“Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.”
- Nelson Mandela

#SPIRITDAY is a day when millions of people wear purple to speak out against bullying and to show their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. The idea came from an amazing teenager named Brittany McMillan, who wanted to remember those young people who lost their lives to suicide and to take a stand against bullying.

Celeb photographer Theo Van Der Mewer of Issued Productions was the official photographer who captured some of South Africa’s most celebrated young celebrities. Together with Tebza of SOOT they captured some of South Africa’s most loved faces. Mariechan of Jamali was the first to take her pledge, followed by Andrew Govender (Mr South Africa) who is taking part in Mr. World on the 19^th October. Local gay icons Koyo Bala, Amstel, Sade, DJ Olwee and Bujy all added flair to the campaign. Hip hop heavy weight, L-Tido, Generations heart throb, Anga Makubalo, Vuzu and Channel O presenters Lalla, Dineo and SK, models Reeva Steenkamp, Tshego Seakgoe and Frisco Babalana, TV personalities and socialites Lehasa Moloi, LeeRoy Wright, Learto Kganyago, Lerato Sengadi and Eda Rose, DJ’s Snoop, MsCosmo and Capital, musician LeAnne and VTheVowel as well as Miss SA Teen, Celeste Khumalo were some of the awesome straight celebrities who also took the pledge to wear purple on the 19^th October.

“We’re thrilled to see Spirit Day touch people across the globe” said Seth Adam, Senior Manager of Communications at GLAAD. International faces that have supported the campaign in the past include Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres and Shaquille O’Neal.

Mika Stefano recently coordinated the South African leg of the famous campaign titled, NOH8. “Even though South Africa is the only African country that protects our rights as gay and lesbian people, we are still faced with various hate crimes on a day to day basis. Children need to learn that there is nothing wrong with being gay and if their favourite celebrities stand up and say they are cool with their gay friends, then that may cause a ripple effect and influence the thought patterns of our youth”.
#SpiritDay in South Africa was coordinated by Mika Stefano, Dale Herbst, Theo of Issued Productions, Tebza of SOOT and the Old Mutual Theatre on the Square.

Anyone can take part in #SpiritDay, in fact we encourage you…

Simply wear purple on the 19^th October as a sign of standing together against bullying.

Join us as we #PushPurple on the 19^th October.

Take the online pledge at http://www.glaad.org/spiritday