In a statement, the religious liberty legal group Liberty Counsel announced that a valedictorian gave an “unaltered” graduation speech at an unnamed North Carolina high school that included multiple references to his Christian faith despite the district’s attempts to remove them.
In one portion of his address, the valedictorian declared, “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.”
He added, “Jesus Christ has always loved me.”
A redacted letter the legal group sent the student advised him of his constitutional rights and provided additional information about school administrators’ concerns about the “separation of church and state.”
The letter included screenshots outlining alleged changes school administrators wanted the valedictorian to make to the speech. The administrators wanted to replace the sentence giving thanks to Jesus Christ with a statement proclaiming, “Without my faith, I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through life.” The student was also advised to say, “He has always loved me” instead of “Jesus Christ loved me.”
The student had previously decided not to make the requested changes to his speech after engaging in discussions with Liberty Counsel, and the school district allowed him to include all references to his faith in the address.