A North Carolina high school valedictorian was told to remove references to God and Jesus from his commencement address.
Liberty Counsel, a law firm that handles religious liberty cases, was contacted by the young man and they immediately intervened. The law firm decided not to release the name of the school to protect the identity of the student.
The teenager had been required to submit his speech to administrators before graduation day. When he received the speech back, the young man noticed that several key phrases had been redacted.
He was told to take out the following sentences: “I want to thank my Lord Jesus Christ for getting me through because if it weren’t for Him, I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through life” and “Jesus Christ loved me.”
Liberty Counsel explained that the the statements were made within the context of a speech that referenced a serious illness the young man had overcome.
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The law firm fired off a letter to the district informing them that removing “references to his faith in God or Jesus Christ in his graduation speech are all protected by the United States Constitution.”
“Voluntary student religious expression, including student graduation messages or graduation prayer, may not be censored by school officials,” the letter read.
After receiving the letter the school district permitted the student to keep the religious references in the speech.
According to the valedictorian, after the speech both the school staff were touched by his emotional remarks and one teacher expressed her approval because he stood firm in the face of pressure to change them.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The valedictorian’s respectful approach to correcting the administrators’ constitutional errors resulted in an uncensored, faith-filled graduation speech. Voluntary references to God or Jesus Christ in a graduation speech are all protected by the First Amendment and may not be censored by school officials.”
As I wrote in “Twilight’s Last Gleaming” when good people stand up to evil, good with triumph. Well done to this North Carolina student and to Liberty Counsel. Click here to read my book.