Dupage Policy Journal

When Cedra Crenshaw got wind of Glenbard School District 87 accommodating transgender bathrooms last year, she immediately jumped into action, attending school board meetings in an attempt to bring awareness to the district that it should protect all students and not cater to only one group.

“Unfortunately, that’s not what happened,” Crenshaw told the DuPage Policy Journal. “They pretty much opened up the bathrooms and the locker rooms, including overnight trips, making those accessible to students of the opposite sex who happen to identify as one of these genders. That’s how I found out there was a hard push to the left within the schools.” 

The mother of four children has a daughter who will be starting her junior year in the fall at Glenbard South High School.

“I'm not against liberal views in the schools,” she said. “The problem is there's no balance.”

The latest offense, according to Crenshaw, is a YouTube video created by students called 'We Stand With Black Lives' that School Supt. David Larson distributed to parents and students while school buildings have been closed.

One of the links in the video's YouTube comments section belongs to what appears to be a Black Lives Matter (BLM) resource page. After taking a deep dive, Crenshaw found links to political organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Free Palestine.

“Within each of those links are dozens and dozens of other links and then those links go to dozens and dozens of other links,” Crenshaw said. “I spent about 10 hours digging. It's a huge tree of links.”

What concerned her most were links requesting contributions to fund gas masks for protestors.

“I don't know of any peaceful protesters who need a gas mask,” she said. “That's potential criminal activity.”

According to the school district policy handbook, political activity is prohibited under Section P2:105, which states: ''No board member or employee shall intentionally use any district property or resources in connection with any political activity.” 

In an e-mail dated June 25, Crenshaw included all of the links she’d found and demanded that Larson retract the YouTube video based on Section P2:105. But she didn’t receive the compliant response hoped for.

That same day, according to Crenshaw, Larson replied: 

“Many thanks for taking the time to draft this note.  Please understand that we on occasion send student work and projects that are artistic and creative in nature out on Glenbard News.  Our understanding of the phrase Black Lives Matter was that it was a literal interpretation of the statement, not an endorsement of an organization. Know that D87 does not formally endorse non-educationally related organizations. I understand how this could be misunderstood. The attached files and videos were apparently sent out on YouTube by someone else. Please contact me should you have any future questions.”

Although Crenshaw had included members of the board of education and Glenbard school principals in her e-mail to the superintendent, they did not reply.

“They're either grossly incompetent or they're willfully participating in it,” she said. “This liberal orthodoxy is so ingrained in the administration, the whole district and the school board that this was just bound to happen. They have just bent the knee to Black Lives Matter across the board.”