About National Day of Silence
National Day of Silence is observed in April each year as a movement against the harassment and bullying of individuals identifying with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) community.
As the name suggests, students protesting for this movement typically take a day-long vow of silence to symbolically represent how the students from the LGBTQ+ community were silenced throughout the years.
The first seeds of this movement were sown in 1966 by the students belonging to the University of Virginia. It was initially identified as a class-project formed on non-violent protesting. Created by then-student Maria Pulzetti, the aim of this protest was to bring to light the circumstances that the LGBTQ+ community have to grow through, typically being waved off or silenced by their parents and being turned a blind eye to by the administration.
The movement became a national phenomenon the following year and since then, the National Day of Silence has expanded across schools, colleges and workspaces in the United States.
To symbolically represent the silence hurled at LGBTQ+ students, people participating in the protest typically stick tapes on their mouths. Some also draw the letter X on their hands to mark the day. At the end of the day, all the participants together break their vow by taking part in rallies or attending/dispensing speeches. The Day of Silence is also observed in countries like New Zealand and Singapore.
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