An elementary school in Denver, Colo., is planning to host a week-long Black Lives Matter event where kindergartners and first graders will be taught about sexuality and race as part of a push to teach the "guiding principles" of the BLM movement, according to Parents Defending Education (PDE).
Centennial Elementary School's "Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action" is scheduled to be held Jan. 31 to Feb. 4. One of the 13 BLM principles is "transgender affirming," which discusses "recognizing trans-antagonistic violence."
Another principle aims to generate a "queer-affirming network where heteronormative thinking no longer exists." One called "Black Villages," said it involves "the disruption of Western nuclear family dynamics."
The "Black Women" principle, defined as the "building of women-centered spaces free from sexism, misogyny and male-centeredness," is another principle scheduled to be discussed.
Globalism, defined as "our ability to see how we are impacted or privileged within the Black global family," is also on the agenda.
On its website, CES provides a link to frequently asked questions (FAQs), such as "Isn’t teaching BLM teaching politics?" "Are all of these topics age-appropriate?" and "I don’t support the BLM organization or all of the principles of the BLM organization. How should I talk to my child about this?"
According to the school, BLM is not political because the federal government recently "identified that supporting BLM is not political."
"Our goal is not to teach children what to think; rather to expose them to different perspectives and opinions so that they learn to value and respect diversity," the website read.
Responding to the question on age-appropriateness, CES said it believes "it is never too early to start to talk to kids about race," citing research that says that by age 12, "many children become set in their beliefs," according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Teachers are guiding conversations by reading aloud "age-appropriate texts," such as "Julian Is A Mermaid," about a "straight, white cis woman" that challenges "the reader’s bias and the social norms around gender expression and identity" or "A Day of Pride" about an LGBTQ pride parade that is threatened by a "Witch of Shame."
According to its FAQs, the school said it "is not necessarily teaching about nor promoting the BLM organization." Instead, it is "using the BLM Principles to drive kid-friendly conversations about the importance of valuing and respecting diversity."
The school was previously criticized for holding a "families of color playground night," on Dec. 8, which Denver Public Schools said was requested by Black families so they could meet other Black families.
Parents Defending Education, a concerned parents organization fighting indoctrination in the classroom, filed a federal civil rights complaint with the federal Department of Education on Dec. 17 against CES for allegedly violating both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution for discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin.
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