A college in New Jersey recently scrapped its plans to host a drag queen story hour for faculty members and their children in what was described as a “bring your child to work day” function. However, many staff members raised concerns about the event, eventually leading to its cancellation.
Brookdale Community College in Monmouth County, New Jersey, had originally planned to host the drag queen-themed event with an individual called “Harmonica Sunbeam.” Despite the performance being planned for months, the school canceled it the night before the event was supposed to take place to “respect the comfort levels of all involved.”
“I did ask why, but I did not receive an answer,” Sunbeam told NJ.com. “This had been planned for quite some time so I was shocked that it was canceled the night before.” Reportedly, the drag queen has been performing for nearly 30 years and hosting similar story hours since 2015.
Over the past few years, drag queen story hours have become a contentious topic in the culture war, where many conservatives feel that they are inappropriate for children to attend. In June 2021, Sunbeam shared a post to Instagram that lashed out at critics of the drag events for kids.
“As you already know there are two sides to every story . This morning I received an email from folks who a) want to stop DQSH and b) let me know they have my email . Here’s the deal , if the program is not for you , don’t attend . If you want to worry about kids well-being , volunteer at an orphanage, feed the homeless kids around the world , join the Big Brother programs. This program is successful for a reason and it won’t be stopped because we have so many folks who embrace it ( see picture 2). On that note folks , have a blessed day and be well . You know you are doing something right when folks make up lies to shut you down,” the performer wrote.
According to Brookdale spokeswoman Laura Oncea, the college canceled the event to respect “diverse viewpoints” on the matter. “Bring Your Child to Work Day was a success at Brookdale Community College, where employees and their children engaged and enjoyed our stigma-free, diverse, and inclusive campus atmosphere,” per Oncea’s statement.
The school’s statement continued: “As an inclusive community, we understand and respect that parents have the right to decide when and how they want their children to explore diverse ideas. While the Drag Queen read-along was intended to promote inclusivity and acceptance, we recognize and acknowledge the diverse viewpoints within our workforce and have opted to respect the comfort levels of all involved.”
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While the left has embraced drag queen story hour programming for children, other conservative activists, such as actor Kirk Cameron, have been working to fill youth educational environments with faith-based, Christian content. The American Tribune recently reported on comments from Cameron, where he labeled much of the content being fed to children as an “avalanche of filth.” The actor stated, “We see that there is such an avalanche of filth and material that’s twisting the minds of children about the most basic things of reality and families, gender, faith, what is America.”