Friendship Armstrong Elementary and Middle School promotes Black Lives Matter’s 13 guiding principles to students

On August 8, 2023, transgender activist and educator Nicholas Prosini posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Friendship Armstrong Elementary and Middle School of the Friendship Public Charter School system promotes the guiding principles of the organization Black Lives Matter at School. In another post, Prosini shared an image from within the school that showed “Black Lives Matter” on a wall with some of the organization’s guiding principles. Some of the phrases included “Unapologetically Black,” “Black Villages,” “Globalism,” and “Restorative Justice.” The image also appears to have a paper on the wall of all 13 guiding principles.

Additional principles include “Queer Affirming” and “Trans Affirming.” For “Queer Affirming,” Black Lives Matter at School states: “When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking or, rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual unless s/he or they disclose otherwise.” For “Trans Affirming,” the organization states: “We are committed to being self-reflexive and doing the work required to dismantle cis-gender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence.”

For “Black Villages,” Black Lives Matter at School explicitly states that the purpose is to end the idea of the nuclear family. The organization explains:

We are committed to disrupting the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, and especially “our” children to the degree that mothers, parents and children are comfortable.