Women's History Month Heroes: Chely Wright

GLSEN is proud to honor Women's History Month by celebrating contributions of women to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Throughout March we will be recognizing heroes who have made significant contributions to the LGBT and safe schools movements. Click here for more information, and keep reading all month long for new additions!

 

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Chely Wright (b. 1970) is a country music artist turned LGBT rights activist in 2010. After the success of her debut album in 1994 she was named Top New Female Vocalist in 1995 by the Academy of Country Music (ACM). As of May 2010, Wright's previous eight albums had sold over 1,000,000 copies in the United States. In May 2010, Wright publically came out as gay and is one of the only major country music performer to have ever done so. She cited among her reasons for coming out was her concern for bullying and hate crimes toward LGBT people, particularly teenagers, and the damage to her life caused by "lying and hiding". Chely became a strong representative for GLSEN and continues to support the safe schools movement through her advocacy.

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We want to know who your heroes are! If you know a woman who has contributed to the LGBT and safe schools movement, post about them on the Gay-Straight Alliances Facebook page. You can also tweet your heroes to @DayofSilence using the #GLSENWHM hash tag!