An Open Letter To Space Camp Personnel
On Saturday, March 9, a post by Clay Yarbrough on Facebook expressed alarm that Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, had employed a transgender camp counselor. Yarbrough claimed that Space Camp’s decision to hire a transgender employee forced him to withdraw his 11-year-old daughter from its program. This post, shared over 5,000 times, gained traction on Twitter by Monday; this motivated Alabama State Rep. Dale W. Strong to issue a statement reading, “The U.S. Space and Rocket Center has long been a champion in promoting a science-based education in North Alabama. As an educational institution for our nation’s children, it is critical that it put their safety and well-being first. I call on the Center to immediately remove this individual and open a safety review to consider the potential harm and damages they have inadvertently caused to children.”
While there were some vague accusations against the employee, the original complaint involved her merely existing and doing her job. The situation quickly devolved into the employee receiving death threats, harassment, and having to take her social media profiles private. Other Space Camp staff members have received threats during this week, which is also worrisome. An LGBTQ Nation article published Tuesday details some of the frankly vile comments made against this employee and attacks by the state’s politicians.
Space Camp released its own statement, reading in part: “In the past few days, many people on our staff have received threats, some general, and some very specific. This is not okay and is a subsequent, and very serious issue that we are dealing with internally and with the appropriate authorities.” Space Camp stated that it is undertaking its own investigation: “The U.S. Space & Rocket Center would like to assure concerned parents, teachers, and the public that no child has been physically harmed on our campus. In fact, no such allegation was ever raised as part of the recent social media controversy. In addition, our operation is designed with layers of protection to mitigate against single points of failure.” (To read this statement in full, click this WHNT article.)
In addition, on Tuesday, the Alabama Transgender Rights Action Coalition issued a statement: “It is clear that the goal of these social media posts is to pressure the Space and Rocket Center to fire the employee in question simply for being transgender… News organizations were quick to report on the incident, but most failed to note that the targeted employee has done nothing wrong and that Yarbrough had no good-faith concerns… The notion that queer people are out to ‘indoctrinate,’ ‘groom,’ or ‘recruit’ children is a prejudiced falsehood that dates back decades in America and has led to innocent queer people losing their lives and livelihoods.”
On Wednesday, the conversation further devolved as Alabama Rep. Mack Butler proposed adding Space Camp to the HB130 Bill, similar to the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” Bill. Butler said that this bill is needed to “purify the schools.”
Space Camp in Huntsville and many other spaceflight-related centers in the United States represent the best and brightest of the nation and often inspire young (and not-so-young) people to achieve greater heights. Moreover, they should be safe spaces for all people. No greatness can flourish from hate. This openly discriminatory behavior hearkens back to the prejudice and unequal treatment many young Black employees tolerated during NASA’s early days at its southern centers. It wasn’t acceptable because it was the 1960s…and this conduct certainly isn’t acceptable now.
Here is my open letter addressed to Space Camp personnel supporting their staff and program.
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Dear Space Camp Personnel,
I founded the Facebook group Space Hipsters in 2011, and since then, it has grown to be one of the world’s largest groups of space enthusiasts. For the past seven years, our 55,000-plus strong group has helped to fund over forty full scholarships to Space Camp. Aiding culturally underrepresented students in their quest to attend this world-renowned space-oriented program has been one of the biggest joys of my life.
It has been a transformative experience to see future generations inspired and awed by their time in Huntsville. I personally have enjoyed several trips to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center and found its personnel helpful, professional, and enthusiastic.
Exposure to spaceflight appeals to diverse populations because it underscores how all kinds of people can accomplish “impossible” things. The personnel at Space Camp work to make the impossible happen for students by showing them that the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) fields are accessible to all, regardless of background, gender, race, religion, or financial status. These are tenets that should always be championed and upheld.
We at Space Hipsters have been continually impressed by Space Camp’s continued support of “Space for All,” and we sincerely hope it continues despite heated political situations in Alabama. We intend to continue our support as long as Space Camp supports “Space for All.”
My best,
Emily L. Carney
