great friendships.
It's my hope that the Boy Scouts will eventually come to realize that LGBT teens need and can benefit from these experiences, even as I did as kid. And that gay adults, like me, who have respect for the best aspects of scouting deserve the opportunity to return the investment by mentoring the young in kind, as we were in our youth.