A look at the ‘well-coordinated’ anti-LGBTQ+ backlash and power grab in SoCal schools

Protesters and counter-protesters face off in front of Saticoy Elementary School in North Hollywood in June. Inside the ‘well-coordinated’ anti-LGBTQ+ backlash in SoCal schools Laphonza Butler won’t run in California’s 2024 U.S. Senate race Explore L.A. through the places that bring it to life And here’s today’s e-newspaper A ‘well-coordinated’ anti-LGBTQ+ power grab Outside schools and inside school board chambers, outrage and contention hang like a thick fog. Henson and other traveling activists are “loud and on the ground,” my colleagues wrote in their subscriber exclusive story, but “they aren’t acting alone.” “Backing them are conservative strategists, think tanks and institutions at the state and national level that have deep pockets, core beliefs that run counter to LGBTQ+ rights and vested interests in energizing Republicans and raising doubts about the effectiveness of public education in the nation’s most populous liberal state.” Those backers include the California Policy Center, Moms for Liberty, the Leadership Institute, Turning Point USA and evangelical megachurches. “Outposts of government that many people consider unimportant or boring have a direct impact on people’s lives, even though it is not always apparent because we take their functioning for granted,” he said. Today’s great reads Marveon Mabon, a fourth-generation resident of the Imperial Courts public housing project in Watts, poses for a portrait as he and others distribute backpacks to children at the Watts Empowerment Center.