FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — A transgender teenager is raising his voice after he says Cumberland County school administrators censored his graduation speech.
Gray Byrd, 18, was the valedictorian at the E.E. Smith High School commencement. He spoke for two-and-half minutes, basing his speech in part on the school moto “Striving to Excel”.
“As most of you may know, I am transgender,” he said. “This fact about me has shifted my life in unimaginably difficult ways. But none of those obstacles have stopped me from living my life as myself.”
According to Gray, he didn’t get to excel in all he wanted to say after he received an email from the Cumberland County Schools on May 29 informing him he would not be allowed to talk about anything related to the transgender community. School administrators cited a policy that disallows “political or social statements” in graduation speeches.
“In my original speech, I mentioned transgender people are facing new levels of violence each day,” he said. “The voices of transgender children are being overlooked.”
The speech also included a message to both transgender and rural students about how they could excel despite their circumstances.
“It’s important for other transgender people to know they’re not alone in their struggles,” Gray said.
“I was just in shock this happened,” he said. “You hear all these stories about the silencing of transgender youth, like I talked about in my speech. But it’s one of those things you don’t think will ever happen to you until it does.”
Byrd’s mother fought to get the original speech approved, but ran out of time before the commencement.
In an official statement to CBS 17, Cumberland County Schools said it values all students and the unique perspectives they bring to their school communities.
“Graduation is a milestone moment,” the district said in a statement. “Our goal is to ensure each ceremony maintains the dignity and celebratory focus it deserves.
“We are proud of the valedictorian’s many contributions to his school community and wish him continued success in his future endeavors,” the district said in a statement.
When asked if he considered going off-script while he had a microphone in front of him, Byrd said, “I certainly thought about it. We were told if you went rogue and said something that wasn’t in the script, our mic would be cut, we would be escorted off the stage, and our diploma would be held.”
Since graduation, Gray said he’s finding his voice to be stronger, becoming empowered to never be silenced again.
“I’ve always wanted to be active in the local LGBTQ community,” he said. “This kind of got me there.”
Gray, who’s changing his name to Grayson, plans to enroll at Davidson College near Charlotte and major in psychology this fall.
The full graduation ceremony, including Gray’s speech, can be viewed here.