NC school board meeting is adjourned early after argument over BLM story in yearbook
A school board meeting in Alamance County — home to a series of heated Black Lives Matter protests over the past year — ended early Monday amid anger and shouting over a school yearbook story about Black Lives Matter.
Several speakers came to Monday night’s Alamance-Burlington school board meeting to talk about an article in this year’s Southern Alamance High School yearbook about the Black Lives Matter movement.
The meeting was adjourned early, with school board member Patsy Simpson arguing with other board members and the crowd about how the district is now reviewing yearbook practices due to parental complaints.
“Don’t talk to me about setting an example when you talked about Black lives don’t matter,” Simpson, the board’s lone Black member, said in an exchange with an audience member. “Don’t talk to me about that when you’re talking about why I feel the way I do.”
The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020 spawned nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, including the city of Graham in Alamance County. Dozens of protesters have been arrested during the Graham marches.
Yearbook talks about BLM protests
This year’s Southern Alamance High School yearbook included a national year in review section, featuring an article on the Black Lives Matter movement called “From Hashtag to Movement.” The yearbook article has produced heated complaints on social media from people who felt it was inappropriate.
Jennifer Gregory, a Southern Alamance parent, told the school board on Monday that the Black Lives Matter article “promotes hate, violence and division” and was “anti-police.”
“This yearbook also promotes riots and not peaceful protests, more or less saying nothing will be done without a riot,” Gregory said. “The riot in Minneapolis was made OK because the main focus was the target because they supported the local police. Why didn’t it state there had been over $2 billion in damages from the rioting?“
Gregory was joined by speakers who urged support for a bill passed by the state House that the authors say would restrict the teaching of Critical Race Theory in schools. The legislation, which is awaiting a vote in the Senate, would set rules on how public schools could teach about race and racism.
But some speakers also came Monday to defend the right of the students on the yearbook staff. Zach Clemmons, a 2020 Southern Alamance graduate, contrasted this year’s complaints with the lack of a response to a Blue Lives Matter flag appearing on last year’s yearbook front page.
“If the yearbook isn’t supposed to be political, then why was that allowed?” Clemmons said. “There was no rage on Facebook. There was no name-calling of a 16-year-old on Facebook about a Blue Lives Matter flag being here.”
Alamance looking at yearbook practices
Amid the complaints, school board chairwoman Allison Gant said Monday she had asked Superintendent Bruce Benson to review the district’s yearbook process and protocols.
Simpson questioned why Gant had made the request without consulting the board first, saying it gives the appearance that they’re saying the yearbook staff did something inappropriate. Gant apologized for not consulting with the board about the request and said she wasn’t taking a stand on the complaints.
Benson justified the review though, saying district staff constantly look at how to improve. He said the review might not lead to any adjustments.
“Anytime anybody reaches out to us about whatever it is, we look into the matter and if action is required, we take appropriate action,” Benson said.
School board vice chairman Tony Rose stepped in to say he didn’t feel it was inappropriate for Gant to have made the request for the review. This triggered another exchange that ultimately led to the meeting ending prematurely.
“He’s not going to speak to me in that manner,” Simpson said. “If you want me to calm down then everybody else needs to. Otherwise adjourn the meeting. But if you come after me Mr. Rose, I’m coming back after you.”
Audience members who were critical of the yearbook article yelled comments at Simpson, who by then had risen out of her seat. Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson, who was at the board meeting for another matter, got out of his seat to intervene.
“What actions are we making for our kids?” Johnson, whose handling of the Black Lives Matter protests has been questioned by some, said to Simpson and the audience. “If we can’t get along, how do we expect our kids?”
“You should never have come in here with this bullcrap bit if you want to get along,” Simpson responded. “Getting along is acknowledging who I am as a person.”
Johnson responded he had always acknowledged Simpson as a person. At this point, the board voted to adjourn the meeting early without getting to the rest of the agenda.
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 12:06 PM with the headline "NC school board meeting is adjourned early after argument over BLM story in yearbook."
