The Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance (LEDA) is a left-wing political group that has been giving lessons to Grand Haven Area Public School students. Actually, they have indoctrinated a few students, and are using those students to give the lessons to the general study body. When a club is student led, it appears the students are not required to follow the same policies as staff in regards to controversial issues. In addition, due to student privacy protection laws, when parents ask to see lessons that are student-led, schools either say they cannot provide that information or invite parents in for special meetings where they can view materials. Calling All Colors is a student led club that has chapters at the Grand Haven High School, Lakeshore Middle School and White Pines Middle School. Calling All Colors is sponsored by the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance, and the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance has “a year-long program designed to educate students on topics of diversity and inclusion.”
Here is a description of LEDA according to the LEDA website,
“We are saddened and dismayed, not only by the senseless killing of yet another black person but also by the painful reality of how deeply ingrained racism remains in communities across the country, including our own. We hope that conversations are taking place now to help us find common ground and address the inequities that have been a part of our country for over 400 years.
We are committing to long-term reform, which includes educating and holding ourselves accountable and addressing anti-Blackness within our communities. We are committing to support local efforts that challenge and eradicate anti-Blackness within the circles we live in.
Over the days, weeks, and months ahead, each of us pledges to:
Educate ourselves on the inequities that racism has created in our communities and our places of work.
Understand our own privileges (and what white privilege means) and our biases to help us become accountable allies and activists.
Listen and create safe spaces to have open and frank conversations about racism with our families, colleagues, and communities.
Acknowledge the experiences of Black people’s interactions with law enforcement officers.
Eliminate racist policies, procedures, and systems in our organizations.
Build relationships with the local Black community, Black organizations, Black businesses, and Black leaders.
Step up, speak out, and take action to eliminate racism wherever and whenever it is encountered.”
Calling All Colors is sponsored by the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance. According to the LEDA website, ” If you are a teacher or administrator and are interested in having your school participate in Calling All Colors, please contact Patricia Strachan at office@leda.flywheelsites.com for more information. The Fall Conference launches a year-long program designed to educate students on topics of diversity and inclusion.”
The GHAPS designation of Calling All Colors being a student led-club and the fact that it is sponsored by an outside organization that provides curriculum is contradictory. How can LEDA place a recruiting statement for teachers/administrators interested in having schools participate in Calling All Colors, yet GHAPS designates Calling All Colors as student-led? Is Calling All Colors student-led or LEDA led? The student-led designation is extremely important. It is this designation that enables LEDA to use a few students to get their message to the main body of the students.
In addition to being student-led, club status is another key designation of Calling All Colors. As a club, administrators will state that participation is optional. Most student clubs meet after school, but sometimes they meet during the school day. When clubs meet during the day, students have the option to go to club meetings instead of academy class. Although student participation is not required, Calling All Colors has been permitted to provide information to students during academy class.
On Martin Luther King Day 2022, under the guise of celebrating black history, the Calling All Colors group prepared a 5-minute video which was shown to all high school students during academy class. The video featured three leftist black leaders and painted the political group Black Lives Matter in a very positive light.
Melanie Campbell – President and CEO of National Coalition of Black Civic Participation
James Rucker – Color of Change
Marley Dias - #1000 Black Girl Books
“The mission of the Black Lives Matter movement is to bring justice, healing, and freedom to black people across the globe.”
How student led is the student-led group Calling All Colors? It is unlikely that students came up with the idea and created the video presented to the general student body on their own. It seems LEDA is going around long-established policies enacted to protect education and students from special-interest groups by defining the group Calling All Colors as a student-led club and using the students to implement lessons. If students are presenting controversial information to the general study body in an organized fashion, why aren’t the students subject to controversial issue policies?
This is yet another example of how the GHAPS school board and administration is violating board policy.