Newporters reject hate and book banning at School Committee meeting

"We heard very clearly from residents a message of unity, support, and love for everybody in our community," said Mayor Khamsyvoravong. "I'm proud of the turnout that we had here this evening.”

The public comment portion of the Newport School Committee was tense at times due to a visit from transphobic evangelist Robert Chiaradio (from Westerly, Rhode Island) and various members of the Washington County Moms for Liberty Chapter there to spread their gospel of trans erasure. Once again, there was nothing on the evening’s agenda about Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE)’s Transgender, Gender Diverse, and Transitioning Student policy, or Title IX - antitrans activists were there apropos of nothing really, save ignorance and bigotry.

But the people of Newport turned out in force to oppose them. After the public comment period was over, I spoke with Newport Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong who told me that, “Newport has a great tradition of civil conversation and tonight's conversation squarely affirmed that Newport's values are intact. We heard very clearly from residents a message of unity, support, and love for everybody in our community. I'm proud of the turnout that we had here this evening.”

The following has been edited for clarity, beginning with Rebecca Bolan, who chairs the school committee, reading the mission statement of the Newport Public School System, followed by each speaker in turn.

Rebecca Bolan: The mission of the Newport Public School System, in partnership with students, families, and the community, is to provide challenging education with academic rigor and appropriate support so that each student will possess the knowledge, skills, and character essential to productive citizenship, healthy choices, lifelong learning, and the ability to make a meaningful contribution for global society.

Quentin Foster: I'm speaking to you today both as a concerned Rhode Islander and as a representative of the East Bay Community Action Program. EBCAP is a health and human services agency serving ten communities in the East Bay area, including Newport, providing vital medical and mental health care, as well as a variety of social services such as Headstart, food pantries, before and after school programs here at Pell, and many, many more. I am the director of Transgender Whole Healthcare and as such, I lead the efforts from the agency to support the LGBTQIA+ community that we serve.

As a transgender person and a professional working in healthcare, I want to promptly thank you for your district's strong support of LGBTQI+ students. Newport's current policy not only aligns with RIDE's best practice policy and the Rhode Island State Constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on sex and gender identity, but it also aligns with the expectations of fair treatment included in Title IX, the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1969, and federal guidance from the United States Departments of Justice and Education.

Here in Rhode Island, we're lucky to have robust protections for queer folks, including youth. However, over the last four years, we've seen an exponential increase in the proposed changes to those protections both in school committees and at the State House. The 2022 Rhode Island Student Survey, which does not even include all of our 6 to 12th graders in Rhode Island public schools, showed that at least 4% of the middle and high school students in our state identify as transgender. That's more than 740 young people. We also know that in 2024, 90% of queer young folks report their wellbeing has been negatively impacted by recent political discussions and debates over their basic human rights.

Transgender and gender-expansive children are suffering. nearly half of trans and non-binary young people, about 46%, considered suicide last year according to the Trevor Project's Youth Mental Health Survey. Additionally, we know that over the last five years, the number of reported anti-queer hate crimes on K-12 campuses has increased exponentially. It has more than doubled. What is often left out of policy conversations is the fact that gender-expansive children are frequently isolated, mistreated, and targeted both by youth and adults alike. They deserve and need equity, privacy, and our protection. I'm sure that we can all agree that we should never again hear another story like that of Brianna Ghey or Nex Benedict and certainly not here in Newport. We're already ahead of the curve. Let's stay on the right side of history. EBCAP urges you not to make any changes to your policies at this time and to continue to protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ youth in Newport.

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Robert Chiaradio: There are six pillars of RIDE's untruthful and unlawful transgender guidance - which is not law by the way - that you must change within your policy as other school committees are in the process of doing.¹

Your current policy mandates or allows boys [to use] the same bathrooms and locker rooms as girls, room with girls on overnight field trips, compete with girls athletically, the compelled use of pronouns by teachers, and keep secrets from parents regarding the social transitioning of their kids in school. Your transgender policy is shameful gaslighting of this district's parents - lying to them - making [them] think you have the best interests of all students at heart when you do not. This policy discriminates against 99% of this district's students, especially our girls, by placing them in uncomfortable, unsafe, and unfair situations. And you, by affirming this policy, show that you do not care.

There will be a line of families I promise you, and I will be helping them should this policy not change, lining up to litigate against you. Your job as a school committee is to support all kids, not simply those who are confused with their sexual identity. Angélica Infante-Green is an incompetent liar. She's lying to you. Do not be afraid of her. Do not be afraid to do the right thing. Your Title IX policy parrots the Biden administration's attempt at hijacking and is unlawful. 26 states are suing them over that policy right now. Should you choose to enforce this illegal rewrite, I promise you again, there will be lawsuits coming.

You are rubber-stamping this evil administration's attempt to erase women and I promise you I will not allow it to happen. Title IX was written to protect women from discrimination on the basis of sex, not men identifying as women. That is not the same thing. All this boils down to one thing: No matter how much a boy wants to be a girl, dress like a girl, or act like a girl, he will never be a girl, never. Same as girls who want to be boys. This isn't hateful or bigoted like the people who follow me are going to say. It is Truth. Truth, folks, which is why proponents of this policy have nothing fact-based or data-driven on which to base any intelligent argument and that is why you see the anger and the name-calling, - knowing they are losing.

I don't care what anyone identifies as, it's none of my business.

Rebecca Bolan: Your time is up. That's three minutes. I said we're going to keep to it.

Robert Chiaradio: Yes ma'am. I will wrap. Can I have one more sentence and I'll be finished?

Rebecca Bolan: No, we're not wrapping up...

Robert Chiaradio: I will never allow anyone to systematically erase our girls…

Rebecca Bolan: [Banging gavel][Crowd reacts negatively, boos]

Robert Chiaradio: Our women Never, never. Get this on your next agenda.

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In addition to being opposed to the rights of transgender students, Rober Chiaradio is a strong proponent of banning books from public and school libraries. See: A bill to protect libraries from book banners spurs debate and Westerly Town Council rejects book banning. You can watch him on this subject in this video.

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William Kimes: I live in Newport, a proud Newport parent. Thank you board for listening to the Newport parents that are here tonight. I have one child who has graduated from the public school system in the state of Rhode Island. I have two that are ready to graduate. I'm a proud advocate of the public schools. I'm also a proud advocate of free speech.

First off, I want to thank you for all your work. You show up so I get to do the work I'm called to. I want to thank you for that very sincerely...

Can you imagine a world without stories, a world where ideas are imprisoned and curiosity is chained? This is the chilling reality that book bans create. [Book bans] are not merely attempts to protect but acts that stifle all kinds of growth and erode the very nature and fabric of our society.

Books are portals to infinite universes, books ignite imaginations and they challenge beliefs, even those we disagree with. Books foster empathy. They introduce us to cultures, histories, and perspectives far removed from our own. By banning books, we deny ourselves the opportunity to expand our horizons, question the status quo, and become more informed citizens.

Censorship is a coward's weapon. It fears the power of ideas and the strength of human thought. Advocates for book bans seek to control narratives and dictate what can and cannot be known. Knowledge is the only real power. To suppress knowledge is to suppress and undermine democracy itself.

The young people we work with will become our future. It's happening. They deserve freedom as they grow and explore their world - to question and discover. By universally shielding or challenging any controversial materials we do these youth a grave disservice. We deny them the tools they need to develop critical thinking skills and form their own opinions. Every book that is banned is a small victory for ignorance and a small step backward for humanity.

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Anna Kimes: I speak tonight as a teacher in the Newport Public School system, a taxpayer, and most importantly as a parent. Thank you for listening tonight.

It seems to me a no-brainer that banning books in public schools is not a good idea. The principle of freedom of speech and thought has been sacrosanct in this country since the beginning of the republic and in the Bill of Rights, freedom of speech and expression is the first of those rights. By the way, that's no accident. This right belongs to children as well as adults. The Supreme Court recognized that the First Amendment protects students' rights to receive information and express ideas highlighted in the Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District decision of 1969.

Bans on books restrict information and discourage freedom of thought. One of the primary functions of education, teaching children to think for themselves, should be a priority of our schools. Some argue that certain materials are unsuitable for children and that is true, but there are and have been standards in place for determining whether material, both print and film, is pornographic or otherwise inappropriate for children.

As a practical matter, both children and adults have far greater access to controversial materials through online resources than they do through schools and school libraries. Isn't it far preferable to have these materials dealt with in a school setting with teachers and school librarians providing social, historical, and literary context for the students? To conclude, as a parent, I do not want my children to be told what they can and cannot read, especially by people who do not live here in Newport.

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Jaime Bova [Former Newport Mayor]: Thank you for allowing me and all the people here tonight to speak. I want to start by saying something that I think a lot of us know, but is important to state, that there are a lot of groups, like Moms for Liberty, that use the guise of parental rights to stoke hatred and bigotry. They use their false concern for women and girls as a smokescreen for hatred and bigotry. It's important to say that plainly because that's what is behind a lot of these conversations. That's the goal of these organizations. A lot of people in this room know me, know my perspectives, and know the things I fought for. It probably comes as no surprise that I'm standing up here wearing a T-shirt that says, “Trans People Belong.”

It's important that we continuously and clearly state our love and desire for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters and siblings. It's important to continually call out and push back against hatred whenever it comes. That's true regardless of where it's coming from, whether or not they are from Newport or elsewhere. I'm proud to see this room filled with people in support of our students and our community. Education is crucial to producing well-rounded, thoughtful individuals.

As all of you know, it is the job of public schools to prepare our children for the real world. The world is scary. The world hates a lot of people and it hates a lot of kids just for being who they are. It's our job to teach our children that we love them and accept them. It's our job to teach our children critical thinking and acceptance. I'm proud to say, that by and large, that's what the Newport Public Schools do. It's what the Newport School Committee does and it's what a lot of the people in this room stand for. I'm proud to see Newport come out in force tonight to push back against hatred.

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Paul Opperman: I don't have a lot to add, following what Jamie and a lot of folks here have said and are here to say. You know what you're doing. We've elected you to represent us and you're here. The mission statement [says] to support our students, nurture them, and have them grow. If we're not violating any laws, and we have lawyers on staff to advise, I don't know why we need someone from Westerly telling us what to do. So appreciate all the work you're doing and everything that you have to put up with. We're all here in [support?]

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Chris Kona: I'm here speaking only in my capacity tonight as a Rhode Island parent. Making students afraid of their schools, afraid of their parents, afraid of their peers, afraid to be who they are, doesn't help anyone. It doesn't help the parents, it doesn't help the schools and it certainly doesn't help the students. I've heard nothing but great things about how Newport schools treat trans and gender-nonconforming students. As someone who's seen firsthand what kind of difference that can make in a student, I encourage you to continue to show that care to your students. You've done a great job with it so far. Please continue.

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Mary Emerson: I have a few quotes. The first is by Laurie Anderson, musician, filmmaker, and wife of Lou Reed. She wrote, “Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance.” Pretty pithy.

Isaac Asimov, the famous sci-fi writer, said that "any book worth banning is a book worth reading." Still in the sci-fi realm. I haven't read him, but a man named Neil Gaiman, a British author who won the Carnegie Prize, the Newberry Award, and the Hugo Award for one book - the only author to do so. He writes, "There are no bad authors for children because every child is different. They can find the stories they need to and they bring themselves to stories."

As a retired English teacher, 30 plus years, I can say that children do find the stories they need, mostly. The saddest thing is children who can't read and who aren't interested, and those whose parents would restrict their reading.

Another one of my favorite authors, Ursula Le Guin, said that "a dangerous book will always be in danger from those it threatens with the demand that they question their assumptions. They'd rather hang on to the assumptions and ban the book."

And last, Paul Stamets who's a world-renowned mycologist, an expert on fungi. He believes that fungi, which are in a whole different kingdom than plants and animals, may save the world from the terrible shape that we have managed to put the earth and the animals into. [We are] in the midst of the sixth extinction. Anyway, he got interested in mushrooms because his friend's brother came home from college with a book about mushrooms. The boy's father became very alarmed and went out in the driveway and lit the book on fire. Paul saw this and thought, "Wow, that must be a powerful book" and he went to the library the next day and got a book on mushrooms and became an expert. You never know where a book is going to lead. Thank you for all your work.

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Kimberly Behan: I am the president of the Newport Public Education Foundation and a former administrator in Newport for 18 years. I'm now a professor at Salve Regina University where our total focus is preparing teachers to be anti-racist and culturally responsive. I want to read a little paragraph. We had a big month at Salve last fall on book banning and many of us are reading this passage from Reading Is Fundamental. A lot of us might know it.

“Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors.

“Books are sometimes windows offering views of worlds that may be real or they may be imagined, they may be familiar or they may be strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflection. And in that reflection, we can see our own lives and experiences as part of a larger human experience. Reading then becomes that experience. It becomes self-affirmation and the readers often seek the mirrors in the books.”

So I guess my question is if we want our children to think critically, if we want our children to question conditions, why are we here tonight?

A little bit about the potential of banning books: Book banning can suppress free speech and freedom of expression, just like what we're all doing here tonight. Book bands can undermine democracy by suppressing information and even art from public access. They can also divide communities, isolate viewpoints, and make it harder for readers to learn from different life perspectives. Book bans can be bad for mental health, especially for our marginalized individuals whose stories, as we all well know, are often featured in those challenged books. They can also cause stress and anxiety for our librarians and our school staff. Book bans can limit learning and prevent children from having conversations about uncomfortable topics. Challenging content is often included in high school curriculums to help children grow and learn about different perspectives.

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Jean Lehane: I'm the co-chapter leader of the Independent Women's Network² [in] Newport Rhode Island. [See: Independent Women's Forum at SourceWatch here.]

Our group takes a very strong stance against boys participating in girls' sports and not just trans males, but all males for the record. As such, I agree with Bob [Chiaradio] for three reasons: fairness, safety, and the rule of law. I'll briefly touch on all three.

First, fairness dictates that boys hold a distinct physical advantage over girls when it comes to sports, lung capacity, stamina, strength, et cetera. And the United States Olympic Committee agrees with me. Recently they denied [Lia] Thomas's appeal to compete on the US Women's Olympic swim team, and in the name of fairness, I applaud them. [Note: Lehane deadnamed Thomas in her comments and I’ve corrected that.]

With regard to safety, there have been incidents of girls getting brutally hurt by boys competing opposite them In sports. Cases in point: in North Carolina, a girl's volleyball player received a concussion at the hands of a biological male competing on the opposite team, ending her season and volleyball career. Nearby, in Dighton-Rehoboth, Massachusetts, a girl's field hockey player got her front teeth knocked out by a biological male playing on the opposing team. As a result, that town's school committee voted that no player nor team in Dighton-Rehoboth shall be penalized in any way for backing out of or forfeiting a game with a biological male competing on the opposite team. At the very least, I ask you to consider the same.

Lastly, regarding the rule of law, Biden's Title IX mandates have been struck down in originally four, now almost 20 states and counting, by a federal court citing abuse of power and the rule of law. What does that mean exactly? It means that Biden overstepped and skirted the law because it is Congress, not the President, that determines our laws. It is a separation of powers issue.

So ladies and gentlemen, the Rhode Island Department of Education offers you guidance, not a mandate, and I implore you to seriously study the detrimental physical and mental implications of having biological males compete in girls' sports. Please consider these three things when revising your policy: fairness, safety, and the rule of law.

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Gene Thompson-Grove: I came to talk about censorship and banning books. That's my experience with the Moms for Liberty. I can see now that we've gone down a little bit of a different path, a hateful one in which we not only talk about censoring books and ideas but people, and who they are. So as the newly approved member of the policy subcommittee, I'll be curious about how we'll take that up. But I want to tell you, esteemed school committee members and superintendent of the Newport Public Schools, that I know you have all of our students' best interests in your hands and policies.

Growing up I had six siblings, there were seven of us, and we grew up in a family in East Providence, Rhode Island that valued reading. We didn't have enough money though, with seven kids in East Providence, Rhode Island to buy books, so I was a fixture at an Ann Ide Fuller Library. It was a library in an old house and when I walked in, there was a desk and the librarian sat there for my entire childhood. I thought she was an Ann Ide Fuller. I learned later her name was Mrs. Connors. She helped me pick out books, but by and large, she left me to my own devices. I remember being in fourth grade and realizing I had read every biography in the adult literature section of the library. Nobody told me that I could or couldn't read any of those biographies. I suspect that some of them were a little beyond me. My parents didn't tell me what I couldn't read. The nuns at Tyler School in South Providence, especially Sister Edwina and Sister Diane, made sure I had books. They never told me what I could and couldn't read.

But I'll tell you what they did do, these adults in my life. They engaged with me around the ideas in the books... I read Little Women at age 10. I was not old enough to read Little Women at age 10, but I'll tell you what, the things that I didn't understand went above my head and I took away from that book the impact of war on the families left behind. I took away from that book the power of siblings to come together and support each other. I took away from that book that it was okay to be Jo and that I could be a writer if I wanted to, even though in those times, in the sixties and seventies, I was being told that I could only be a nurse, teacher, or a homemaker.

What are your stories of books? When did you see yourself, perhaps your identity or your family, no matter what that was, in a book? When were you introduced to an idea that you'd never encountered before? And what if someone had said that you couldn't read that book? What if they had taken that book away from you before you ever had access?

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Christine Stenning: I'm the president of the League of Women Voters for Newport County and I currently live in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. I have just three quick things to say. First of all, the League of Women Voters is nonpartisan. It's been a grassroots effort since the late 1800s, early-1900s fighting for the rights of women, fighting for democracy. When we look at women and girls and all those issues, we've got over a hundred years of history with that. I also am a teacher, currently not teaching. I taught AP World History and one of the things I learned about AP World History is that there were certain things that the College Board and AP Central required for kids to excel on in the standard tests they offered. One is being able to think critically. If we don't teach our kids to critically think, they will not do well on the tests that the colleges have said they want kids to pass and do well on.

Second of all, with the banning of books, what is happening is you're telling parents they do not have the right to make decisions for their children. It is one thing to say we are here to protect you from those banned books, but that assumes that I cannot make the decision myself for my children, and that's not acceptable.

The third thing I will say is that if one of my students had stood up to talk to me, yelled at me, called people liars, and threatened me with a lawsuit, I would have sent them to the dean's office.

Susan Razza: I'm a Volunteer with The Womxn Project.

BS is easy to spot. You can see the fill line in the eyes.

Blow that dog whistle. Hear it clear. The ignorance patrol is here.

Blow that dog whistle. Say the words that tickle the spine and rally the herd.

Blow that dog whistle. Tell all the lies but keep them straight, tee hee, for when the time comes for the pearly gates.

Blow that dog whistle. Say God told me to. Say it proudly, but give me a clue.

Blow that dog whistle. Show me the Bible verse where Jesus said, "I'd rather be straight, not gay, trans, or dead."

Blow that dog whistle. Tell 'em what you want them to know or feel. To Hell with what the child wants or needs.

So blow that dog whistle. Try to ban books. Demonize the different and foreign - for knowledge is power and that scares the crap out of the Christian right, GQP, Heritage Foundation, Koch Brothers, et cetera - Moms for Liberty too, I guess.

So spew your filth, but take to heart [that] we know who and what you are. We see that your eyes are full. Y'all be yourselves. Goodnight.

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Bonnie Smith: I'm from South Kingstown, Rhode Island. I'm a mom of three and I want to speak for my children and their friends, that your transgender child's rights to safety and comfort do not trump my child's rights to safety and comfort. My child's civil rights should not be violated, revoked, disregarded, suppressed, or erased because of and for your transgender child. Allowing a biological male, especially after he has hit puberty, into girls' only spaces and on girls' only sports teams is doing just that.

Rewriting school policies - that boils down to telling a biological girl to get out if she's uncomfortable or feels violated in a girl's only space - and teaching her that her voice and feelings matter less than a boy who wants access to that space.

The reality is that this is still a man's world. Females continue to work harder and fight for what is given to men. It is so much better than it was. It is. However, allowing these unlawful and unjust Title IX changes in K through 12 schools will send the message to our biological female youth that in 2024 they still have fewer rights and privileges than a boy.

As Bob [Chiaradio] has pointed out, there are other solutions. Solutions that do not strip the safety and comfort from my daughter or anyone else's daughter. From other school committee meetings I've seen, being the voice for the biological girls who are not okay with moving over for a male in their private spaces translates to attacking all LGBTQ+ individuals. Bob, myself, Moms for Liberty, at least the one in Washington County, we haven't done that. We're not calling anybody names, pointing fingers, hollering and shouting at others after committee meetings, following them around, and taking pictures of their homes or their children. We are parents who recognize the severity and dangerous consequences of eliminating our girl's safety nets, put in place to protect them against men, not men who feel that [that] they're a girl. That's not the same thing. Please don't show my girls or anyone else's girls that they don't matter to anybody.

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Wanda Jean Lord: I graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1980 and Newport's been my home pretty much since then. I must say that attending this meeting is breaking my heart. The mean-spiritedness and the condescension - it's not what I know to be a Newporter. That's not the way we treat each other, whether or not we agree on any point. In my career, I worked in Washington DC and while I was there, I remember being at a training where the gentleman said intelligent and well-meaning people can have differing opinions on the same issue.

Having a different opinion doesn't make one hateful. It gives one the ability to think.

I am here in support of Bob [Chiaradio]'s conversation with the school committee, but I'm also here as a grandmother and a mother. I have four children. I have four grandchildren. My second son is gay and has been gay, I think, since before he was born. I had a dream about it and he's now 40. I don't recall, when he was in school, him needing to go into different bathrooms to be fully who he was. I don't recall him needing special treatment when he was leading the gay Pride Parade at 15 in South County. I don't know why this conversation is going on.

The other thing I do want to point out is that the first speaker spoke about somewhere under 800 kids being at risk. There are 141,000 students in the Rhode Island school system. There are over a million Rhode Islanders. 800 out of 141,000 is less than half of a percent and out of a million Rhode Islanders, it's not 1%. It's not a 10th of a percent. It's not a hundredth of a percent, it's eight 1000th of 1% of the population. I think there's something - illogical.

Amy Rodriguez: I am the chair of the Washington County Chapter of Moms for Liberty. I don't know whether I should be flattered or upset with the amount of people who came out tonight to call us book banners. To my knowledge, I have not banned one single book. My organization has not banned a single book. You can buy the book, you can find the book, you can read it to your children if you want. There is a difference between curating and banning. So dictionaries, maybe? We could also do more than read mainstream media articles about people who you won't even come two feet over to talk to and ask me my position. No one from your side, the left side, the side that calls me and my organization, a hate group, has ever once asked me, or asked why I starting a chapter here in Rhode Island.

As an athlete and a mother of athletes and someone who was born right around the same time as Title IX, in 1972, which was there to protect women in women's spaces, and provide opportunities that my grandmother and mother didn't have - my grandmother didn't have sports teams to play on when she went to high school and my mother had to go and get a co-signer from her husband to get a car loan.

Now these regressive policies that RIDE has put in put our daughters at risk. To no longer have separate playing fields that are fair to our daughters to excel in their sports; to take away positions, top spots, podium spots from our daughters; to take away scholarships, to take away the camaraderie that girls have when they're able to join a sports team when maybe they don't have a support system of any other kind - As an athlete myself, I can no longer compete in my sport. I can't compete in cycling anymore because men are putting polish on their fingernails, growing their hair out, and racing against women because they cannot compete against men. They're stealing spots from the podium from women who earned it.

Audience: [Boos]

Amy Rodriguez: Be quiet. This is my time. You got to speak.

Rebecca Bolan: You know what? Let's give her the respect so she can finish.

Amy Rodriguez: My daughter has played. She is 15. She's blind in one eye. We never treated her like she had a handicap. She has adapted. She is an incredibly competitive athlete. She's a goalie in soccer. She's played since she was four. Yes, injuries happen. She's never had to go to the hospital. She's never had a broken bone until she played in a house league last winter where boys and men were on the field along with her. She had her finger broken by a boy kicking her and her finger because men have a biological advantage, and this is common sense to all who will be honest. Protect women's sports.

1. I’ve seen no evidence that any school committee in Rhode Island is in the process of challenging RIDE's guidance or changing its policy.

2. The Independent Women’s Network “is a project of Independent Women’s Voice in partnership with Independent Women’s Forum.” Rhode Island’s Nicole Solas is employed there.