White School District Bans 'White Privilege' Talk After MLK Day

WAUKESHA COUNTY, WI — After a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day observance at a local high school drew the ire of parents and school board members, a primarily white school district in Wisconsin has put a ban on classroom discussion about "white privilege." Within the following month, the board forced the principal to resign, had its high school principal resign, and has turned up the pressure on the superintendent.

It all started for the Oconomowoc School District on Jan. 15, when the high school held an all-school assembly for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The event was run by student and staff members and designed to teach racial harmony and respect other cultures. Part of the day's activities included asking students to participate in a "white privilege test" to encourage discussion in the classroom.

According to a district statement:

OHS held an assembly this morning that was largely designed by students around the theme of empathy. Following the assembly, and to build on the theme of empathy, the students engaged in a reflective activity in their Pride homerooms about privilege. They participated in a great conversation as they talked through their thoughts and beliefs about discrimination in the school, community, and beyond.

During that day, students were asked to fill out a "privilege aptitude test" modeled after a National Civil Rights Museum test that was designed to foster discussion about race and privilege among the test's participants.

According to media reports, parents contacted the district to voice their concerns, and also reached out to local conservative talk show host Dan O'Donnell in Milwaukee. "Several parents contacted News/Talk 1130 WISN, expressing their outrage at what they termed "left-wing politics" in the classroom," according to a Newstalk 1130 report.

By February 28, Oconomowoc High School principal Joseph Moylan - who had worked at the school for more than 16 years - resigned to "take the time to write and do service work," according to a CBS 58 report.

According to a JSOnline report, school board member Steven Zimmer, a friend and supporter of Moylan resigned from the board in apparent protests, stating that "members of the board used the MLK Day assembly to push (Moylan) out."

Limiting Free Speech

Shortly after the public outcry, the Oconomowoc school board ordered Superintendent Roger Rindo into a closed-door meeting with the board. When they emerged from the session, Rindo was ordered "not to allow future activities around the topic of privilege except in classrooms where it is related to a specific course and teachers can provide appropriate context," according to a JSonline report.

Parent Amanda Hart took exception to the public outrage over the MLK Day assembly, stating that supportive parents were essentially railroaded over the matter. Hart created a petition at Change.org to petition Oconomowoc Area School District Board President Donald Weimer and other board members to oppose their actions against free speech.

The petition reads, in part, "The event received negative media attention from a radio host in this article by Dan O’Donnell. The school district was overwhelmed by complaints from parents aligned with Mr. O’Donnell. Unfortunately, they did not hear from the parents who supported and found value in this activity. As a result, changes were made to the school’s leadership."

After the district was the subject of numerous complaints about the day's assembly and test, the district issued another statement aimed at calming and explaining the situation.

The assembly and classroom activities that took place on Monday, January 15, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at Oconomowoc High School were initiated by student interest and developed by a committee of staff and students. Assembly topics, music, speakers, and classroom activities were not intended to judge or offend staff or students in any way. The classroom activities that followed the assembly were intended to open a conversation among small student groups. They were not required assignments, nor were they collected by teachers. The District is working to find prudent ways to build understanding of the diversity among people and cultures.

Oconomowoc School District Enrollment By Race/Ethnicity 2017-18

White: 88.9 percent
Hispanic 5.8 percent
Multi-Racial 2.9 percent
Asial 1.1 percent
Black 1 percent
Native American 0.2 percent
Pacific Islander 0.1 percent

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