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A West Michigan middle school has been ordered by its school board to remove a controversial LGBTQ mural from its health care clinic after a vote on Sept. 11.
The vote by the Grant Public Schools Board of Education focused primarily on developing a new contract with Family Health Care, the provider that operates the Child and Adolescent Health Center located inside Grant Middle School. After over a month of negotiations, the board authorized a new contract including a stipulation to remove the mural in their clinic by the end of October.
The mural was painted by a high schooler in Grant, Michigan last October after winning an art contest. Several parents quickly objected to the image after seeing it contained, among other things, a student wearing a T-shirt with the colors of the transgender Pride flag, two students wearing the colors of the bisexual Pride flag and another wearing rainbow Pride colors.
Parents were outraged over an LGBTQ mural at Grant Middle School's health clinic. (Fox News Digital)
Parents also claimed at the time that the mural promoted witchcraft after including a demon face inspired by a popular video game called Genshin Impact, and a "Hamsa hand," also known as the Hand of Fatima or Hand of Mary. Grant Public Schools later sent a statement noting that "some features" of the mural were "not part of the original submission" and the matter "was not on the board agenda."
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"We understand and recognize there are different opinions regarding the mural. We feel it is of the utmost importance to continue in a thoughtful, respectful, and deliberate manor. At this point, all parties involved are working together and advancing forward to come to a positive, and agreeable, resolution," the statement read in October.
It continued, "We encourage members of our school community who engage in discussions and debate to do so in a respectful, civil manner. We do not condone, and we will not tolerate discrimination, harassment or bullying whether in word, deed or on social media."
The mural included students wearing rainbow and transgender Pride colors. (Getty)
Shortly after that controversy, Grant Public Schools announced that "at the student artist's request, the mural will be returned to its original form as originally submitted and approved by the Administration." While this request removed the images of the video game character, the LGBTQ colors remained.
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In a statement following the vote in September, Family Health Care spokesperson Alan Neushwander said, "While it is disappointing that the mural must be removed by the end of October, it’s a compromise we reluctantly were willing to accept to ensure the children of the Grant community continue to have access to medical and behavioral health care."
Grant Middle School was not available for a comment.
The mural was originally painted in October. (Photo by Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
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