Tacoma asst. principal says BLM no more political than LGBTQ movement

Logic Amen was looking forward to trekking from Tacoma to John Muir Elementary school to take part in the annual “Black Men Uniting to Change the Narrative” event.

The annual celebration brings more than 100 black men in the community together to greet children at the door and talk to them at an assembly. It is meant to set a positive impression and provide role models for young students.

That’s why Amen was admittedly reeling on Friday after Seattle Public Schools cancelled the event following credible threats of violence received by the school. The event coincided with some teachers planning to wear “Black Lives Matter” shirts at school.

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Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Police Department told KIRO 7 that threats were posted online related to the events. An SPD spokesperson said police have participated in the celebration in years past and will do so again when the event is rescheduled.

Amen, who is an assistant principal at Tacoma’s Lincoln High School, told “Ron and Don” that he agreed with the decision to cancel the event because “you’ve got to consider everything to be credible when you’re working in a school environment.”
That doesn’t mean he was happy about it. Amen said he spoke with colleagues who were “outraged” and “highly disappointed” at “the condition of some of the people out there who would do this.”

Ron Upshaw, playing the part of critic, asked if teachers should be taking stances on Black Lives Matter at school and asked if it was “sending the wrong message” to students. Amen said “it’s not,” likening it to the LGBTQ movement.

“The rainbow signage — I have one in front of my door — that ‘We all belong, you’re welcome,’ for all the people who are part of the gay, bi-sexual, lesbian, transgender community here at Lincoln High school,” he said. “It’s very important the people feel important. It’s not more of a political stance than it is a social awareness stance and having a high-level of emotional intelligence, and letting everyone know that this is a place where you feel safe and important. When you start getting death threats and complaints to the school because you’re trying to enrich the community and trying to help everyone feel safe and important, that’s highly disappointing.”

Amen has taken part in frank round-table discussions about race relations with “Ron and Don” in the past and took umbrage to some comments from KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson, who spoke earlier in the day about feeling that John Muir should focus on improving lagging test scores rather than having teachers promote the Black Lives Matter movement. Dori spoke Thursday with a John Muir parent who said he was unaware of the teachers’ plans to wear the BLM-related shirts until hearing about it on the radio and that he can’t get a hold of the school to talk about the matter.

“There should not be politics in school,” the parent told Dori. “They are there for academics and math, they’re not there to learn the politics of the day that’s going on for elementary school people.”

Amen disagreed with that sentiment, telling Ron and Don that education needs to include well-rounded discussions.

“Last time I checked, a school is supposed to help the social, emotional and physical well-being of every single child, and helping every single child feel safe and important is a very big part that goes into their academic performance,” he said. “The same reason we celebrate Black Lives Matter is the same reason we celebrate the rainbow signage that comes along with ‘We all belong.’”

Amen said the intended message of the “Black Men Uniting” event is to change the narrative surrounding men of color.

“So much in the media portrays black men and perpetuates the stereotype that we’re violent people who deserve to die at the hands [of police] even when we’re unarmed and whatnot,” he said. “And it’s to change the narrative and say we are the people who make major decisions in some corporations, we have jobs with the city, we’re professionals, we’re doctors, we’re lawyers, we’re fathers, we’re sons. It’s just like, we are normal people. We are extraordinary people just like anyone else.
“We’re human beings. When we’re there, we’re high-fiving — it’s not like they are only high-fiving the black kids, they are high-fiving every single kid. And when you see black men in positions of power and positions of legacy and very distinguishable, man, it’s something very, very powerful. It gets away from the deadbeat, black dad who is running from child support. It gives them an authority and changes the narrative to be treated like human beings.”

KIRO 7 contributed to this story.

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