Councilmember Kristin Mink apologized following remarks she made during a school board meeting last week, as some residents push for restoring opt-out options for LGBTQ+ reading material in schools.
“I regret that although my remarks were focused on promoting inclusion, they created an opportunity for misunderstanding and mischaracterization,” Mink said in a written statement Sunday. “I apologize for the hurt that this caused in the Muslim community.”
Last week on June 6, parents and advocates rallied on both sides regarding opt-out options for LGBTQ+ reading in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), and some also gave public testimony during that day’s school board meeting. Some urged the school board to reinstate opt-outs while others supported LGBTQ+ inclusion in school curriculum.
Addressing the board that day following public comment, Mink said, “This issue has unfortunately put, it does put, some, not all of course, but some Muslim families on the same side of an issue as white supremacists and outright bigots, however the folks who I’ve talked [with] here today I would not put in the same category as those folks, although it’s, again, complicated because they’re falling on the same side of this particular issue.”
A couple of days later, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, called on Mink as well as School Board member Lynne Harris “to apologize for offensive and disparaging remarks they made about Muslim parents and students in the Montgomery County public school system.”
Mink also included in her remarks during the meeting that she does genuinely believe there is a desire to not do harm to the LGBTQIA+ community, but it does harm the LGBTQIA+ community to allow families to opt their children out of books with those stories.
“You cannot say that this is a particular demographic of people who when they appear in books now we allow some families and students to say, ‘We’re not going to read those books.’ There’s no way to do that without sending a clear message to the LGBTQIA+ community that you are seen as different, as othered, and other people don’t need to learn about your existence or have you included in the curriculum,” she said during Tuesday’s board meeting.
Read Mink’s full statement on Sunday:
“On Tuesday, June 6, I spoke at a Montgomery County Board of Education meeting about inclusive education and whether families should be permitted to opt their children out of LGBTQIA-inclusive curriculum materials. I regret that although my remarks were focused on promoting inclusion, they created an opportunity for misunderstanding and mischaracterization. I apologize for the hurt that this caused in the Muslim community.
“Even when individuals disagree about difficult issues, I am committed to finding space to foster authentic dialogue and seeking points of understanding. I sat down to hear from Muslim community members before my remarks on Tuesday and with District 5 Muslim leaders on Thursday. I listened, and I understand their concerns.
“I look forward to continuing to work with members of our Muslim and LGBTQIA+ communities as we take on issues of importance for all residents.”
