https://thepoliticalinsider.com/elementary-school-gets-rid-of-pumpkin-parade-because-it-marginalizes-people-of-color/

A Seattle elementary school is getting rid of their traditional Halloween-themed parade because school administrators believe it “marginalizes people of color.”

After five years of deliberation by the school’s ‘Racial Equity Team,’ Benjamin Franklin Day Elementary School’s annual ‘Pumpkin Parade’ will not be held.

School: ‘The Pumpkin Parade Marginalizes Students Of Color Who Do Not Celebrate The Holiday’

In years past, the Pumpkin Parade was a chance for the students to wear Halloween costumes.

A school spokesperson told Seattle conservative talk host Jason Rantz, “Historically, the Pumpkin Parade marginalizes students of color who do not celebrate the holiday. Specifically, these students have requested to be isolated on campus while the event took place.”

The spokesperson continued, “In alliance with [Seattle Public School’s] unwavering commitment to students of color, specifically African American males, the staff is committed to supplanting the Pumpkin Parade with more inclusive and educational opportunities during the school day.”

What will replace the students’ Pumpkin Parade? A chance to do “autumnal work” and “thematic units of study about the fall.”

School Explains Cancelation Of ‘Pumpkin Parade’
The school sent a letter to parents explaining the change.

“Halloween events create a situation where some students must be excluded for their beliefs, financial status, or life experience,” the letter read. “Costume parties often become an uncomfortable event for many children, and they distract students and staff from learning.”

It continued, “Large events create changes in schedules with loud noise levels and crowds. Some students experience over stimulation, while others must deal with complex feelings of exclusion. It’s uncomfortable and upsetting for kids.”

Parent David Malkin is not happy with the cancelation of the annual Halloween event, calling it an “exercise in affluent white vanity that is wokeism.”

“I don’t see any way in which this actually addresses any inequities to the extent that there are any inequities,” Malkin told host Rantz. “You know, this just seems like grandstanding on behalf of the principal and the staff who are predominantly white.”

He added, “I h**e to see these kinds of things slowly be whittled away and destroyed or being done away with because someone has some, you know, theory in their head that somehow this is exclusionary when, again, it’s quite the opposite.”