Ahlquist Wins Playboy First Amendment Award

Jessica Ahlquist, the teenage atheist who successfully sued the Cranston School District and got a prayer banner that hung in the auditorium at Cranston High School West removed, will be at the Playboy Mansion on May 22 to recieve an award.

The Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award is given to indiviuals who "have made significant contributions in the vital effort to protect and enhance the First Amendment rights for all Americans," according to a release.

Ahlquist was chosen for her "courageous and successful lawsuit over a prayer banner in her high school, a clear violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment," the release stated.

The enormous banner had hung in this Rhode Island high school since 1963. It begins with the phrase "Our Heavenly Father" and ends with "Amen," and hung in place for decades before it became the center of controversy. Ahlquist, who objected to the banner's presence, sued the district with the help of the ACLU, and in January of 2012 a judge ordered that the banner be removed.

The ACLU raised the issue in July of 2010 after a complaint from a parent. In a letter to the district at the time, Steven Brown, executive director of the ACLU, wrote "there can be no question that the school auditorium’s prayer display violates a core principle of the First Amendment."

In April of 2011, Ahlquist, a then-16-year-old Cranston West student and self-described atheist, filed suit to have the banner removed. She was called "an evil little thing," a "clapping seal" and a "pawn star" by a state representative on a local radio station.

David Bradley, the author of the prayer and a graduate of the class of 1963, said he was tasked to write the prayer and the creed as a student council member in 1960 at the request of his adviser and the school administration.

The 21st century church and state debate brought media from around the country and the world to Cranston.

For a list of all stories about the mural issue, which will give you a detailed play-by-play of the lengthy and contentious public debate, click HERE.