Students, School District Stand by LGBTQ Murals

photo courtesy of Michael Kusiak

A mural of the modern Pride Flag like the one here at the District offices welcomes everyone at each site within the Castro Valley Unified School District. The paintings are meant to show support for a more inclusive Castro Valley and were privately funded by Castro Pride.

The installation of privately funded murals celebrating LGBTQ pride at Castro Valley schools was the center of opposing rallies outside the Castro Valley Unified School District Regular Board meeting last Wednesday.

A group of about 15 people held signs outside the district office voicing their opposition to the installation of LGBTQ rainbow murals at each school site. A few of the protesters spoke out during the public comment section of the meeting. The group was organized by Bay-Area Against Mandates and Gays Against Groomers and gained national attention among conservative social media outlets.

“We both agree that schools should be a place of education, not where fringe/alternative lifestyles are pushed on impressionable young children. We further believe that queer theory and gender theory have no place in our children's classrooms or education. We are not ‘anti-LGBTQ+’ or ‘anti-BIPOC’ as our groups consist of members who would be classified into both of these communities,” Gays Against Groomers representative Frank Rodriguez said in a statement.

In contrast, about 200 students and supporters of Castro Valley Pride gathered with signs of support for the murals at a time when many in the LGBTQ community feel like they're under political attack.

“All this project is about is about creating a safer school environment for every kid,” said Austin Brucker of Castro Valley Pride. “We’ve done a tremendous amount of work in partnership with our School Board, community, and local leaders to build a more inclusive Castro Valley. Those against our mural project will not stop the work of our organization; they reaffirm its importance and lead us to double down our commitment.”

Last year, Castro Valley Pride organized a fundraiser for the installation. The project was approved last February at a public Board of Trustees meeting. CVUSD Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi said all the murals have been painted except for one site, which she expects will be finished soon.

“We have many murals in the schools that lift up the women’s history and black history. Our sites are full of beautiful murals that recognize the contribution of so many groups,” Ahmadi told the Forum. “The purpose of these murals is to lift up the need to be inclusive; that we value all members of our community who are marginalized. I’ve been really impressed that there are beautiful murals that are done with the purpose of showing compassion.”

Sometimes referred to as the Progress Pride Flag, the murals display the colors of the LGBTQ flag, the trans flag, as well as black and brown stripes to further represent the queer and trans identities of black and brown people. Those two stripes also represent those living with HIV/AIDS. The yellow background with a purple circle at the left represents the intersex flag.