DOJ receives pushback after contentious school board meeting
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A California mother of three who claims she was fired for speaking out about education curriculum at her local school board meeting told Fox News Digital that she has been unfairly branded as racist, homophobic and transphobic by members of her community in letters sent to her employer and printed in local news outlets.
Janet Roberson spoke at a Benicia Unified School District (BUSD) meeting on April 20, where she expressed concerns about the district's sexual education curriculum that she said taught "gender confusion, not gender clarification" because it told 10-year-old students they could choose their own gender and receive puberty blockers. She said teaching "vulnerable children that lifetime dependence on medical care is a viable option is completely unacceptable and evil."
"Children are being asked to identify their pronouns and this is now part of the ten-year-old curriculum," Roberson said of the curriculum. "This forces a gender discussion beyond the scope of the state requirements and complicates an already overburdened classroom environment."
"We are alarmed that gender identity is now being discussed in math classes," she added. "This takes time from core learning and does not benefit the students who are in our community. Teaching kids that there isn’t standard or truth and that you can believe anything that you want to believe is not scientifically accurate or medically correct. For example, the notion that a girl can decide to be a boy, or a boy can decide to be a girl is not true and should not be taught."
Roberson said that by telling her story, she hopes to inspire other parents to continue speaking out. (Courtesy of Janet Roberson)
Roberson told Fox News Digital that Americans should have the freedom to choose what they want to do, "but when it comes to children and what's being taught in public schools to children, I do think we have to have some limits on that." She has since created a website and accompanying video to tell her story, which has gained traction on social media.
"I'm the mom of an elementary schooler, a middle schooler, and a high schooler," the website reads. "On April 20, I spoke at a school board meeting to express my concerns about the inappropriate new sex-ed curriculum being taught to 10 and 12 year olds. Then the bullies in town began a campaign to destroy me."
In a letter to the editor published in the Benecia Times-Herald, community resident William "Billy" Innes called Roberson's speech a "bigoted diatribe," and likened her beliefs posted on her website and Facebook page as "racist, homophobic, transphobic" with "anti-COVID safety, and anti-COVID vaccine writings, along with content that favors Eugenics."
Innes compared her beliefs to those of doctors who worked at concentration camps during World War II and suggested that as a local realtor, Roberson's "unapologetic bigotry might well affect a marginalized person’s ability to purchase a home, contingent upon whether or not that buyer passes Janet Roberson’s racial/sexual purity test."
The letter concludes with Innes' hope that "these spiritual sons and daughters of Hitler are but a small-minded and small-numbered minority within the city of Benicia."
Roberson told Fox News Digital that she was not contacted by the news outlet, but she responded to Innes' letter and clarified that she is opposed to: "1) 10-year-olds being asked to identify their pronouns 2) teaching children that boys can be girls and girls can be boys 3) teaching 10-year-olds that they can receive puberty blockers to prevent adolescent development 4) teaching 12-year-olds about oral and anal sex."
On May 1, ten days after she spoke at the school board meeting, Roberson was notified by Compass, the real estate agency where she worked, that she could no longer do business with them. She said the company clarified that it had nothing to do with her business success at the company and stated they did not need to tell her why they had "decided to part ways."
Nathalie Christian, who serves as the treasurer for the Progressive Democrats of Benicia, but identified herself in a letter to Compass' Benecia branch as a story development coordinator for The Benicia Independent, asked the company for a comment on Roberson's "conduct" and the "incendiary language" that she used to further her "agenda" that Christian described as "anti-equity, anti-trans, anti-Black, and anti-choice."
"It seems unfair to me that Compass, whose DEI policies I have reviewed at length, would be associated with such a hateful person," Christian said.
Roberson said the situation has been "tremendously stressful" and "absolutely devastating" to her family. (Courtesy of Janet Roberson)
"The public deserves to know how Compass can reign in someone's internalized hate for transgender kids and equity-seeking Black Americans (and especially Black children) so Compass clients can have a fair and decent experience when buying and selling property. I shudder," she concluded in her letter.
Compass has maintained the stance that Roberson was not an employee, but an independent contractor with the real estate agency.
"This person was not an employee of Compass – she was an independent contractor who worked on an agent team, and the decision to disassociate her license was made at the request of her team leader in late April 2023," Compass told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Roberson told Fox News Digital that she was "absolutely shocked" when she read that statement and said it was "not at all" what she was told.
"Most real estate agents are independent contractors, and most real estate contracts are written to show that anyone can end the contract at any time for any reason," and her local manager told her it was ultimately a corporate decision, Roberson said.
"To see corporate now throw the local team under the bus and say, 'Oh, it's not us' … because I'm sure they're trying to distance themselves from all of this … but obviously nobody there stood up and said, 'Hey, we want to keep Janet, she's great and by the way, she's a mom who spoke at a school board meeting and moms at school board meetings shouldn't be fired for what they say."
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The chair of the Progressive Democrats of Benicia, Kathy Kerridge, said their group had "nothing to do with Janet's firing" as an organization, but added that a letter by one of its members was written under her own name and did not represent the group.
"As an organization, we did not write any letters or contact her employer," the statement said. "The letter that was written to a local paper was not written by a member. A letter to her employer was written by a member, but under her own name. We do not require our members to seek club approval before exercising their free speech rights and we do not control our members' activities."
"The Progressive Democrats of Benicia do firmly support LGBTQ+ rights and recently had a speaker about the current threats and attacks on that community," the statement continued. "The resident’s website promotes the views of the American College of Pediatrics, which has been labelled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. As a club, we believe people need to know the truth, and the truth is we had nothing to do with the resident’s firing. But we wish she would not promote hate groups on her website."
Roberson told Fox News Digital that she thought the statement was "baloney."
The Progressive Democrats of Benicia maintain that, as an organization, their group had "nothing to do with Janet's firing." (Courtesy of Janet Roberson)
"I'm not surprised at all that they are now trying to distance themselves from this," she said. "Of course, the progressive Democrats are going to say, 'Oh, no, this wasn't us, it was just our treasurer,' but everyone is connected to them."
Roberson said that because of anti-strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) laws in California, she is unable to protect herself or go after those who have damaged her career because their words are considered political rhetoric.
"I think ultimately my goal is to inspire other parents to speak up," she said.
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"I think we should be tolerant and inclusive and that includes listening to other people who might believe differently than we do," she added. "It's been tremendously stressful, absolutely devastating to my family … Hopefully people will be inspired to just be courageous and strong and supportive of each other. And it'll inspire parents to stand up for their children and come together as a community to not let cancel culture happen to anyone else."
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