A school district in South Florida temporarily halted distribution of a high school yearbook last week because the publication contained two pages dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Students on the yearbook committee at West Broward High School in Pembroke Pines decided to include a spread recognizing the ubiquitous American social justice movement that emerged eight years ago in response to ongoing police brutality.
BLM received renewed prominence over the past year following the police killing of George Floyd, and recollections about the movement’s impact soon became part of the planning.
David Fleischer, a teacher at the school who also serves as yearbook adviser, said students were proud of the finished product, but others at the school were not as receptive to the yearbook — called “The Edge” — after it became available last Friday.
“I found out that it was because there were some complaints from teachers and from parents about the content of the BLM page,” said Fleischer, according to CNN. “That it didn’t seem objective; there were no opposing views. They mentioned the fact that we should have had, or could have included, something like Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter.”
On Monday, Fleischer addressed the issue in an email to his colleagues.
“Stating ‘All Lives Matter’ is equivalent to stating ‘all houses matter’ when one in the neighborhood is on fire,” he wrote. “Advocating for one group does not mean you are attacking another, but using a countermovement distracts from the discussions that must occur about how people of color are impacted by racism.”
The Broward County school district put out a statement Monday confirming it suspended distribution of the yearbook as it worked to resolve the issue.
“Broward County Public Schools supports and encourages students’ freedom of expression. After concern was expressed last week regarding editorial student content included in the West Broward High School yearbook about the Black Lives Matter movement, the school’s administration paused distribution late Friday afternoon while the concerns were carefully reviewed,” the statement said, according to CNN.
By the time distribution of the yearbooks resumed Monday, a disclaimer from West Broward High School Principal Brad Fatout had been inserted into each one.
“Please note that as a governmental agency, the School Board of Broward County must maintain a neutral stance on all political views,” the note read. “As such, any political views expressed in the 2021 West Broward yearbook are not sponsored by the District.”
Kennedy Messado, a senior at the high school and co-editor-in-chief of the yearbook, told CNN that students wanted to include the Black Lives Matter movement in the book to “accurately represent the entire year and the events that took place.”
“I was more shocked and taken aback because I don’t think I considered it being an issue or somebody having an issue with the spread,” Messado said, calling it “disheartening.”
Fleischer said the eye-opening experience left him and the students deeply upset.
“We just feel that this is an attack on our non-white student body and it’s just a slap in the face to my students who have worked hard in the yearbook, it’s a slap in the face to obviously the First Amendment and to journalism,” Fleischer said.
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