Photo courtesy of ArnoldReinhold / Creative Commons
A play at Newton North High School planned for later this school year excludes white actors, a federal civil rights complaint alleges.
Newton North’s “Theatre Ink” program is putting on a play called Lost and Found: Our Stories as People of Color. In-person auditions will are set to take place on Wednesday, October 12, and Thursday, October 13 at the Little Theatre on the school’s campus.
In response, Parents Defending Education filed a federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education arguing that the play violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees “equal protection of the laws” to citizens.
“The performance description does not assert that participation in this performance is open to all,” the complaint reads.
Parents Defending Education president Nicole Kelly said that it’s wrong for schools to deny people opportunities based on race.
“Regardless of intent, American public schools may not offer opportunities to students on the basis of skin color,” she told Fox News. “It was wrong in the Jim Crow Era, and it is wrong in 2022.”
A spokesman for Newton North High School told NewBostonPost that while the play will focus on the experiences of nonwhite students, white students will have an opportunity to participate in the play.
“While centered in the stories of the lives of our students of color, no one is turned away or excluded from participating or having a role in the ‘Lost and Found’ production of Theatre Ink, Newton North’s teaching and working theater program,” the spokesman said by email. “The Newton Public Schools do not exclude students based upon color, race, ethnicity, or religious background.”
The description of the play offered in the school’s play packet describes its atmosphere as a “reserved safe space” for non-white students.
Here is how the school’s web site describes the play:
Lost and Found is a no-cut, cabaret-style show for students of color at North. This show was created last year by Edie Pike, a Newton North alumni, to provide a safe community space for students of color to express themselves through the performing arts. From hardships to celebrations, people of color have countless stories to tell. Lost and Found will be a reserved safe space for this exploration and for people of color to be vulnerable and support one another. One of the aspects that make Lost and Found special is that it centers on community building by having full-cast rehearsals once a week where we have organized discussions about race and identity in our lives. Lost and Found invites you to share your story, using theatre and performing arts as an outlet.
We encourage you, even if you haven’t participated in Theatre Ink in the past, to audition, as the show will be a collection of stories from all different backgrounds, cultures, and identities. You are welcome to write and perform an original piece, choose from a wide selection of material gathered by the Lost and Found team, or research and select on your own. We urge you to utilize whichever form of performing, or visual arts you feel most authentically represents your story. There are also different options for performing such as pre-recording if live performances aren’t your thing!
The play will include monologues, songs, and dances from its main cast.
When signing up to audition for the play online, Theatre Ink asks students for a photo as well as their name, grade, preferred pronouns, and racial/ethnic identity, among other pieces of information.
Here is the full statement provided to NewBostonPost by the spokesman for Newton North Public Schools:
The Newton Public Schools are committed to actively encouraging all students to participate in our Fine and Performing Arts programs, particularly students of color, who have been vastly underrepresented in our programs.
While centered in the stories of the lives of our students of color, no one is turned away or excluded from participating or having a role in the “Lost and Found” production of Theatre Ink, Newton North’s teaching and working theater program. The Newton Public Schools do not exclude students based upon color, race, ethnicity, or religious background.
“Lost and Found” is a student designed and student directed production. We support the premise and educational value of this performance. We are proud of our students for the hard work they do to not only assemble a diverse group of performers, but also to challenge each other to have difficult conversations around societal issues.
Theatre Ink has consistently provided opportunities for students to tell and celebrate the narratives and stories of those who have been historically underrepresented. Amplifying the stories, experiences, and history of students of color is just one component of our diverse fine and performing arts programs.
Performances of this school play are scheduled to take place from Friday, January 20 to Sunday, January 22, 2023.
A spokesman for Parents Defending Education could not be reached for comment on Monday or Tuesday this week.
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Photo courtesy of ArnoldReinhold / Creative Commons 
