Community Conversation — A Problem of Identity, or a Problem of Bigotry?

The following is part of DougCo Collective’s “Community Conversations” and was written by a Douglas County community member (parent, student, teacher/staff or community member).  The intent of “Community Conversations” is to give members of the Douglas County community an opportunity to contribute to the larger DCSD conversation with their lived experiences and perspectives.  Usually these conversations are kept anonymous; however, the author of this particular conversation requested to have their name published.

Estimated Read Time: 4 minutes

In public comment at the DCSD BoE meeting on Aug. 22, 2023, we heard a few claims that “identity groups” and students relating to “identity groups” create issues of racism, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of bigotry in the school district. 

We now have community members blaming students for experiencing the harm of bigotry. Because there are students who do not fall into the homogeneity of being white, heterosexual, cis gender, able-bodied, and Christian (these appear to be the “approved” identities in Douglas County), they are somehow to blame.

It is abhorrent that a small vocal minority is dictating the norms for our diverse community and creating a hostile environment for our students, teachers, and staff.

Additionally, these are tired claims meant to fuel the culture wars, and we’ve been hearing them since Christopher Rufo got FOX News viewers in a panic about “Critical Race Theory.”

Ironically, some of these community members who show up in Douglas County school board public comment rallying against “identity groups” and the equity policy, are some of the loudest voices in other community spaces rallying against actual identity groups with bigotry.

Here is a highlight of the meeting and beyond:

One community member read aloud her published letter to the editor in Colorado Community Media. She claimed that kids “coalescing” around “identity groups” is an “unhealthy practice” and creates an “us vs them mentality.” If this has the flavor of Klanned Karenhood, otherwise known as the identified extremist group Moms for Liberty, that’s because rallying against diversity is a familiar note for them. This same community member could be seen the next night at the Douglas County Library Board meeting sitting with other supporters of banning LGBTQ+ books. Someone should hold up a mirror, showing her who is really participating in an “us vs them mentality.” 

Linda White, founder of Grandparents 4 Kids, which appears to be the grandparent version of the so-called “parents’ rights” movement, preached “tolerance” and “raising our kids with values that stress tolerance” (starting at 55:09). She was also at the Library Board Meeting the next night, and proclaimed, “We cannot overlook that explicit and obscene content can have a detrimental impact on our kids’ development.” Conflating LGBTQ+ literature with pornography is a tired dog whistle accusing the LGBTQ+ community of “grooming” children and is anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. It appears those “values that stress tolerance” that White refers to must not extend to the LGBTQ+ community.

Another community member expressed concerns about teachers keeping “secrets” from parents, like their students’ pronouns <insert eye roll>. This comment must have been a continuation of his previous week’s conspiracies from the Castle Rock Town Hall meeting where he stated he was “concerned about sexual activities in front of children” at Douglas County PrideFest. Make no mistake, there is no real concern, this again is that anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric of “grooming” children.

What is perhaps the most blatant example of this cognitive dissonance by community members who claim that “identity issues” are creating division in the community is Jimmy Graham, founder of Able Shepherd, a “well regulated militia” according to Douglas County Commissioner George Teal. At the BoE Meeting on Feb. 22, 2022 (starting at 2:32:37), Graham expressed his disdain for the district’s Equity Policy, oddly calling equity a “racist handout.” Yeah, this doesn’t make sense to us either. He also proclaimed “My children will be judged by the content of their character not the color of their skin.” And in what turned out to be his most prophetic statement was, “It is every adult’s responsibility to protect children to the best of their ability.” As a reminder, Jimmy Graham led Able Shepherd into Douglas County PrideFest wearing shirts stating “Stand to Protect Children'' with one intention – to intimidate and threaten the LGBTQ+ community. It seems that only Graham’s children are permitted with the grace of being judged by the “content of their character.” Additionally, frightening children and making them cry at PrideFest doesn’t feel like “protection.”

So who exactly has the problem with “identity groups?”

It seems like it’s the far-right extremists in our community, not the rest of us, and certainly not the students. And these people don’t have a problem with “identity;” they have a problem with bigotry.