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Carroll County school board prohibits Pride flags

Activists, politicians have sharply criticized policy

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The Carroll County Board of Education adopted a policy on Wednesday that prohibits Pride flags from being displayed in schools under its jurisdiction.

Under the new policy, which the board adopted by a 4-1 vote margin, flags that are not specifically included in its language cannot be ā€œflown, posted or affixedā€ to school buildings and facilities. The language signals that, although the policy does not explicitly mandate a ban on Pride flags, such flags cannot be displayed, as they are not included in the list of flags that the policy permits.

Patricia Dorsey, the only board member to vote against the policy, expressed her disapproval of the measure to the board during the meeting.

ā€œI think that we’re doing them a disservice if we do not include saying that, ā€˜Yes, let’s just go ahead and have their safe spaces designated by the flags in the classroom,ā€™ā€ Dorsey said.

In public comments made to the school board for their meeting; parents, faculty and members of the community made impassioned arguments against the new policy.

ā€œThe students of color and the students of [the] LGBTQ [community] are bullied in this school system on a regular basis,ā€ one public commenter said. ā€œWe have students that have come in here and talked to you specifically about the fact that they have tried to commit suicide because of the way they are treated in this school system. I do not find [these to be] acceptable policies.ā€

However, other members of the public came out in support of the new policy, believing Pride flags to have no place in school spaces.

One parent stated how she believed that the presence of Pride flags and discussions of sexuality and gender identity in the classroom could end up harming students rather than helping them.

ā€œIt overstimulates a curiosity that [students] are not remotely able to comprehend yet and could further their curiosities, potentially causing harm to themselves or others out of pure confusion,ā€ the parent said.

The commenter asserted such conversations and displays of support should be kept private and away from the classroom.

ā€œAllies can be made and known and shared in a separate setting with an appointed advocate equipped with the correct resources to properly address these issues with our children who are struggling with them,ā€ she said.

The separation from and neutrality on the topic of Pride flags and discussions in schools has been echoed by multiple members of the board who voted in favor of the policy.

Board member Tara Battaglia told the Washington Blade how she believed voting for the policy would achieve fairness among those in the county’s schools.

ā€œSchools should always be a neutral environment and welcoming to all students,ā€ Battaglia said.

Dorsey and other members of the public who chose to speak during the meeting denied the notion that allowing the display of Pride flags in schools was an inherently political or destructive gesture, framing it, rather, as a gesture of humanity.

ā€œWe’ve got students who are saying, ā€˜See me, see me, look at me for who I am, accept me for who I am,ā€™ā€ Dorsey said.

The adoption of the policy has since gained attention from across the state, with multiple statewide candidates for office responding to the decision.

Former Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, who is running for governor, took to Twitter the day after the meeting, sharply criticizing the policy.

ā€œThis is shameful, regressive, and exactly the wrong message to be sending to our LGBTQ+ youth, who deserve a learning environment that welcomes them for who they are,ā€ Gansler wrote. ā€œAlso, this is begging for a constitutional challenge. I call on the school board to reconsider.ā€

Just hours later, former Democratic National Committee chair and fellow gubernatorial candidate Tom Perez referred to the decision as ā€œutterly disgraceful.ā€

ā€œOur classrooms — and every community across Maryland — should be a welcoming, safe place that empowers every person to be who they are,ā€ Perez wrote. ā€œAt a time when our LGBTQ+ youth face incredible challenges, we need to do all we can to support them.ā€

As concerns among national and state advocates rise over the future of LGBTQ students’ access to affirming spaces and conversations in schools, advocates in Carroll County and around the country continue to convey a message of humanity.

ā€œWe’ve heard a lot of voices from the students that we really do have to acknowledge,ā€ Dorsey said. ā€œLet’s just see them, let’s hear them and let’s validate them for who they are.ā€

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Maryland

A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center

Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump

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Tavish Forsyth, a queer artist and educator, posted a nude video on YouTube in protest of the Trump administration’s takeover of the Kennedy Center earlier this year. (Photo by Jessica Gallagher for the Baltimore Banner)

BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.

So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.

ā€œF—— Donald Trump and f—— the Kennedy Center,ā€ a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Opera’s Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nation’s leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Maryland

Md. schools plan to comply with federal DEI demands

Superintendents opt for cooperation over confrontation

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(Bigstock photo)

By LIZ BOWIE | Deciding not to pick a fight with the Trump administration, Maryland school leaders plan to sign a letter to the U.S. Department of Education that says their school districts are complying with all civil rights laws.

The two-paragraph letter could deflect a confrontation over whether the state’s public schools run diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that the Trump administration has called illegal. The Baltimore Banner reviewed the letter, which was shared by a school administrator who declined to be identified because the letter has not yet been sent.

Maryland school leaders are taking a more conciliatory approach than those in some other states. Education leaders in Minnesota, New YorkColoradoOregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin said they will not comply with the federal education department’s order, the demands of which, they say, are based on a warped interpretation of civil rights law.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Maryland

FreeState Justice: Transgender activist ā€˜hijacked’ Moore’s Transgender Day of Visibility event

Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs describes Lee Blinder’s comments as ā€˜call to action’

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Lee Blinder, founding executive director of Trans Maryland, speaks to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore during a ceremony for the International Day for Transgender Visibility. Blinder called out the governor for not backing up his words with action.Ā (Photo by Jessica Gallagher for the Baltimore Banner)

FreeState Justice on April 11 released a statement criticizing the way that Trans Maryland Executive Director Lee Blinder treated Gov. Wes Moore during a Transgender Day of Visibility event.

FreeState Justice was extremely disappointed with the criticisms of Moore on the Transgender Day of Visibility, saying it was ā€œhijacked by public hostilityā€ by Blinder. The Baltimore Banner reported how Blinder ā€œlaid out how the Democratic governor has let down transgender Marylanders by not putting money in the budget and not backing needed policy changes.ā€

The Washington Blade interviewed Blinder after the March 31 event.

ā€œThe intention of what I shared is to show to the governor that this is a community in distress. You know, we are in a real state of emergency for the trans community and there are very few opportunities that the community has to share this directly with the governor.ā€ Blinder told the Blade. ā€œWe’re really grateful to the governor for everything that he’s done in the past for this community, but the circumstances have changed and we really need to see very specific actions taken in order to ensure this community has the ability to exist in public space.ā€

FreeState Justice said Moore did not deserve such criticisms during the event and added in a Blade oped it is ā€œtime for new leadership on the Maryland LGBTQIA+ Commission. Leadership that values and prioritizes coalition over conflict. Leadership that invites feedback and shares power. Leadership that understands how Annapolis operates, how budgets are constructed, and how community victories are won.ā€

ā€œWe’re not saying don’t challenge power. We’re saying do it with purpose. Do it with facts. Do it with a strategy. If you’re going to call yourself a leader in this movement, show us the policy platform. Show us the data. Show us the budget line. Show us the work,ā€ wrote FreeState Justice.

The Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs has met to address FreeState Justice’s statements. 

ā€œDuring the Transgender Day of Visibility ceremony at the State House, the commission’s chair offered remarks reflecting the real fears, concerns, and hopes of the trans community. These remarks were not a call-out, but a call to action,ā€ the commission said in their call to action statement it sent to the Blade. ā€œThe chair’s words echoed the thousands of voices we’ve heard across the state through phone calls, emails, and messages on social media to our staff, commissioners, and their affiliated organizations.ā€

The statement outlines what the call to action entails, addressing what the commission found to be the most pressing issues for transgender Marylanders. They include a lack of dedicated funding, barriers to affirming healthcare, housing insecurity and homelessness, discrimination in education and employment, and escalating violence, harassment, and hate.

ā€œWe remain deeply committed to working in partnership with the Moore-Miller administration, the General Assembly, state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community partners to ensure LGBTQIA+ Marylanders are seen, protected, and supported in policy, budget, and in practice,ā€ reads the statement.

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