Administrators in the Holt, Michigan, public school district aren’t hoping for Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.” Instead, they seek to ban any reference to the reason for Christmas, while also urging students and staff to use the “holiday” to deconstruct the “whiteness” of the holiday. That’s right, Bing Crosby’s song (about snow that happens to be white) presents an opportunity to dismantle the “whiteness” of the holiday.

Liberty Counsel is about to teach Holt Public Schools a lesson in both history and the Constitution. As our precedent-setting cases before the U.S. Supreme Court have already established, it is a violation of the First Amendment to ban religious speech and symbols. And discrimination against any race is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Read on to learn how Liberty Counsel is saving Christmas in Holt, MI. But first, please take a moment to support our legal fund that makes this work possible. The Victory in 2023 Challenge Grant will DOUBLE the impact of your gift, but only if you donate by midnight, December 31, in YOUR time zone! Please give generously today. — Mat

This week, Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to Holt Public Schools (HPS) located in central Michigan, demanding HPS immediately drop its ban on Christmas, along with the schools’ policy demanding teachers engage in open racism by removing the “whiteness” of the holiday.

Beginning in December 2021 and continuing, HPS administrators ordered its teachers to “decenter” and sanitize “winter celebrations.”

Help Liberty Counsel SAVE CHRISTMAS by supporting our legal fund today.

HPS Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Matt Morales emailed staff members demanding they foster inclusiveness, while urging teachers to actively promote racism and religious discrimination. Teachers were asked to reflect on “decentering Christmas” by only allowing “a diverse display of non-religious celebrations [that] demonstrates support for the winter season.”

If you’ve ever been to Holt, MI — or anywhere in Michigan during December — you already know that “the winter season” does not need “support.” Heavy snow, icy roads, and bone-chilling cold are coming whether or not the season is “supported” by school administrators!

But aside from his ridiculous statement, Morales’ additional comments were an exercise in racism, religious discrimination, and intolerance.

Teachers were instructed to eliminate traditional Christmas colors and decorations. Elf on a Shelf, Santa Claus, and even decorated trees were prohibited as they “are actually centered on Christian beliefs and practices.”

Morales went on to tell teachers to engage in outright religious discrimination and to reflect on “how can we dismantle the hierarchy of religious practices and holidays,” while ordering the teachers to read and utilize a list of racist tripe meant to eliminate the “whiteness” of Christmas, including (but not limited to):

• Dear White People, the Holiday Season Is the Best Time To Tell Our Grandparents To Stop Being Racist — Jordan Uhl.

• Do The Holidays Need To Be A Celebration of Whiteness? — Multiracial Media.

• Black Santa—Where You At? — Verysmartbrothas.com.

• Why Is Santa Claus Always White? – Peggy Albers.

• Seeing Santa in Black and White – Sa’iyda Shabazz.

• Black, White, or Imaginary? Santa’s Race Has the US in a Christmas Kerfuffle – Hadley Freeman.

• Racists Freak Out Over Black Santa at Mall Of America – Ed Mazza.

• Dreaming of a Not-White Christmas: Why I’m Embracing Black Santa and Black Jesus – Angela Fichter.

Instead of being “inclusive,” these directives are rooted in Critical Race Theory and promote a hatred for and discrimination against Christianity and associated holidays, such as Christmas. They violate school policy, the First Amendment, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by showing hostility based on religion and race.

Three recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Shurtleff v. City of Boston, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, and Groff v. DeJoy ruled that it is unlawful to censor religious expression, buried the “Lemon Test” formerly used to remove religious symbols and displays from the public square, and strengthened Title VII protections for employees regarding religious discrimination.

For instance, in Liberty Counsel’s 9-0 victory in Shurtleff, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the City of Boston violated the First Amendment by censoring a private flag in a public forum open to “all applicants” merely because the application referred to it as a “Christian flag.” A unanimous Court in Shurtleff rejected the city’s reliance of the 1971 case known as Lemon v. Kurtzman, a case we sought to overturn since the founding of Liberty Counsel in 1989.

In addition, the Kennedy case, relying on Shurtleff, confirmed that the government cannot censor an employee’s speech using the Lemon Test.

In both Shurtleff and Kennedy, the Court rejected attempts to censor religious speech and overruled the “Lemon Test.” And under Groff, an employer who discriminates against employees on account of religion has a much higher burden to argue that the employee cannot be accommodated.

The absurd directives from the Michigan school district violate the First Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by showing hostility based on religion and race. The First Amendment does not permit public schools to eliminate traditional Christmas holiday symbols or expression associated with a federal and state holiday under the guise of being “inclusive.”

The First Amendment also does not permit school administrators to promote racism to staff and students; nor does the First Amendment or Title VII permit public schools to demean people on the basis of race. Holt Public Schools must retract and rescind their unconstitutional directives and comply with the law.

According to U.S. News & World Report’s review of schools, 66% of Holt students are not proficient in math, and 35% cannot read proficiently. The school scored 20 out of 100 on the college readiness index. Perhaps if Holt school administrators were not so busy engaging in religious and racial discrimination, they would have time to focus on properly educating their students.

Liberty Counsel is only able to continue our work defending life, religious freedom, and the natural family through the support of friends like you. We never charge our clients, as few could afford to fight a government gone mad. Instead, our clients rely on our supporters to ensure America’s precious liberties remain safe. Every donation made today will be DOUBLED IN IMPACT by a special Challenge Grant. But hurry, the Victory in 2023 Challenge Grant expires at midnight, December 31, in your time zone!

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

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Don't forget! The Victory in 2023 Challenge Grant expires at midnight, December 31, in your time zone. Please don't miss this chance to DOUBLE THE IMPACT of your donation. Please give generously today!

Sources:

"High School Rankings." U.S. News & World Report, Accessed November 28, 2023. Usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/michigan/districts/holt-public-schools/holt-senior-high-school-10019.

"MI Schools' Racial Christmas Directives Are Unconstitutional." Liberty Counsel, November 27, 2023. Lc.org/newsroom/details/112723-mi-schools-racial-christmas-directives-are-unconstitutional.