Protesters confront Rochester School Board on critical race theory, BLM
Activists showed up en masse to the Rochester School Board meeting Tuesday night to challenge a number of hot-button conservative issues, from mask mandates to critical race theory.
The demonstration, which lasted through the board’s public comment period, included several outbursts from demonstrators, including an organized reciting of the Lord’s Prayer. Some in the audience also held signs protesting the district’s approval of language around Black Lives Matter.
Though there were no major items on the agenda, it was the School Board’s first in-person meeting since the early days of the pandemic. It was also new interim superintendent Kent Pekel’s introduction to Rochester.
Pekel faced accusations from one speaker, Wes Lund, that he had been compromised due to his prior experience in government — notably his time serving as a White House fellow assigned to the director of the CIA.
“Does everyone in the room realize that we have some ‘deep state’ characters in the room?” Lund asked the audience.
Lund, a frequent online troll, offered no evidence for his theory.
Board members sat mostly silent as protesters spoke, chanted and heckled. Demonstrators left before the board addressed the key topics of the agenda.
Among those responsible for the protest include Brian Braaten, who we have reported on for his racist and misogynistic statements. Braaten displayed signs on his vehicle Tuesday comparing BLM to the Nazis.
On social media, some residents condemned Tuesday night’s events.
“A group of ignorant race-baited zealots seems pleased with themselves for the tantrum they are throwing in front of the @RPS535 board,” wrote Justin Cook, a Rochester resident who ran for the School Board in 2020. “It’s not about [critical race theory], it’s just about the predictable success that culture war strategists have found mining this vein of white insecurity.”
Cover photo: Screenshot / July 13 Rochester School Board meeting
H/t to Jordan Shearer for live tweeting the meeting
