Twitter/@gabriellaborter, YouTube/FOX 5 Washington DC
June 23, 2021, 7:37 am
A school board meeting in Virginia devolved into chaos resulting in the arrests of two parents this week in the latest example of heightening tensions in the United States.
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The Loudoun County Public Schools held an open forum on Tuesday for parents to come to make their stances known on current issues affecting the district. The main points of contention were the district’s proposed policies in favor of allowing transgender students to use the bathroom correlating to their gender and requiring staff to use their preferred pronouns, as well as the idea of teaching critical race theory.
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Over 250 parents and community members signed up to speak at the meeting, and many wore clothing or carried signs in support of or against the policies.
Things went south after one parent of a transgender student in the district said in her remarks that “hate” was “dripping from the followers of Jesus in this room.” The parents in question failed to prove her wrong by responding with loud “boos,” forcing the board to warn that if a loud outburst like that happened again, public comments would come to an end.
Eventually, former Republican state Senator Dick Black brought up the topic of Tanner Cross, a gym teacher who was suspended after making an anti-trans speech in the name of religion. Black slammed the district for the suspension and planning to fight a judge’s order to reinstate him, and the conservatives in the crowd erupted into cheers.
At that point, the board voted unanimously to end public comment.
The crowd turned more unruly, jeering at the board members and singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in what one can only assume was an attempt to prove their patriotism.
Two men were ultimately arrested—one for refusing to leave the grounds until everyone had spoken, and another for “aggressive behavior” towards another person at the meeting.
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Despite some parents in the district apparently wanting to pretend both racism and transgender students don’t exist, School Board Chair Brenda Sheridan has made it clear where the current board stands.
“We will not back down from fighting for the rights of our students and continuing our focus on equity,” she told NBC4 Washington. “We will continue to work towards making Virginia, specifically Loudoun, the best place to raise a family.”
*First Published: June 23, 2021, 7:37 am
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