Mountain Brook Residents Sound Off About Diversity Initiative

MOUNTAIN BROOK, AL — The Mountain Brook City Council Monday night heard concerns and opinions from residents regarding the Mountain Brook school system's plans for a diversity initiative in its schools.

Mountain Brook Schools announced June 14 its intention to move forward with some of the recommendations from its newly formed Diversity Committee, but after input from parents, the system has opted to change some of its plans moving forward.

Many Mountain Brook parents expressed concern over the Mountain Brook Board of Education's plans for its diversity initiative, namely the system's association with the Anti-Defamation League.

Those concerns were reiterated Monday at City Hall.

However, before hearing comments from residents, the City Council made it clear that it has no power over the Mountain Brook Board of Education, and does not have any jurisdiction over decisions made by the school system.

The council did allow questions and comments to be heard however, in an effort to clear the air.

One question the council addressed that the board answered via the council was why a diversity initiative was necessary in Mountain Brook Schools.

The answer was that bias training is a foundation for all professionals, and therefore introducing diversity into the schools would better prepare students for the future.

That said, MBS said it has not and does not intend to adopt any type of diversity curriculum in its schools, but rather put its staff and faculty through diversity training workshops. Any type of initiative now has been placed on pause, the council said.

The most prevalent issue that residents have with the ADL and its diversity framework is the fear that it will cause more division between members of the community. As well, with the political climate as volatile as it is across the country and in the community, many residents expressed that bringing on board an organization that has political leanings would lead to even more division.

This sentiment was expressed by multiple residents who addressed the council Monday, in varying tones.

Mountain Brook resident Steve Leara said "This kind of crap has to stop," and that kids need the chance to be kids without being micromanaged.

"There are 100 people outside who feel the same way," Leara said. "We are tired of it."

Frank McPhillips, who is one of the members of Mountain Brook Listens, a group that promotes diversity in the community, said he fears stopping any kind of diversity initiative in schools would set the community back to the Civil Rights Era of the 1960s.

"What we do here will set an example for the entire state," McPhillips said. He also added that the First Amendment is "not a sword, but a shield," and that his group was not part of the community that opposed a recent art exhibit at the Crestline Elementary School field celebrating Pride Month, and was not part of a group that complained about a Black Lives Matter event at the same field.

Mountain Brook resident Elizabeth Goldstein Shannon said that she feels those opposed to the ADL are promoting anti-Semitism. This comment received a stern reaction from the residents gathered in the chambers.

"The discord surrounding the resources has become a significant distraction, and we believe that we can more effectively continue our work independently of the ADL," superintendent Dicky Barlow said in a statement Thursday. "MBS has opted to develop its own framework to address our goal of honoring diversity with the involvement of students, parents, teachers, and administrators at the local schools."

Barlow had already said prior to last week's board meeting that the school system would not teach Critical Race Theory in its schools, but that issue has remained a concern among parents.

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Mtn. Brook Schools To Disassociate With Anti-Defamation League