Teacher fired in 1972 because he was gay receives a standing ovation when he returns 42 later to finally get an apology

Jim Gaylord had been a social studies teacher at Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington, for 12 years until he was fired for being gay in 1972

Despite being good at his job he was fired on the grounds that he was 'immoral'

After his sacking, he sued the district and lost and then became a librarian

He received a standing ovation on Sunday when he received his apology during an event at the school for LGBTQ youth in Tacoma

A former teacher fired in 1972 for being gay received a formal apology on Sunday from the Washington state school board which sacked him 42 years ago.



Jim Gaylord had been a social studies teacher at Wilson High School in Tacoma for 12 years. He received positive evaluations and was liked by his students.



However, when he admitted that he was gay, Gaylord was fired on the grounds that he was 'immoral.'

Jim Gaylord had been a social studies teacher at Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington, for 12 years until he was fired for being gay in 1972

After his sacking, he sued the district and lost. The Washington State Supreme Court upheld the ruling, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.



Gaylord described the following few years as a ‘very unpleasant’ experience that he managed to get through with the support of his family and friends.

‘The 1972 decision was written within the guidelines at time, but it does not reflect the values and morals of the district now,’ said Tacoma school board president Kurt Miller.



He apologized to Gaylord during an event at the school for Oasis, a LGBTQ youth in Tacoma, reports Q13Fox.



The former teacher received a standing ovation and spoke briefly to the young people present at Sunday's event for LGBTQ youth in Tacoma

The former teacher received a standing ovation and spoke briefly to the young people present.

‘I wanted to speak to the youth,’ he said. ‘Many of us have made history here in Tacoma. We need you to carry forward the work.’



Afterwards he said the apology provided him with ‘a kind of a closure.’



‘I got over it years ago, but this does complete the process,’ he told



Despite being fired, Gaylord never left Tacoma but became a librarian because he said that he didn't want to live in exile.



When Gaylord admitted that he was gay, he was fired from Wilson High School on the grounds that he was 'immoral'

The apology only came about after Gaylord was interviewed by a member of the local LGBTQ group, report KIROTV.



After speaking to the ex-teacher, Michelle Barroga said she realized there was still a lot of pain evident from the lack of proper resolution.

