(RepublicanInformer.com)- According to a complaint made by a concerned parent association, it seems that a Massachusetts high school only allows kids who identify as “people of color” to audition for a school play.
The “Theatre Ink” program at Newton North High School in Massachusetts gives students the chance to try out for a variety of plays and performances all year long. The official Black Lives Matter group website is connected to the independent website run by “Theatre Ink.”
Students are encouraged to try out for “Lost and Found: Our Stories as People of Color,” according to the school’s theatrical website. The audition package for the play implies that only students who identify as “people of color” are eligible to audition. The show will run from January 19–21, 2023.
The audition package states that “Lost and Found is a no-cut, cabaret-style play for students of color at North.”
It states that Lost and Found will serve as a “designated safe place” for this “exploration” and for people of color to be open and supportive of one another.
One feature that sets Lost & Found apart is its emphasis on fostering a sense of community via once-weekly full-cast rehearsals where they have formal talks about race and identity in our daily lives.
Students were required to provide their pronouns, a headshot, and a response to the question, “Describe a moment when you felt misunderstood/disrespected in terms of your ethnic identity,” on a separate audition form for “Lost and Found.”
An association of concerned parents called Parents Defending Education complained to the federal Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights. According to papers acquired by the Daily Caller, the lawsuit claims that the action “violates both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964… and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”
According to Parents Defending Education, the performance description does not mention that participation is available to everyone, which is a crucial detail to add to prevent civil rights abuses.
The play is “centered around the tales of the lives of our kids of color,” according to the communications director for Newton Public Schools, who said that “no one is turned away or excluded from participating or having a role” in the performance.
The “Lost and Found” performance of Theatre Ink, Newton North’s teaching and working theater program, is open to everyone, the spokesperson said, “while focusing upon the tales of the lives of our students of color.”
They claim that Newton Public Schools do not discriminate against pupils based on their skin color, race, ethnicity, or religion.
