Pastor Forced Out of School Board Meeting for Quoting Bible
Pastor and TPUSA Faith Contributor John Amanchukwu was given what he called the “Jim Crow treatment” after being escorted by police out of a public school board meeting when the board voted 5-4 to overturn a controversial district policy regarding transgender-identifying students.
Policy 5756 at Old Bridge School District in New Jersey has been highly contested since its implementation six years ago for allowing underage students to socially “transition” at school without fear of administrators or educators notifying their parents. Parents have on numerous occasions brought their concerns regarding this policy before the board and requested its repeal, citing safety, confidentiality, and privacy as some of the many issues that could arise as a result of the policy. The policy also allows transgender students to use facilities that correlate with their gender identity and participate in sex-segregated sports and activities depending on their preferred identity.
The Old Bridge School District became one of at least 10 school districts in New Jersey to have repealed policy 5756 on Tuesday following a heated public meeting which led to Pastor Amanchukwu being escorted from the premises by police officers for referencing religion.
On Tuesday, as Amanchukwu approached the stand with a Bible in his hand to address the board and members of the public in attendance, a board member can be heard saying, “There is a separation of religion and education, hopefully we won’t talk about religion here.” Before Amanchukwu could respond, the member reminded him that it was a “public meeting.” Another person attending the meeting told him to “go back to where [he] came from,” before the pastor began speaking.
“There was a time in this country when a person like me could not get behind this lecture and speak,” Amanchukwu said. “But in this day of diversity, equity, and inclusion are the people who believe in the big lie and fairytale of transgenderism. But for people who disagree with that, we are shouted down.”
He was cut off once again by the school board member for using “offensive language,” shortly after which, the school board member cut the pastor’s microphone and requested that police officers monitor Amanchukwu at the podium. Amanchukwu began shouting to the room to amplify his voice until the board member agreed to give him his allotted two minutes.
After his time was restored, Amanchukwu continued to address the room regarding the district’s policy 5756, criticizing the policy for keeping children’s purported identities hidden from parents.
“There must be material substance to the claims of one’s sex,” he said before again invoking passages from the Bible.
“Don’t talk about religion,” a board member interrupted. At this time, Amanchukwu was escorted from the podium by officers.
Reflecting on the incident, Amanchukwu told TPUSA, “I’m thoroughly disgusted by the racist, anti-Christian, communists on the Old Bridge School Board. Being a Black Christian Conservative is a trifecta that invokes the ire of the woke left! I’m disgusted, but I’m yet undaunted! I will continue to put my faith into action and I will not be silenced! I can only imagine the outcry that would be brewing in the media if a Muslim was told not to read the Quran in a public forum.”
Superintendent David Cittadino has been an outspoken proponent of the policy, recently telling Out in New Jersey that the district “is a safe space for our students.”
Other residents who spoke at the meeting argued that policy 5756 protected transgender-identifying students from disapproving families while opposing parents cited the harm that could be inflicted on children by allowing them to socially transition in secret.
The policy arose in 2017 based on guidance from the state’s Department of Education under then-Governor Chris Christie after signing a sweeping anti-discrimination bill into law. Though the guidance did not mandate that districts implement the policy, approximately 500 of the state’s more than 600 school districts have adopted policy 5756.
Thank you, Dr. Bob.
