A high school in Florida has suspended its annual yearbook distribution due to a dedicated section on Black Lives Matter and its students’ involvement in the controversial movement.
David Fleischer, a teacher at West Broward High School in Pembroke Pines, told CNN that his students on the yearbook committee had carefully planned the topics and sections they would include into the yearbook and were proud when it was finalized.
However, not everyone was happy about it, including some parents and teachers who complained about the two-page section on BLM, The Hill reported.
Last week, the teacher was informed that his students would not be allowed to hand out yearbooks due to the review being conducted by school officials over the concern for the coverage of the racial justice movement.
“I found out that it was because there were some complaints from teachers and from parents about the content of the BLM page,” Fleischer told CNN. “That it didn’t seem objective, there were no opposing views. They mentioned the fact that we should have had, or could have included, something like Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter.”
Earlier this week, Fleischer countered their argument in an email defending the yearbook by saying, “not every story has, or should include, an opposing viewpoint.”
“Stating ‘All Lives Matter’ is equivalent to stating ‘all houses matter’ when one in the neighborhood is on fire,” the adviser wrote. “Advocating for one group does not mean you are attacking another, but using a countermovement distracts from the discussions that must occur about how people of color are impacted by racism.”
In response to his email, the school said the yearbook could be distributed again and were handed out on Monday.
The one significant change is that the Broward County Schools District added a disclaimer:
“As the yearbook is intended to highlight notable and newsworthy events from that year, student journalists exercised their freedom of speech in documenting the movement,” the statement said. “As a result of the review, distribution of the yearbook resumed Monday morning with an insert noting that the views expressed are not sponsored by the District.”
