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  • 2021-02-04 (xsd:date)
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  • Did School Apologize for ‘All Lives Matter’ Theme for Black History Month? (en)
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  • When thinking of a theme to commemorate Black History Month, a controversial phrase like All Lives Matter doesn’t seem a likely fit. Many argue the phrase has been used by opponents of the Black Lives Matter movement to minimize the impact of systemic racism and police violence on the Black community, and one school principal didn’t appear to get the memo. In an email newsletter sent to families on Jan. 31, Christy Caldwell Drake, the principal of East Ridge Middle School (ERMS) in Chattanooga, Tennessee, declared that the theme for February's Black History Month would be All Lives Matter. A screenshot of the newsletter was shown on WRCBtv, and stated in bold letters, ERMS Theme - ALL LIVES MATTER. Parents of the students were not happy with the idea, and the principal retracted the theme in another email sent to families a day later. A Google document detailing her apology was posted on the Facebook page of the school’s Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA). Drake wrote: The school mural that said Where Every Child Matters was also shared in the original email when Drake announced the All Lives Matter theme for February. The school website has a note about African American History Month that reads: Visit the ERMS Library Site to Learn about a new African American Hero and work of Literature each Week of African American History Month! Given that this controversial theme was acknowledged in the principal’s apology email, we rate this claim as True. (en)
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