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“I told her, You know, the Good Book, the Bible, says you judge a man as he lived, not as he died.”
Durant left the conversation about Kirk’s death grateful that it had prompted a father-daughter talk about his child’s #worth as a #Black #girl & about having empathy for those marginalized by society. He hoped that this moment of beatifying #Kirk had passed.
But a few days later, #Oklahoma’s superintendent of #schools, #RyanWalters, directed all the state’s schools to observe a moment of silence in honor of #Kirk. Durant felt a shock that quickly flamed into outrage.
People were free to mourn Kirk or not, he said, but the #state had no right to #order his #child & other #children to honor a man whose words had often denigrated them. “My initial thought was, Hell no — there’s no way.”
He’d already decided that his daughter would not participate when, to his relief, the #Tulsa #PublicSchools, a district that is majority #Black & #Latino, & several other #Oklahoma #school districts announced that they would not comply with the dictate. For that, they now face a state #investigation for failing to commemorate the activist who Walters said was a champion of free speech, civil debate & conservative & Christian values.
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