Across the United States, people on college campuses, in high school cafeterias and workaday offices have launched the “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign. The goal: make people stop and think about their hurtful and disparaging use of the word “retard.”
Spread the Word. Students at William Chrisman High School in Independence, MO, were among hundreds of volunteers who spread the word about the terrible impact of using "retard" as an insult. See how people support the campaign.
What Is The R word Pledge?
Spread the Word to End the Word is raising the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the R word and urging people to resolve to stop using it as an insult, casual or intended. (Take the pledge right now! ) Special Olympics has put together tools and resources to help you raise awareness and encourage more people to take the R word pledge. Check them out.
"The earlier we can start teaching this awareness, the easier it will be to reverse the language, " wrote James Saetern of Sacramento, California, in an e-mail to Special Olympics. "This is not just a day of awareness, but a movement to end hate as a whole."
How It Started
Created by young people with and without intellectual disabilities, Spread the Word to End the Word is one element of Special Olympics’ vision of a world where everyone matters, where everyone is accepted and, most importantly, where everyone is valued. Leading the way in promoting acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities, Special Olympics opposes prejudice and discrimination, continuously working to dispel the negative stereotypes associated with this population — the use of the R word being one such stereotype. In a world that has worked to eliminate pejorative racial and ethnic language such as the N word, among others, the R word is gaining popularity.
Keep Spreading the Word
Join thousands of other young people across the globe in making a difference.
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| | What YOU Can Do | |
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| | - Get in touch with Special Olympics near you to see what you can do to help.
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| | - Get in the game by joining Special Olympics Unified Sports®, where people with and without intellectual disabilities train and compete together on the same team.
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