LGBTQ-affirming Magic City Acceptance Academy adds security after Tim James’ ad

A one-of-its-kind LGBTQ-affirming charter school in Homewood is adding security after an Alabama gubernatorial candidate released a campaign ad last week criticizing it for “exploitation” of children and “not education.”

Michael Wilson, principal of the Magic City Acceptance Academy, said Wednesday that a TV ad running in support of Republican governor hopeful Tim James is “scaring the hell out of our kids,” and he’s calling for it be removed.

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In the meantime, security has been added at the school that opened last fall and is believed to be the only LGBTQ-affirming charter school in the Southeast. The school accepts and tries to support children of all genders and races, like other public schools, but makes a particular effort to affirm LGBTQ students.

“The Tim James ad is nothing short of an adult bullying children,” said Wilson, 69, who oversees a school of approximately 240 students in grades 6-12. “It’s causing more anxiety. You are talking about kids who are four times more likely than their straight counterparts with suicide ideation.”

The ad is also drawing the ire of LGBTQ supporters, whose concerns about safety for Alabama’s LGBTQ youth is growing after last week’s legislative action in Montgomery.

Two bills, viewed as anti-LGBTQ, were signed last week that limit medical care for transgender youths, bathroom access and restricts sex educational discussions in public schools.

Among the critics is Alabama Democratic Party vice-chair Patricia Todd, who served as the state’s first LGBTQ lawmaker in the Alabama Legislature from 2006-2018.

“What he’s doing is extremely dangerous to youth,” said Todd, referring to the James ad. “If anything happens, such as a hate crime to those kids, that will be on his hands.”

‘Common sense and crazy’

The James campaign, in response to Todd’s comments, doubled down on the remarks made in the ad by criticizing the public money appropriated to the school through the Alabama State Department of Education’s fiscal year budget.

“We find it unconscionable to use the concept of protecting kids as an opportunity to expose them to drag queen shows and normalize perversion,” the James campaign said in an email to AL.com on Tuesday. “For a public school like Magic City Acceptance Academy to use $2 million of our state tax dollars to host drag queen shows for kids should anger every parent, grandparent and taxpayer in Alabama.”

The campaign added, “This school needs to have its charter revoked and be shut down – not because of the children but because of the faculty.”

The James ad is a 30-second spot that starts off with the candidate claiming, “there is a war going on between common sense and crazy.” He then criticizes transgender athletes and Ketanji Brown Jackson’s response during her Senate confirmation hearings after being asked to define a “woman.”

The ad continues with James saying, “Now here in Alabama, we chartered the first transgender school in the South using millions of your tax dollars. The faculty put on a drag show for children. That’s not education, it’s exploitation. It’s got to stop. It’s time to fight back.”

Wilson said the drag show in question was a school fundraiser that occurred on the Friday before Spring Break last month.

He said the show was no different than similar activities that have been occurring at schools nationwide for decades. He said the school’s event was like a “womanless beauty pageant,” which has served as a school fundraiser across the country.

He also likened the event to the “Powder Puff” flag football game that occurs annually at Baylor School in Tennessee, which is where James attended high school. During that game, girls participate in a flag football game while the boys perform as cheerleaders.

James, during a radio appearance on Thursday, continued to use the charter school to underscore his platform that “our education system is crumbling,” citing the state’s low rankings in math. He said he plans to “deconstruct” the state’s educational system “as it stands today.”

He’s currently trailing incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey by a considerable distance in polling ahead of the May 24 primary. A poll from last month shows that James has a shot at pushing Ivey into a runoff on June 21. Ivey needs more than 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff. Nine candidates are running for the GOP nomination for governor.

‘Brave space’

The use of the academy as campaign foil has Wilson defending his young school that received its charter to operate on November 10, 2020.

“For me, personally, as an Alabama adult and resident, it’s scary and disappointing at the same time,” said Wilson, who is a retired Alabama educator who previously served as the principal at Glen Iris Elementary School in Birmingham.

“I’m talking about the political rhetoric that his happening among these people vying for the Republican nomination,” he said. “We’re seeing ads for Senate and governor, and you know, I’m just surprised at how low one goes, the next goes lower. I just don’t understand how that inflammatory advertisement is good for democracy.”

The school’s sudden jolt into the campaign spotlight comes after the difficulties it experienced two years ago during its creation. Originally denied its charter by the Birmingham City School Board in early 2020, the school won approval following multiple setbacks before the Alabama Public Charter School Commission.

It wasn’t an easy process. The state commission voted three times to deny the school’s formation until Wilson and others convinced enough commissioners that the academy not only accepted LGBTQ students, but all others who are not having success in their current school. Public charter schools must accept all students who apply and cannot discriminate or set requirements for enrollment in the school.

Wilson said the hang-up was the focus on the phrase, “LGBTQ.” But Wilson also notes that the school is the first in the U.S. to include within its mission statement that it’s a “LGBTQ-affirming brave space” for students.

Funding

Aside from state funding, the school – which is sponsored by Birmingham AIDS Outreach – receives state and federal grants and is boosted through local fundraising. The school does not receive local tax dollars, Wilson said.

“We’re a public school just like any other public school,” said Wilson. “We get basic foundation funding like any school gets. We get no different (amounts of state funding) than anyone else.”

Students are primarily from the Birmingham area, with buses transporting them from Leeds, Trussville, Fultondale, McCalla, Pelham and beyond.

Wilson said the goal for the 2022-2023 school year is to increase enrollment by 110 students, up to 350.

The school’s curriculum follows state standards.

“Our expectations academically for each child is for them to make gains from where they began,” said Wilson. “We utilize a benchmark test to see where students were when they started in August and September, test in January and again at the end of the year. It tells us how we are doing in order to help every student to meet their own needs.”

‘Sad state of affairs’

Wilson said he’s not interested in inviting James for a meeting to allow the candidate to learn more about it, saying such a meeting “is pointless.”

“I don’t think people who that kind of rhetoric want to know the truth,” said Wilson.

For now, teachers are on guard at the school and are keeping a lookout for any strange vehicles that might drive by the school. He said school’s building is heavily secured with security cameras, and it’s positioned close to the Homewood Police Department’s headquarters, which Wilson said is “very fortunate for us.”

Peculiar activity has already happened, he said.

“We had a car drive by, and someone was shouting slurs at the kids while they were outside during PE,” Wilson said. “Another occurrence is that we had a man and a woman drive a car into the parking lot at the end of the building and the lady got out and walked toward a picnic table where the (students) were eating lunch. She was just filming. As soon as (the staff) went out there, she took off. I don’t know what their purpose was.”

Katie Glenn, a policy associate with the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, said the academy’s situation illustrates the consequences that political ads have on an institution.

“It’s not about a couple of points in the polls, it’s the actual lives to children that are at risk,” she said. “I think we are in a really scary moment in the way that politicians are talking about LGBTQ folks, both adults and children. It will have real consequences.”

Glenn cited the 2019 suicide of 15-year-old Nigel Shelby in Huntsville, whose death from excessive bullying drew reaction from Hollywood and beyond.

“This has happened in these legislator’s backyards,” said Glenn. “If they don’t wake up soon, there will be other kids who end up hurt. That is a really sad state of affairs.”

Todd, the state’s first LGBTQ official, said she’s worried about future campaign ads this year, saying that fewer “moderate Republicans” are seeking election in 2022.

“They will be replaced by far more social conservative people,” said Todd. “They will come after trans people more than they have. It’s disgusting and heartbreaking and, at the same time especially when you come after queer youth, that should be out of bounds.”

She added, “It’s easy to hate someone you don’t know or have to face personally. It’s the same with race divisions, too. We haven’t come very far in Alabama when you think about this.”

Wilson said he hopes the James ad doesn’t lead to copycats.

“The primary is not until May 24,” he said. “I hate to have to endure another 30 days or so of listening to these ads. I’ll have to go turn off the TV and go strictly to streaming services with no commercials.”