Man ‘snuck’ into Denver school, allegedly harassed parents and staff over Black Lives Matter event

On Monday, a man allegedly snuck into a Denver elementary school in order to harass parents and staff members. The incident occurred just a few days after Centennial Elementary school faced backlash over its participation in the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. 

A letter was sent to families by the principal of the elementary school, saying the man pretended to be a parent wanting to enroll his child at the school in order to gain access to the building.

According to the letter, the man verbally abused both parents and staff members once he was permitted to enter the school. He then stood outside of the building while holding a sign stating his opposition to critical race theory while he continued to harass parents attempting to pick up their children. 

The principal added in the letter that the school has received angry and vulgar emails and calls from people outside of Denver and even outside of Colorado in opposition to the BLM School Week of Action.

“By participating in the national Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, the school is creating age-appropriate spaces to start important conversations about how our unique perspectives and experiences are contributions to our society that should be celebrated,” said Denver Public Schools in a statement.

“It is the mission of DPS to provide all students the opportunity to achieve the knowledge and skills necessary to become contributing citizens in our diverse society.” 

But according to Parents Defending Education, the national annual event does far more than simply encourage schools and educators to teach students about racial justice. The group posted the event’s 13 guiding principles online, which gathered national media attention.

Those principles include the acceptance and affirmation of queer and transgender people and additionally encourage “Black villages,” described further as “the disruption of Western nuclear family dynamics and a return to the ‘collective village’ that takes care of each other.’”

The outreach director for the nonprofit Parents Defending Education, Erika Sanzi, called the guiding principles “indoctrination,” saying they bordered on “abuse.”