Dear Babylon Bee Reader,
Public schools are becoming ideological battlegrounds. That's true in big cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
But it's even true in Pinola, Mississippi. Population: 1,543.
It was in Pinola that school officials stopped then-third-grader Lydia Booth from expressing her religious beliefs on the mask that she was mandated to wear by the school.
You probably remember little Lydia. Her mask had three simple, life-changing words on it: "Jesus Loves Me."
"It made me sad, and a little confused," Lydia says about being forced by school administrators to change her mask. "Sad, because I love the words on that mask. And confused, because I didn't know why it was happening."
Lydia and her mother, Jennifer, were told that wearing a mask with a religious message was against the rules.
But Jennifer did her research. And she found no such policy.
She was put in touch with a school district administrator who clarified that the policy was in the "restart plan" sent to parents. It wasn't part of the handbook, as Jennifer was previously told. He sent her this list of rules and, sure enough, it was there.
Yet, Jennifer felt God tug at her. You need to look at this, she felt God saying to her.
Jennifer makes a living in information technology. She knows computers. Because of that, she was able to discover that the school district administrator had added a paragraph with a rule about masks to the "restart plan" moments before sending it to her.
"He had literally modified this document to include the information he needed to make himself right," Jennifer says.
Unacceptable.
Now, Jennifer knew. She knew that the school district was willing to lie to her to be right. They were willing to "run over a 9-year-old" to protect their legal position. And they were willing to make that 9-year-old feel like she'd done something wrong even when she hadn't.
 You Can Help Defend Lydia
The Booth family contacted Alliance Defending Freedom. With the generous support of people like you, we filed a federal lawsuit against the school district.
Students like Lydia don't need a permission slip to speak freely in school. Students don't lose their free speech rights when they step foot in public schools.
Lydia's First Amendment right to free speech was violated. And by censoring her speech when she was trying to share her faith with others, Lydia's religious freedom was also violated. What's more, her constitutional right to equal protection was also denied. Other students were free to wear masks with messages ranging from sports logos to political slogans.
Unfortunately, Lydia's story is just one example of what's going on nationwide.
"School administrations like [the ones in Lydia's case] are all too common," says ADF Legal Counsel Michael Ross. "We're seeing administrators all over the place trying to shut down speech. They have many different reasons for doing it, but we are seeing a lot of Christian and conservative viewpoints being marginalized."
Will you defend Lydia and others like her who are standing up for religious freedom and free speech by giving a gift today?
When you give, you won't just defend little Lydia. You also stand with her as she impacts those around her for Christ.
Because it wasn't only school administrators that noticed Lydia's mask.
One of Lydia's classmates saw her mask and wanted one just like it. Another friend's older sister, after hearing about the case, decided to read the entire Bible. Other kids have written Lydia heartwarming, encouraging notes.
One mom even wrote to say, "It's powerful for my kids to see other kids being a witness for Christ and even living through some persecution for it."
You see, your generosity can have an impact far beyondâand far more importantâthan what happens in courtrooms. It can truly help keep the doors open for the Gospel.
Lydia and her family's lawsuit against the school district is ongoing. She is free to wear her mask, but the school has not acknowledged that they violated Lydia's rights.
Unacceptable.
Will you give today to help defend Lydia as she stands to protect free speech and religious freedom for all kids like herâand everyone?
Alliance Defending Freedom
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P.S. Are you interested about joining a movement to pray for freedom's future, so that kids like Lydia will be able to live in an America that fully protects free speech and religious freedom for all? You should check out the Generational Wins Prayer Initiative! |
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