A longtime advocate for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ students and educators, Carman-Ainsworth teacher Frank Burger has been named the first recipient of MEA’s new Gerry Crane Human and Civil Rights Award.

A 28-year educator in the Flint-area Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools, Burger advises Carman-Ainsworth’s Prism Club, a place for LGBTQ students to come together for support and to plan activities that promote understanding. In that role, he’s coordinated impactful field trips, brought in compelling guest speakers and served as a stabilizing force in the lives of so many students.

Burger’s work is making an invaluable impact on generations of Genesee County students, said MEA Vice President Brett Smith, a fellow Genesee County teacher.

“Frank has made that impact both by being a great high school science teacher and through his dedication to making schools safe and welcoming for all,” Smith said.

In addition to his local efforts, Burger has worked at the state and national levels to advance the rights of students and educators. He chairs the MEA LGBTQ+ Caucus and co-chairs his NEA regional LGBTQ+ Caucus, delivering trainings to fellow educators across the country.

Burger credited his family, his fellow educators and his union for supporting his work in the face of increasing attacks on the LGBTQ+ community. He also cited Crane, a Byron Center High School music teacher who in 1996 was publicly bullied out of his job simply for being gay. The distraught Crane died of a heart attack a year later. He was just 32.

“His story is what inspires me to do the work that I do, because I don’t want anybody to feel unsafe in school, whether it’s our students or our members,” Burger said. “We will never be erased — ever.”