will phillips, 10-year-old pride parade grand marshal
photo credit // nwapride.org
Fayetteville, Ark. -
A 10-year-old boy whose campaign for equal rights has garnered national attention will be the Grand Marshal of Northwest Arkansas' Pride Parade.
Last year, Will Phillips decided he just couldn't stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance at school, because our country does not yet offer "liberty and justice for all."
"It's wrong for anyone to be treated differently just because of the way they are born," he said. "I'm a person, I may be 10, but I'm a person."
Phillips refused to back down, so his classmates started calling him "gaywad."
"I really don't know [what gaywad is]," said Phillips. "It's a discriminatory name for homosexuals."
That led John Stewart to enlist "protection" for Phillips from professional wrestler Mick Foley.
"Like a lot of my professional wrestling brethren, I was touched by young Will's plight," Foley said. "If I find out that anybody has hassled this young man or teased him or called him a wad of any sort, I and perhaps a few of my friends will come to his school and bring a world of pain."
Phillips was elected grand marshal of the Northwest Arkansas Pride parade by a unanimous vote.
The Mayor of Fayetteville will issue a pro-gay proclamation after Saturday's Pride parade.
Last year, Will Phillips decided he just couldn't stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance at school, because our country does not yet offer "liberty and justice for all."
"It's wrong for anyone to be treated differently just because of the way they are born," he said. "I'm a person, I may be 10, but I'm a person."
Phillips refused to back down, so his classmates started calling him "gaywad."
"I really don't know [what gaywad is]," said Phillips. "It's a discriminatory name for homosexuals."
That led John Stewart to enlist "protection" for Phillips from professional wrestler Mick Foley.
"Like a lot of my professional wrestling brethren, I was touched by young Will's plight," Foley said. "If I find out that anybody has hassled this young man or teased him or called him a wad of any sort, I and perhaps a few of my friends will come to his school and bring a world of pain."
Phillips was elected grand marshal of the Northwest Arkansas Pride parade by a unanimous vote.
The Mayor of Fayetteville will issue a pro-gay proclamation after Saturday's Pride parade.
