Students bust through "wall of teachers" to walk out in protest of board's anti-Stonewall decision - LGBTQ Nation

"Last Tuesday, the district's school board voted nearly unanimously to ban the high school's wind symphony from playing "Mother of a Revolution!" a composition without lyrics that was written by gay and Black composer Omar Thomas in honor of Johnson, who played a key role in the Stonewall Uprising in 1969. The acrimonious school board meeting devolved into chaos and shouting as many of the conservative school board members argued against the students who showed up to support the composition."

"In a message to parents, Riverside Middle School in Watertown, Wisconsin, said on Friday morning that there was "a rumor that impacts student safety outside of the building," referring to a planned walkout, so they placed the school under lock and hold, a measure in which teachers lock their classroom doors, usually in response to a threat like a shooter. The school also said that the Watertown Police Department was sending officers to increase surveillance of students in order to ensure their "safety.""

""This is a perfect example of what everyone here ran on, which was ending indoctrination in the classrooms and radical curriculum," said Board Vice President Sam Ouweneel at the meeting. "Political violence is not something we praise with music or song," said board member Christina DeGrave."

"Middle school students pushed past a "wall of teachers" this past Friday to walk out and protest their school board's ban on a musical composition honoring Stonewall veteran Marsha P. Johnson, issued earlier in the week. Administrators had placed the school under a "cautionary lock and hold" that day to prevent the walkout."

A school board banned a wind symphony from performing “Mother of a Revolution!” honoring Stonewall veteran Marsha P. Johnson. The composition was written by gay and Black composer Omar Thomas and was scheduled after being worked on throughout the year. After the ban, middle school students pushed past a line of teachers to walk out and protest. Administrators placed the school under a “cautionary lock and hold” due to a rumor about impacts to student safety outside the building. Teachers locked classroom doors and police increased surveillance to ensure student safety. The school board meeting that led to the ban became chaotic, with conservative members criticizing the piece and students supporting it.

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