Latest news with #AllLivesMatter
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lakeville Area Schools OKs $30,000 settlement on Black Lives Matter posters
Following a lawsuit involving posters featuring Black Lives Matter, the Lakeville Area Schools Board of Education approved a $30,000 settlement April 8. In a lawsuit filed more than two years ago, a group of residents alleged their First Amendment rights were violated when the school district allowed posters featuring 'Black Lives Matter' to be placed in classrooms, while not permitting the display of posters that read 'All Lives Matter' or 'Blue Lives Matter.' In a 5-1 vote, with board member Amber Cameron absent and member Carly Anderson opposed, the board approved the settlement April 8. 'We appreciate the many different perspectives shared. Lakeville Area Schools remains committed to continuing to partner with our families and community to provide a safe, respectful, engaging, rigorous, and collaborative learning environment where every student belongs, is valued and can succeed,' the district said in a statement provided Wednesday. Ahead of voting, Anderson said she felt the settlement approval was a premature decision, referencing the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in June to reverse the lawsuit's dismissal by a lower court. 'The Eighth Circuit decision was based on assuming that everything that the claimants were claiming could be possible in any scenario. And so to me, I believe we should have gone through the discovery process, which would have meant gathering all the information relevant to the case. In that situation, what I've understood from our legal counsel is that we are on very good footing, that they felt like what our district did was within the grounds of government speech, and that we had an excellent case,' Anderson said. In January, the Lakeville school board voted to remove the series of posters from district buildings. The posters are part of a series of 'inclusive' posters ordered by the district in 2021, two of which said 'Black Lives Matter,' and were distributed to staff members when requested. Upper Midwest Law Center represented plaintiffs Bob and Cynthia Cajune, Kalynn Kay Aaker, and Aaker's minor children in the lawsuit, which argued that the district violated their First Amendment rights 'by engaging in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.' 'With the Eighth Circuit's decision clearly signaling that the school district's policy was constitutionally unsound, Lakeville Schools wisely reversed their policy and removed the posters from district facilities,' Upper Midwest Law Center said in a statement on its website. 'Because that was what the plaintiffs had sought in the lawsuit, they agreed to dismiss their claims in the settlement in return for the District paying $30,000 in legal fees to the Upper Midwest Law Center.' Lakeville North basketball coach John Oxton announces retirement High school hockey coach, Lakeville officer returns home 2 months after injury Jury convicts alleged ringleader of massive Feeding our Future fraud scheme Another Buck Hill skier wins Alpine worlds medal: Paula Moltzan High School Football: Cretin-Derham Hall hires Ben Burk as football coach
CBS News
14-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
"Black Lives Matter" posters taken down at Lakeville schools; district settles lawsuit
Lakeville schools have taken down "Black Lives Matter" posters at district facilities and have agreed to a settlement on a lawsuit over the signs, according to the district. The school board ordered the around 3,000 posters be taken down across all buildings in the district during spring break, which was between March 30 and April 4. No teacher was required to put any of the posters up, but some parents had complained that that teachers were not given options of slogans like "All Lives Matter" or "Blue Lives Matter." A 2022 lawsuit, according to the Upper Midwest Law Center, had argued the school district's selective policy violated the First Amendment rights of Bob and Cynthia Cajune, Kalynn Kay Aaker and her children. The plaintiffs, who were represented by the Minnesota-based law firm, agreed to settle with the district on April 8 after the posters were taken down. "Because that was what the plaintiffs had sought in the lawsuit," the firm said in a release, "they agreed to dismiss their claims in the settlement in return for the District paying $30,000 in legal fees to the Upper Midwest Law Center." There were eight variations of the posters, but two of them had the term "Black Lives Matter." The cost to design and print them was more than $10,000, according to the district. In January, the school board voted 4-to-3 to remove the posters , but Superintendent Michael Baumann said at that time they would remain in place until a future poster series is ready. The school district said the following in response to the settlement: Note: The above video first aired on Jan. 29, 2025.
Chicago Tribune
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Heidi Stevens: If your rally cry is that all lives matter, show us — with your actions and your policies
Remember All Lives Matter? It began as a rejoinder, invented to strip power from the Black Lives Matter rally cry born after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a Black teenager killed on his walk home from a convenience store. As a phrase, Black Lives Matter was almost immediately twisted by critics to imply things it didn't imply — that Black lives matter more than other lives, for starters. The twisting was convenient, because it steered the public discourse away from what Black Lives Matter invited the nation to reckon with, which was the continual deaths of Black Americans like Martin in Florida and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York City and George Floyd in Minneapolis. All Lives Matter became a way to shut out and shut down that conversation. It became a frequent chant at Donald Trump rallies, starting with his 2016 run for the presidency. 'You're going to hear it once,' Trump told Black Lives Matter demonstrators at a Virgina rally in February 2016. 'All lives matter.' In 2020, Trump supporters could be heard chanting 'all lives matter' at rallies from Washington to Nevada and beyond. The phrase faded a bit by 2024, but its staying power remains undeniable — as a rally cry, as a hashtag, as a bumper sticker, as an ethos. Taken at face value, All Lives Matter is hard to argue with. All lives do matter. All lives should matter. All lives do deserve our attention and protection and honor and wonder and grace. It's why I'm opposed to the death penalty. What I would like to say, now that the rallies are over and the All Lives Matter chants have quieted and Donald Trump has been, once again, elected president, is this: Show us. Show us that all lives matter. Show us that you believe every life is worth protecting. Show us that you believe every life is worth honoring. Show us with your policies. Show us with your appointments. Show us with your executive orders. Because so far it's hard to look around and discern that all lives matter. It's hard to read about a 281-page spreadsheet that the United States Agency for International Development just sent to Congress, listing which foreign aid projects are about to be terminated — including funds to combat malaria, one of the deadliest diseases on the planet — and conclude that all lives matter. It's hard to read about the Pentagon purging military heroes from Defense Department websites and social media pages because those heroes weren't white men and conclude that all lives matter. It's hard to read about the Agriculture Department canceling $1 billion in federal spending to supply school lunches, fill food banks and support local farmers and conclude that all lives matter. It's hard to read about all the ways that eliminating the Department of Education will harm children with physical, mental and learning disabilities and conclude that all lives matter. It's hard to read the ongoing play-by-play of the text messages inadvertently sent to Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg — extremely sensitive text messages that outlined the timeline of a pending military attack in Yemen — and conclude that all lives, especially service members' lives, matter. 'It's by the awesome grace of God that we are not mourning dead pilots right now,' Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut said to intelligence officials at a hearing two days after the text leak went public. Intelligence officials will quibble about the word 'classified,' about whether the texts were truly a 'war plan,' about semantics that aim to distract us from the gravity of the situation. But Leon Panetta, former defense secretary and director of the Central Intelligence Agency, had this to say on PBS NewsHour: 'There are very serious consequences to leaking information about a potential military attack. If that information is leaked to an adversary, not only does it jeopardize very important intelligence resources that are being used to be able to determine military plans, but, in addition to that, that kind of leak would give a potential adversary an advantage of being able to strike first and going after whatever weapons, whatever naval vessels were going to be used for the attack. 'So it could cost lives of our men and women in uniform if that information was leaked,' he continued. 'That's the danger here. And, furthermore, it weakens our national security, very frankly, if we cannot protect that kind of sensitive information.' If your rally cry is all lives matter, there's no time like the present to start leading like they do.
Axios
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Axios
ALLA makes krewe history with first Black royalty
The Krewe of ALLA is stepping into the Carnival spotlight Wednesday night, taking over the headlining spot on the Uptown route for the first time. Why it matters: This year, ALLA will be led by a Black king and queen for the first time in its 93-year history, and it'll host the Six Ward Steppers in the first time a Mardi Gras krewe has invited a second-line club to march with it. The intrigue: The diversifying moves are especially poignant given the place ALLA holds in the official Carnival calendar this year. As the Wednesday headliner, ALLA takes over the space vacated by the Krewe of Nyx, which was booted from parading during the offseason after years of krewe turmoil. One of the krewe's scandals involved an " All Lives Matter" post on Facebook. Nyx's parade permit was revoked last year after City Council members said the krewe violated a ban on commercialized throws. Zoom in: City Council President JP Morrell led the challenge against Nyx, and now he'll serve as grand marshal for ALLA's parade. ALLA's royalty includes former City Councilmember James Carter as king and Gian Durand, the secretary of the Louisiana Democratic Party, as queen. As the Six Ward Steppers' royalty for 2025, Emline designer James Mayes and Sierra Duplessis will also roll with the parade along with about 20 of their social aid and pleasure club members. What they're saying: " All of this represents what Mardi Gras should be," Durand said on a recent trip to the ALLA den. "I feel like I have put this puzzle together that should have always been there." "It's gonna really hit me how big this moment is." Durand was key to bringing it all together, too, said Six Ward Steppers president Kim Charbonnet. Busy with getting things together for the Steppers' own second-line, Charbonnet hadn't yet called back Durand about possible marching in ALLA. So Durand just came knocking down doors to make it happen. "She physically showed up in my office and told me all these great things that were going on, and she wanted to include us, and we were 100% on board," Charbonnet tells Axios New Orleans. "It's historic. Never has a social aid and pleasure club been included in a parade on this level," she says. "The diversity that this club is putting on is heartwarming to us." What's next: ALLA rolls on Wednesday, following the Krewe of Druids' 6:15pm start along the Uptown route. Go deeper: Full parade schedule
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lakeville school board votes 4-3 to remove posters promoting inclusion, Black Lives Matter
A collection of posters, including some with the phrase Black Lives Matter, will be removed from buildings in the Lakeville school district following a 4-3 vote from the school board Tuesday night. The 'Inclusive Poster Series', which is at the center of an ongoing federal lawsuit filed against the district, has been displayed inside the schools since 2021. Two of the eight designs included in the series feature the phrase "Black Lives Matter." In the lawsuit, a group of plaintiffs have alleged their First Amendment rights were violated when the district refused to also display "All Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter" posters. Last year, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's dismissal of the case and reinstated the lawsuit. Whether or not the district should remove the posters has divided the community, with school board members saying they received hundreds of emails ahead of Tuesday's meeting. The meeting also featured extensive public comment, with those in support of keeping the poster series outnumbering those who wanted the posters removed – school board members were interrupted by the crowd on multiple occasions throughout the discussion. Supporters of the poster series said the messages are a valuable tool to promote learning as they combat bullying and help students feel safe, valued and seen. Those critical of the posters claim they are "politically-charged", and contend the district should not promote any political organization or movement. Ultimately, the board adopted a resolution to remove the posters and replace the series with new something new, which has yet to be developed. Board Chair Matt Swanson voted in favor of the posters' removal alongside Paul Carbone, Brett Nicholson and Brian Thompson. Carly Anderson, Kim Baker and Amber Cameron voted against the motion. During his remarks, Swanson said the decision was unrelated to President Donald Trump's recent actions to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion measures nationwide.
