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Paso Robles students protest black speaker at Martin Luther King event

January 13, 2024

Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Board Trustee Laurene McCoy

By KAREN VELIE

A group of Paso Robles High School students plan to boycott the city’s 17th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration because they disapprove of the chosen speaker, a black woman.

In December, the students in a drama class committed to perform at the Jan. 15 event to be held at the Downtown City Park. That was before several members of the community objected to having Paso Robles School Board Trustee Laurene McCoy, a conservative, provide the keynote speech.

Her critics have voiced concerns with McCoy’s affiliation with “Moms for Liberty,” a group they claim does not support “transgender ideology.” The chair of the SLO County Moms for Liberty group, however, is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. The group argues that “parental rights do not stop at the classroom door.”

School officials disagree on what led students in the drama class to boycott the event as long as McCoy is the keynote speaker, according to emails between school district officials. While some argue the student’s made the decision on their own, others believe a teacher prompted the boycott.

“In light of Curt’s (Superintendent Curt Dubost) disparaging remarks towards conservatives, to include three of the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Board Trustees, it’s not surprising that the students would follow such a poor example,” said Trustee Kenney Enney. “Several faculty members have indicated that there was teacher involvement to encourage the boycott.

“Therefore, I would like an outside investigator to look into this incident and Curt’s comments and report the findings directly to the board. Unfortunately, due to evident political bias in the district office, I do not have confidence in an internal investigation.”

Kicking off the event, students with Paso Robles High School Drum Ensemble will lead a unity march from Robbins Field to the park at 12 p.m. on Monday. The first hundred participants will receive souvenirs, and pizza will be served at the park.

Following McCoy’s speech, multiple local groups are scheduled to perform.

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Sorry but I have a problem with race based holidays. As I get older, religious holidays seem to be enough but some religions don’t celebrate anything. Just another government day off.


6

If you think the holiday is “race based” it is because we are honoring a hero who fought against racism, and I’m as redneck a Republican as you will find. You clearly oppose MLK’s principles. And government workers, who negotiate contracts with employers, gave up for back-to-back Lincoln and Washington birthday holidays for a single President’s Day to accomodate MLK’s birthday being added, except for the schools, they want Fri. and Mon.


-1

how does anyone keep straight the hierarchy of stupidity in the boycotting tree?


25

This is the kind of article that I believe correctly leads to skepticism of CCN reporting – the lead should be “Paso Robles students protest Moms for Liberty speaker at Martin Luther King event”. Her being conservative has little to do with it, but more importantly her being black has nothing to do with the protest and therefore the story. The facts are being obscured by a misleading implying progressives are being racist… That’s not happening here.


-22

I love how chickens will downvote this statement, but they unable to refute WITH Facts…..I totally agree the framing of the headline is BS


16

your remarks are absurd. They boycotted a black speaker at an event honoring a black man who fought for the rights of all. She was not a Moms for Liberty speaker, she is a black woman who spoke at an event to honor a man who said people should be judged by the content of their character, not their race, not their ideology, not what organizations they belong but what they bring to the table as a human being. How can you not see that?


0

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” – Martin Luther King


Can we blame the children for judging Laurene McCoy, from Moms for Liberty, on her character? Moms for Liberty is notoriously in support of book banning (anti-first amendment), opposition to LGBT (anti-civil rights) — and the founders (Bridget & Christian Ziegler) are facing rape and sexual assault cases.


-50

Not true, FALSE!


13

you can’t just say it isn’t true, Do we need to post data here to prove this and still have you say it’s a lie? the free speeches hate free speech when it doesn’t fit their ideology. Biden still supports Lockheed, aweful but I hope courts catch up to criminals soon who Lie Under oath. So Haneous to Lie. about as bad as murder as a soul to Lie to humans.


-7

Sounds to me like these kids are judging this woman not by the color of her skin, but by the content of her character. Wonder what commie gave em that idea


The school board has been captured by right wing bigots who attempted a cheap bait and switch. One so feeble minded it couldn’t even fool a group of 14 year old school kids and, to be honest, if a teacher did point this out to them, then good on them.


If I were a right winger, I’d be embarrassed through and through. Not just down to my bones, but to marrow


-58

I could say the same thing about LGB, our community has been captured by TQ+ extremist.


15

Harvey Milk? u aware?


-11

Maybe Dave Chappelle can fill in as keynote speaker.


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