Students at a Massachusetts middle school revolted against a Pride celebration by wearing patriotic colors and chanting “USA are my pronouns” instead of joining the rainbow-themed event. Some students arrived in red, white, and blue or black after being asked to wear rainbow clothing. Pride posters and stickers were also reportedly torn down during the protest. One mother explained that her daughter felt pressured to participate and objected to a message displayed at the school.
The incident occurred at Marshall Simonds Middle School in Burlington on June 2nd, 2023, during a school-approved Pride Spirit Day. The school’s Spectrum Club, a student group for LGBTQ students and allies, organized the celebration. Club members decorated the building with banners, rainbow streamers, and handmade signs, distributed stickers, and invited students and faculty to wear rainbow clothing. The protest subsequently became a subject of discussion at a June 12th Burlington Select Board meeting.
Principal Cari Perchase described the protest in a letter to families, reporting that students had organized their own response to the event. Groups wore the alternative colors, with some also using face paint, and students chanted the patriotic slogan. The letter also described decorations being removed and alleged intimidation of students and faculty supporting Pride. At the town meeting, speakers condemned the protest, with one calling it “an unruly disruption, in fact, that was organized ahead of time.”
Parent Christine Steiner explained her daughter’s decision during an interview with WCVB. “Some of the kids threw the stickers on the ground, but you know I can only speak for my daughter,” she said. “She just she didn’t want to wear that to school. It’s not that she wanted to hurt anybody’s feelings.” Steiner said her daughter felt coerced to participate in the celebration and was uncomfortable with some of its messaging.
One display featured a quotation attributed to playwright Tennessee Williams about whether the human heart could be straight. WCVB’s report explained that Steiner’s daughter found the message offensive as a student who identified as straight. Describing her daughter’s response, Steiner said, “You know, Mom, that’s, that’s offensive to, to me, who I am straight.” The mother discussed the display while explaining what had bothered her daughter about the event and her reluctance to wear the requested clothing.
Students were offered rainbow flag stickers as they entered the building that morning, computer science teacher Diana Marcus told Burlington Access TV. Marcus said some students respectfully declined them, while others ripped them up and threw them onto the floor. The stickers were offered in addition to the invitation to dress in rainbow or brightly colored clothing. The counterprotest had been organized by students ahead of the school’s celebration, at least according to the principal’s letter.
Watch the report, including the mother’s explanation, here:
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Perchase addressed students’ freedom to choose their clothing in the letter to families. “I also respect individuals’ right to express their opinions through clothing choices and freedom of speech,” she wrote, according to Burlington Access TV. She also announced that a counselor would be available for students who wanted to discuss what happened. Group meetings were planned for later in the week as the administration responded to the incident.
Another complaint concerned the school’s failure to recognize Memorial Day shortly before holding the Pride celebration. According to WHDH’s report on the principal’s letter, Perchase received feedback that the omission had helped motivate the students’ counterprotest. She described the missed observance as an oversight and said she wished students had brought their concerns directly to her. School officials apologized to students for the Memorial Day omission on Monday.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.