Chesterton Flag Removal Protest

“I clapped and I cried and I was so proud of these children who recognize the disparity and the marginalized communities that some of them belong to and some see themselves as allies of.” Laura Madigan, Chesterton parent

At Chesterton Middle School administrators forced three teachers to take down posters and flags representing Pride, Black Lives Matter, diversity, and so-called gay supportive material after a few parents complained that it made their children uncomfortable. Caving in to the pressure, Principal Mike Hamacher justified the decision by claiming that the items were not directly related to the curriculum and that they constituted “a disruption to the learning environment.” Approximately 30 students staged a 20-minute walk-out in protest. Monday afternoon, over a hundred concerned citizens rallied at Chesterton Park to register their outrage, including Toni, and Tom and Darcey Wade. Duneland School Board, which was meeting at the time, refused to put the issue on the agenda but allowed a few parents to address them afterwards. The protest was covered by Chicago TV stations and was the main front-page story in Tuesday’s April 13 NWI Times.

Milissa Beale told Times reporters Bob Kasarda and Mary Freda that her 13-year-old daughter Mila came home deflated Friday and asked if it meant she wasn’t wanted at school. Jennifer Camacho said: “It is a human right for my child to go to school and not have to be worried about being grabbed or called the F-word.” She added, “Put the flag back up. It’s not exclusive, it’s inclusive.” Lily Rex said, “I know from lived experience that visibility saves lives. Open dialogue, silent shows of solidarity, like a Black Lives Matter flag on the wall, can save lives, and at the same time they don’t hurt anyone.”

Indicating that Chesterton administrators were backward-looking and out of step with changing times, English teacher Hilda Demuth-Lutze held a gay awareness poster that she told the Times staff writers was the subject of controversy 25 years ago. In 1997 high school instructor Bonney Leckie had been ordered to remove it from her classroom wall and appealed to the school board. After the board ruled in her favor, Demuth-Lutze recalled Leckie telling them, “The poster won’t be put back up in my classroom tomorrow, it will be tonight.” Demuth-Lutze added: “She said she doesn’t just teach English. She teaches young people to be good citizens and good neighbors. And that, in my opinion, is what education is all about.”

The rainbow-colored Pride Flag symbol being censored is one that has adorned my recent Steel Shavings issues and that I wear on a vest when in the classroom. Designed by gay activist Gilbert Parker, whose colors symbolize life (red), light (yellow), nature (green), serenity (blue), spirit (violet), and healing (orange), plus, when pink is used, love, it reminds me of the rainbow coalition of the 1980s, those discriminated against, such as former IUN professor Anne Balay, for being openly gay, and, as one sign put in at the rally, that “Love Is Love.”