A Minnesota middle school showed 11-to-13-year-olds a video of a teacher praising a transgender activist and sex worker.
At Minnetonka Middle School East, Language Arts teacher Colin Perucco posts videos called “Perucco’s Person of the Day.” On Friday, Feb. 19, Perruco’s “person of the day” was Marsha P. Johnson who was a transgender activist and drag queen who worked as a sex worker. Johnson also played a role in the controversial Stonewall riots. Johnson was born a biological man and later transitioned to become “gender non-conforming.”
In the video, reviewed by The Daily Wire, Perucco explains why Johnson was a revolutionary figure and claims that the pride parade discriminated against Johnson and other drag queens. The teacher also applauded the Stonewall riots without providing context.
“Johnson themself was actually discriminated against by the [gay] community for being a drag queen,” Perucco said. “In 1973, the committee in charge of the pride parade said that they were not going to allow Drag Queens at the march because they felt that they were giving the community a bad name.”
The video also mentions Sylvia Rivera, another drag queen activist who played a role in the anti-Vietnam war efforts and second-wave feminism.
The teacher’s “Person of the Week” videos have highlighted other controversial figures. In the past few months, the videos have included Greta Thunberg, Vice President Kamala Harris, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and known communist Angela Davis.
Other videos have included cultural figures such as Dolly Parton, Lizzo, Kelly Clarkson, Jane Goodall, Sir Isaac Newton, and Jennifer Hudson.
According to a copy of the district’s Political Activity and Advocacy Employee Guidelines obtained by The Daily Wire, Perucco may be violating the school’s guidelines by promoting political figures.
“While acting in the capacity of a District teacher or staff member, you may not advocate for or against political candidates, parties, organizations, movements, or agendas,” the guidelines read.
Perucco is far from the only Minnetonka School District employee who may have violated the school’s political activity guidelines. The same middle schoolers were shown a video that promoted the Black Lives Matter movement during a Social Studies class. The video claims that the police are the “judge, jury, and executioners” in American society.
The video makes a slew of blanket statements about police officers, including one commentator who said that police “shoot to kill” and do not think critically before making decisions with their weapons. The video addressed the death of Trayvon Martin and referenced comments made by Barack Obama regarding Martin’s death.
“It could be your cousin, it could be your brother, it could be you next,” one commentator said when referencing police shooting black Americans.
A whistleblower parent — who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retribution against their children — told The Daily Wire that she finds the political atmosphere of classrooms inexcusable.
“Either teachers are unaware of the policies, or they are aware and not concerned with consequences,” the parent said. “There is no excuse to bring any of this into the classroom.”
A Minnetonka School District spokeswoman blamed a student for submitting Marsha P. Johnson to Perucco’s morning show and claimed the show was not vetted by school leadership before it ran.
“This content, which was submitted by a student for the middle school morning show’s person of the day segment, was not thoroughly vetted by school leadership before it ran,” the spokeswoman told The Daily Wire. “In the future, we will ensure tighter controls on all content that airs on that show.”
This article has been expanded after publication to include additional comments from the Minnetonka School District.