Date: Wed, 21 Dec 1994 17:51:12 -0600 (CST) From: Kevyn Jacobs Subject: PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY REPORT ON KANSAS From HOSTILE CLIMATE: A STATE-BY-STATE REPORT ON ANTI-GAY ACTIVITY 1994 Published by People For The American Way Reprinted With Permission ================================================= KANSAS ANTIGAY ACTIVITY, 1994 ============================= In Olathe, a superintendent removed copies of Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden, available in high school libraries. Project 21, a group that works to provide youths with positive images of gays and lesbians, donated copies of Annie on My Mind and All-American Boys by Frank Mosca to several school districts in the area. In Olathe, a review committee decided to accept Annie on My Mind and include it in the high school libraries, but to reject All-American Boys. The superintendent reversed the committee's decision on Annie on My Mind, and removed the donated book, as well as two additional copies that had been in two high school libraries for several years. The school board voted to uphold the superintendent's actions, even though no formal complaints had been lodged against the books. High school students and a district science teacher, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, have filed suit against the school, arguing that the removal of the book violated students' First Amendment rights. In Overland Park, a grandparent of a student raised objections to Annie on My Mind and All-American Boys, available in high school Libraries on the grounds that in reading the boo~s, "the reader is systematically led down the path of acceptance condoning the homosexual lifestyle." Copies of the books were donated to the district by Project 21, a group that advocates positive portrayals of gays and lesbians. The district already had copies of Annie on My Min~ in three libraries. School officials reviewed and decided to accept All-American Boys. The objector filed a formal complaint asking that the books be removed. A review committee voted to return the books to Project 21 because "they were presented by a special-interest group advocating its own agenda." The committee voted to place on restricted shelves the copies of Annie on My Mind that had been in the libraries for several years, requiring students to obtain parental permission in order to check them out. The objector advocated keeping public records of students who check out the book. Protesting the committee's decision, students at one district high school checked out almost 3,000 library books, to demonstrate how few books would remain in the library if all controversial materials were removed. The students also collected hundreds of signatures on petitions. Following the students' protest, the district agreed to return the old copies of Annie on My Mind to general circulation. The outspoken Rev. Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka led a group that traveled to San Francisco to picket the February funeral of Randy Shilts, a gay journalist who died of AIDS, to protest the "filthy face of fag evil." Then in May, Phelps sent hate mail to openly gay San Francisco fashion designer Kenneth King. Phelps asserts, "The fags ought to be grateful. I am the best friend they have got. Who else is warning them? Who else is telling ~em that God hates them?" Phelps was recently featured on the television news show 20/20, continues to appear on television talk shows, and ran as a Democratic candidate in this year's Kansas gubernatorial race, receiving 3.3 percent of the vote in the August primary. After a legal battle, the Topeka Capitol-Journal published an expose on Phelps' family "compound," where the minister has reportedly abused his wife and 13 children. =============================================================== Thanks to People For the American way for permission to reprint For more information: People For The American Way 2000 M St. NW Suite 400 WASHINGTON, DC 20036 +1.202.467.4999