WI School Board Screams At Parents After Banning Student Band From Playing Piece Referencing Stonewall

Wisconsin Public Radio reports:

Watertown High School band students won’t be allowed to perform an instrumental piece of music tied to LGBTQ+ history at their spring concert. The Watertown school board voted 7-1 to remove “A Mother of A Revolution!” from the May 18 program, saying the piece violated the district’s controversial issues policy. Students in the Watertown Wind Symphony have been practicing the piece all school year. Board President Laurie Hoffmann voted against removing the music.

The board meeting Tuesday erupted in screaming matches and protests from parents and students. School board members called the piece “indoctrination” and said it could incite political violence. “This is a perfect example of what everyone here ran on, which was ending indoctrination and radical curriculum,” Board Vice President Sam Ouweneel said. Board member Christina DeGrave said political violence should not be celebrated through music or song.

“A Mother of A Revolution!” was composed in 2019 by Omar Thomas for contemporary wind ensembles and does not have lyrics. Thomas dedicated the work to transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson, a key figure in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising against police raids in New York City.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

Even before the board’s vote on the piece, the mood in the room was tense, with audience members often shouting over or booing at board members as board members tried to discuss the piece. For example, when board member Tammy Fournier said, “I think you have the right to be appalled, but its at your music teacher,” she was met with a loud chorus of boos and shouting of disapproval.

She went on to say, in part, “You should be disappointed in your educator that instead of educating you and picking a piece that wouldn’t cause controversy, that he instead chose a piece that was going to incite controversy in our community.”

The school’s wind symphony was supposed to have performed the piece at the concert, scheduled for May 18. Connor Sandvick, a member of Watertown High School’s wind symphony, said he was disappointed when he learned that the piece he and his peers had been working on was going to be censored.

Watch all of the wild video on YouTube or below in the now-viral TikTok clip. Students today staged a walkout over the decision.

@tmj4newsThe Watertown school board has voted to remove an instrumental piece tied to LGBTQ history from the upcoming spring concert. The controversy began when the Watertown Wind Symphony, made up of about 40 high schoolers, was set to perform “A Mother of a Revolution” at their spring concert on May 18. Read more: https://www.tmj4.com/news/jefferson-county/watertown-school-board-votes-to-remove-song-tied-to-lgbtq-history-from-spring-concert♬ original sound – TMJ4 News

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