LIBERALISM IS A MENTAL DISORDER
A couple of teachers at Central Park School for Children in Durham, North Carolina, decided to enlist the help of some local drag queens to celebrate the unique differences between the school's students.
Taylor Schmidt, an eighth-grade teacher at the school, and his colleague, Schara Brooks, pitched a school-wide event to help students understand "what it means to be different".
"Our drive was to remove barriers to success, belonging and the ability to thrive for all students," Schmidt said. "It called for a hard look at the roots of these behaviors and intentional actions to liberate not just the bullied from oppressive acts, but the bully from the oppressive root causes of their actions."
Thus, the Pride and Liberation Event was born, and with it the styling of social activists and drag queens of color "Vivica C. Coxx" and "Stormie Daie" of the "House of Coxx".
The "House of Coxx" has been an "advocate for social and racial issues" in the Durham area for years. They are often asked to events around the community advocating for "racial and social justice", but for "Vivica" and "Stormie", the idea of a middle school wanting to bring them in to be celebrated was a new one.
"Stormie" said she hoped the children would take the event to heart. "You hope that the children listen to this," she said, "so that they know we didn't have this when we were growing up. We weren't seeing people like us being celebrated."
The event lasted two hours and featured a panel with a city council member, a performance by the school's step team and a drag show.
"Vivica" said the school was intentional about the message. "Central Park didn't water it down, but they made it age-appropriate to give a depth to social justice and activism, which is the core of the queer experience."
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/17/us/drag-queens-recruited-to-help-with-pride-event-trnd/index.html