Martinsville clergy and supporters prayed for an educator who came under attack for a hidden camera video. The media outlet Accuracy in Media claims it proved the school district was secretly teaching principles in line with critical race theory.
(Ethan Sandweiss, WFIU/WTIU News)
Local clergy, educators and supporters held a prayer circle at Martinsville High School Thursday evening for a local educator who came under fire after discussing sensitive curriculum material in a secretly recorded video.
The video of six educators across Indiana was taped by activists posing as parents while working for Accuracy in Media (AIM), a right-wing media organization. The video was later broadcast on Fox News.
One of the administrators in the video was Jenny Oakley, director of e-learning and literacy for the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville.
“We’ve talked to our textbook companies that are coming in to do presentations, and I actually prep them a little bit because I’m like, ‘we want this in our curriculum, so if you could just not say specifically “this” then it won’t cause a red flag with the community,’” Oakley told the activists posing as parents. “I hate that we have to do that, but that way it’s still there. They would support it if just the content was there. It’s just the title.”
The clip didn’t include the question posed to Oakley or specify what content she was referring to, but some on the internet interpreted it as deception against parents and an endorsement of critical race theory.
The video was shared widely by Purple for Parents, an organization that promotes conspiracy theories and says its goal is to expose “the indoctrination and sexualization of children in the public education system.” Attendees of the prayer circle said Oakley had received death threats and online harassment.
The circle was followed by a school board meeting, where officials and community members voiced their opinions. Emotions ran high, but comments remained civil.
Superintendent Eric Bowlen opened with a statement, saying he was disturbed with the video.
“It appears to be a highly edited version of a longer recording of a conversation,” Bowlen said, adding that the district was pursuing legal action to gain access to the entire video, which has not been shared.
He also denied the “instruction of radical principles such as critical race theory” in his district.
Some attendees spoke on behalf of teachers against what they saw as unfounded attacks.
College and career coach and former English teacher Carl Wagner gave an impassioned speech against curriculum censorship.
“It troubles me that in lesser communities than ours, I might have come under attack for teaching To Kill a Mockingbird, Night, Death of a Salesman, Of Mice and Men, and I could go on and on. But I’m more troubled that now those attacks come home to roost here,” Wagner said.
On the other hand, Martinsville resident Lisa Surber was more disturbed by the content of the video.
“Seeing that video, I feel that parents are being deceived,” Surber said. “That’s the way this comes across.”
Of the other educators secretly taped, two have been placed on suspension by their districts.
AIM’s video coincides with several bills in the Indiana statehouse that would limit the authority of teachers and remove sensitive materials from school libraries.
