Dearborn School Board Chaos as Muslim Parents Clash With LGBTQ+ Speakers
newsweek.compic.twitter.com/BxbI7QePy6"We don't see the educational merit in these books," some parents reportedly said, according to Firstpost, a news site based in India.The disputed books are in media centers across Dearborn Public Schools, Michigan's third-largest district, and they include This Book Is Gay, a nonfiction bestseller on sexuality and gender.
Census data shows that about 47 percent of Dearborn's population consists of Arab Americans, many of whom are Muslim, according to Firstpost.At the school board's resumed meeting on Thursday, the room was packed with mostly Muslim parents, some holding signs calling for the books to be banned.
One sign read "Homosexuality is a big sin," Firstpost reported.Packed crowd in Dearborn for school board meeting tonight discussing LGBTQ books in schools: “If democracy matters, we’re the majority,” reads sign. “Homosexuality Big Sin,” says another.
pic.twitter.com/ioJaYb15e1A video of the meeting, which was tweeted by Detroit Free Press reporter Niraj Warikoo, shows Brian Stone, a communications specialist who is part of the LGBTQ community, being booed and jeered off the stage.
