ACLU Demands Del Paso Manor Elementary School Stop Censoring Black Lives Matter

Teacher Disciplined Students and Threw Away Black Lives Matter Posters

SACRAMENTO - Today, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California sent a letter to the San Juan Unified School District on behalf of a student and parent who were censored and retaliated against by school officials for expressing support of Black Lives Matter. A teacher singled out and prohibited Black Lives Matter posters that were created in an art class about activism. The letter argues that the District violated the California Education Code, as well as the California Constitution and First Amendment.

[OCS: One might question why children were being instructed about activism in an art class and why the class was being taught by a parent volunteer rather than the teacher who was paid to teach the students?

One might also question whether teachers and students have unrestricted free speech rights in a classroom controlled by a teacher who may have been required to adhere to a previously submitted lesson plan?]

The District banned Ms. Kincaid, a parent and frequent volunteer at Del Paso Manor Elementary School, from speaking at the school after she was invited as an art docent to teach a class. Her lesson encouraged students to create art about a cause they cared about. Four students, including the ACLU’s student client, created posters in support of Black Lives Matter, which upset Mr. Madden, the classroom teacher, who confiscated the artwork. In front of their peers, he forced the students to re-do the posters, throwing the originals in the garbage. Both the school principal, and the District’s counsel backed Mr. Madden’s actions, calling the art and student’s message of support for Black lives “inappropriate.”

[OCS: The teacher, the school’s principal, and the District’s legal counsel supporting the teacher’s actions are absolutely right.

Black Lives Matter, is little more than a communist front group promoting discord and dissention in order to bring about a revolution based on Black Liberation Theology. It is an intolerant group that uses hate speech and violence against those who dare question the group’s motives, messaging and behavior. Even promoting a violent reaction against those who claim “ALL Lives Matter” including the those in law enforcement.]

“The point of the lesson was to create a more inclusive school culture that affirmed the dignity and value of every student,” said Abre’ Conner, staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Northern California.

[OCS: What hypocrisy! The Black Lives Matter is not about inclusivity and the dignity and value of every student; else the group would be tolerant of the appropriate message that ALL Lives Matter – including those of law enforcement and those who may have an opposing viewpoint.]

“By censoring and punishing the students, the school violated their constitutional free speech rights, and sent the damaging message that supporting Black lives is not welcome in their classrooms.”

[OCS: Perhaps the matter may have been handled in a different manner, but the blame falls on those who allowed a non-teacher, a parent/volunteer to interject activism into the classroom. While this individual may have had good intentions, the lesson subject matter should have been pre-cleared with the teacher, and the school administrator if necessary.]

During the lesson, Ms. Kincaid asked students to create art expressing a change they would like to see in their school, showing examples related to immigration, housing rights, financial aid reform, pay equity, and Black Lives Matter.

[OCS: Excuse me? Why would these subjects be appropriate for elementary-age children unless the goal was indoctrination and conditioning the students to accept future activism in schools and their communities?]

Mr. Madden soon became agitated, telling the students that the topics in his lessons would be limited to “a bunch of old dead white guys.” He later called the posters “irrelevant.”

[OCS: I wonder if the teacher was referring to the old masters – truly a bunch of old dead white guys whose outstanding work touched the world and has stood the test of time. But, then again, history has little or no meaning to progressives as they believe that only the present and the future count. Pretty much why they are willing to commit the same socio-political mistakes that history has condemned as harmful to civilization and free societies.]

When Ms. Kincaid learned that Mr. Madden had singled out the students and made them undergo embarrassing public discipline, she set up a meeting with the school principal. The principal wrongfully claimed that since Black Lives Matters posters are “political statements,” the school can legally censor them. At the same time, the school allowed posters with political, pro-environment messages to go up.

[OCS: It is a fact of life that discipline, embarrassment, and shame are effective tools that teach you about authority, social norms, and provide valuable life lessons. That is, unless you are part of the bubble-wrapped snowflake generation that must be protected from triggering thoughts. And, of course, it is in character that the aggrieved parent would run to the administration as it’s in the DNA of most progressives to push back in order to silence their critics.]

Not long after meeting with the principal, Ms. Kincaid learned that Mr. Madden banned her from teaching any further classes in retaliation for speaking with his superiors.

[OCS: Retaliation? One might make the case for the wrongness of introducing controversy, chaos, and progressive politics into an elementary school classroom.]

“Our schools must do more to listen and learn about the real experiences of their students, which includes the experiences lived by their black and brown students,” said Ms. Kincaid

[OCS: If Ms. Kincaid wants to alter the curriculum, let her run for the local school board, become a curriculum expert or even a teacher with an appropriate lesson plan. She does not represent the community, the school’s parents, the school’s administration, or the students. She apparently represents herself and a progressive agenda. And, if she wants to deviate from current educational norms, let her do it outside of a public school.]

“The message Black Lives Matter should not be controversial. School administrators, teachers, and staff must take a hard look at the racism and implicit biases that they’ve internalized if they are to ensure all of our students succeed.”

[OCS: The real message should be inclusive and that ALL lives matter. Any other message is racist in and of itself as it sets one class of individuals above all others. To the extent that the Black Live Matter movement is controversial – it is their own fault.

How Black Lives Matter Is Bringing Back Traditional Marxism

It isn’t surprising that Black Lives Matter is a communist organization—but the type of communism they subscribe to is. They are conservative communists attempting to fold the progressive movement back into traditional Marxism.

BLM has turned its back on intersectional theory, the modern conflict theory that birthed safe spaces, trigger warnings, and the Oppression Olympics. Instead, BLM is rebirthing the traditional class struggle, reframing it in terms of black and white..<Source>

If one looks at the anti-police, anti-white, anti-Semitic messages of the leadership of the BLM movement, it can be properly designated as a hate group – and using hate speech to spread their message.]

The ACLU’s letter asserts that the District’s actions against Ms. Kincaid and the students were illegal and unconstitutional. The California Education Code clearly protects student’s right to express political opinions. Likewise, the California and federal constitutions both prohibit the school from engaging in viewpoint discrimination. The school also violated the First Amendment rights of Ms. Kincaid by banning her from the classroom for petitioning the principal.

[OCS: I see nothing illegal, immoral, or unconstitutional about the teacher’s or the school’s activities in this matter. Ms. Kincaid was a guest and does not have any statutory authority to enter the school or promote her message on school property. There can be no doubt, as witnessed by the ACLU, that Kincaid is a disruptive person and that the student’s actions were by her direction and not those of the teacher.]

Del Paso Manor Elementary’s actions are part of a pervasive pattern of anti-blackness in California schools. The ACLU has had to intervene in school districts across California, including Fresno Unified, Visalia Unified, and Alameda Unified, for creating a racially hostile climate for Black students and for students who support Black students. Black students in the state, and across the country, are consistently discriminated against and targeted by teachers and administrators, with research showing that they are 3.4 times more likely to be disciplined than white students.

[OCS: Spare me the massaged statistics. Black students are more likely to be disciplinary problems, black students are more likely to bully other black students who excel in academic studies, and black students are more likely to intimidate other students. In fact, many schools where the majority of students are a minority, it is the white student that are often the subjects of ostracism, bullying, or discrimination.]

To remedy the harm that the District caused, and protect against such damaging behavior in the future, the ACLU demands that the district:

• issues a public apology;
• reinstate Ms. Kincaid’s parent volunteer privileges;
• allow students to put up Black Live Matter posters;
• incorporate Black Lives Matter into their curriculum and school events, including the school’s Spring Art Night;
• provide a staff wide cultural and sensitivity training, based on input from Ms. Kincaid;
• host a parent engagement training.

[OCS: This is bull-pucky. You do not allow disruptive parents or any parent with their own agenda to influence children. You do not openly promote a communist organization that promotes its own form of discrimination and hate speech. And, you certainly do not pay the ACLU or politically-affiliated organizations to teach sensitivity training classes. You also demand that Kincaid and the ACLU reimburse the school and the district for their costs, time, and effort.]

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