Gay Best Friends Crowned Prom King and Queen

All too often I and other bloggers look at wrongs in the world, especially wrongs done to GLBT individuals. But sometimes - often to our surprise - some things get done right. A case in point is the crowning of two gay boys as prom king and queen at a high school in Hudson, New York located roughly half way between New York City and Albany. Like much of upstate New York (through high school I lived in the Syracuse area), Hudson is light years from the world of New York City. Yet the students at Hudson High School got it right and voted for the boys by a near landslide. Would that the older generation could look beyond stereotypes and religious based bigotry. Congratulations to Charlie Ferrusi and Timmy Howard - and their peers who had the ability to see them as fully human and worthy of equal treatment. Here are some highlights from Hudson Register-Star:
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The Hudson High School prom made history this past Saturday when openly gay best friends were named prom king and queen. Seniors Charlie Ferrusi and Timmy Howard won their respective crown and tiara by a landslide Saturday and said the support they received from their peers and school administration has been fun and humbling.
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“It’s a really big step for Hudson but also for the gay community in general,” Howard said Wednesday. “To have this happen in our city is pretty exciting.”
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By prom night the overwhelming majority of students cast their votes in the open ballot race. They won by such a wide margin the school didn’t crown any runners up.
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In 2008 Augie Abatecola ran and won the race for Hudson prom queen but he was denied the crown by school officials. This time around Ferrusi and Howard decided to run their plan by advisors and Principal Steven Spicer beforehand. The school officials said they wouldn’t interfere with the student body’s vote and gave the boys their blessing.
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Incidences of young men winning prom king or queen do occur but two gay friends taking both crowns without incident is rare. Ferrusi and Howard’s crowning was appropriately timed, as Hudson will hold its first ever gay pride parade on Sunday, June 20. They said they plan on riding down Warren Street in the back of a truck with their crowns and homemade sashes.
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The Hudson Pride celebration will include a talk by Ed Beatty who was a part of the Stonewall riot in 1969 where gays at the Stonewall bar in New York City clashed with police trying to disperse their gathering.
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That riot was one of the major events that led to the abolition of a law banning gays to congregate. Star said recognizing those events and Ferrusi and Howard’s achievement in the same event is really significant. “It’s a brave new word,” Star said. “It’s a brave new Hudson.”
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Not surprisingly, some of the comments on the news story were not pretty, proving that there are still many Neanderthals out there. Fortunately, they are dying off just like the Neanderthals in prehistory.