Group protests outside Greeley-Evans School District 6 board members’ church, demanding removal of ‘pornography’ from school libraries
A child hides their face as protestors gather outside of St. Patrick Presbyterian church in Greeley Sunday, March 5, 2023. The church’s pastor, Michael Mathews also serves as the president of the Greeley-Evans School District 6 Board of Education. Sitting school board member Natalie Mash also attends the church. The group came to protest various books in schools, such as Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” asking the board to remove “pornography in schools.” Photo courtesy of Michael Mathews.
By Kelly Ragan
On Sunday, about a dozen people showed up to protest at St. Patrick Presbyterian church to get a message to its pastor, Michael Mathews, who is also president of the District 6 Board of Education.
Protestors held signs with messages such as “stop sexually grooming kids,” “I have a dream that schools teach facts, not feelings,” and “pride before destruction, remove porn from D6 instruction,” “stop CRT,” and “boycott the gov’t schools.”
At least one protestor, Sonia Miller, yelled into a megaphone that Mathews condones pornography in school. The group regularly shows up at school board meetings demanding that various books be pulled from libraries, but this time it upped the ante.
Miller, a regular at school board meetings, said in an email the group showed up to protest Matthew’s inaction as board president on “pornography in schools.”
Mathews said he wasn’t necessarily surprised that the group would take this step.
“They’ve shown they are willing to be disruptive and disrespectful,” Mathews said.
School board member Natalie Mash, whose seat is up for election this year, attends the church as well.
The crowd showed up before the Sunday service began. Mathews said they were quiet during the service but became vocal again as people were leaving.
Protestors pose for a photo on Sunday, March 5, 2023. More than a dozen protestors gathered outside St. Patrick Presbyterian church in Greeley, demanding the pastor, who also serves as the Greeley-Evans School District 6 Board of Education President, remove books with explicit content. Photo courtesy of Sonia Miller.
At a Dec. 12 school board meeting, group members attempted to challenge more than 200 books it said were inappropriate, using disruptive tactics such as dropping papers on the floor, according to a report by the Greeley Tribune. The group has also interrupted meetings by reading graphic passages from a Toni Morrison book, “Beloved,” and showing graphic images from another book – one that Mathews said isn’t available in district libraries.
Many of those same folks voiced opposition over mask mandates during the height of the pandemic.
Mathews said the complaints from this group – whether at school board meetings or protests – aren’t something that fit in an action item. While the group talks about books, it also talks about COVID-19 vaccines and disliking the district’s logo.
The group has yet to follow those policies and go through the appropriate appeals process.
Book controversies aren’t new, Mathews said, and the district has had a policy in place since 1985 that deals with complaints.
Sonia Miller, who attended the protest and is a regular speaker at school board meetings, said she believes the Greeley-Evans School District 6 logo is satanic. Graphic courtesy of Sonia Miller.
“We will deal with these books if they are appealed to the board, and we’ve been pretty clear what the process is,” Mathews said.
So, what were the goals of the protest?
Miller said the goal was to be heard.
“The goal is timely and reasonable resolution regarding the pornography in our district’s school libraries,” Miller said. “I’d also like to see the satanic symbolism in the District 6 logo removed. Graphic design is very intentional. This is no accident.”
Mathews said that while he’s frustrated, the protest Sunday hasn’t changed anything for him. He plans to continue serving the school board and his city – as does the church.