T-Shirt Shop Overwhelmed With Orders After Teacher Refuses To Take Down Her “Everyone Is Welcome” Sign
The Idaho State Journal reports:
West Ada School District has recently come under fire after a KTVB story highlighted Lewis and Clark Middle School teacher Sarah Inama, who was asked to remove signs and posters promoting inclusivity from her classroom. The signs share the message that all students are welcome and feature hands of different skin colors and a series of words highlighted in a rainbow of colors, including “welcome,” “important,” “valued” and “equal.”
West Ada cited a district policy that “ensures that classrooms remain neutral” as justification for asking Inama to remove the signs, the district said. After discussing her posters, Inama removed them from the walls of her classroom but later hung them back up. After they were rehung, the school’s principal along with the district’s chief academic officer met with Inama to discuss their concerns about the posters and how they violate district policy.
Boise’s NBC affiliate reports:
A local screen printing shop has been working tirelessly for over a week to meet the demand for T-shirts bearing a message of inclusion that has brought international attention to Idaho. Brigade Screen Printing in Boise has received thousands of orders after sixth-grade teacher Sarah Inama refused to take down a sign in her classroom reading “Everyone Is Welcome Here” when asked to do so by the West Ada School District.
“We’re busy on a normal basis,” said shop owner Shawn Wright about the sheer number of orders. “But we’re never this busy. This is a whole another level.” Wright shared the Inama’s story with his staff, many of whom are parents with children in the West Ada School District. “Within five minutes, I had a bunch of moms in tears going, ‘Whatever we gotta do,’” Wright said. The small shop has significantly extended its usual 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule.