EDUCATION
Christian School Rejects Lesbian Couple’s Child
Yet Baptist institution is willing to work with parents who are sex offenders
BY MATT TRACY
A married lesbian couple
in Waco, Texas, is expressing
outrage after
their daughter was rejected
admission to a local Christian
school simply because her
parents are gay.
Brittney and Stacy Ready were
recently informed that there was
an opening for their daughter at a
school that operates as a ministry
arm of Parkview Baptist Church.
The church has a daycare known
as Parkview Christian Childcare
Center and a K-12 school called
Parkview Christian Academy.
The parents and their daughter,
Callie, went to the daycare to begin
enrollment and everything seemed
fi ne — until the very end.
In a July 18 Facebook post
Dr. John Collier, the pastor at Parkview Baptist Church and president of the Parkview Christian Academy, speaks during a church service on July 21.
shared widely , Brittney wrote, “The
director was super sweet and welcoming
to us and Callie! We go to
leave with paperwork in hand only
for the administrator to call us
into his offi ce to let us know that
he heard that Stacey and I our sic
‘mates’ (fi rst off we aren’t animals)
and because of that they cannot
welcome her (Callie). That ‘byLaws
YOUTUBE
are byLaws’ and their Christian
based faith that they would not be
able to accept our child.”
➤ PARKVIEW CHRISTIAN, continued on p.17
CRIME
Black Trans Woman Murdered in South Carolina
Twelfth victim this year found just fi ve miles from 2015 church massacre
BY MATT TRACY
The deadly targeting of
black transgender women
across the United
States continued on
July 20 in North Charleston, South
Carolina, where Denali Berries
Stuckey was found dead with gunshot
wounds shortly after 4 a.m.
Police confi rmed that Stuckey,
a 29-year-old black trans woman,
was found on the side of the road
at 2821 Carner Avenue in North
Charleston. Police have not identifi
ed a suspect at this time.
With Stuckey’s death, 12 trans
women — all black women — have
suffered violent deaths this year,
according to the Human Rights
Campaign.
When asked if the case is being
investigated as a hate crime,
a spokesperson for North Charleston’s
police department only said,
“It is being investigated as a homicide.”
“We don’t have any information
to lead us to a motive at this point,”
the spokesperson said.
The Charleston County coroner’s
offi ce did not immediately respond
to multiple requests for comment.
In ABC 4’s report, the deputy coroner
deadnamed Stuckey.
The state of South Carolina does
not have a hate crimes law, but
the city of Charleston — just minutes
south of North Charleston —
passed a hate crimes ordinance in
November of last year after the area
developed a reputation for failing to
report hate crimes. Stuckey’s body
was found just fi ve miles from the
church where white supremacist
Dylann Roof carried out a mass
shooting in 2015 and was later convicted
of 33 federal hate crime and
murder charges.
But hate crimes protocol is not
clear in North Charleston, where
the city’s City Council operates separately
GOFUNDME.COM
Denali Berries Stuckey was shot and killed on
July 20 in North Charleston, South Carolina.
from the one in Charleston.
South Carolina Equality, a statewide
LGBTQ advocacy group, and
another local queer rights group
known as the Alliance for Full
Acceptance, did not immediately
respond to requests for comment
about Stuckey’s death. Those organizations,
along with Charleston
Pride, We Are Family, Charleston
Area Transgender Support, and
Charleston Black Pride are holding
a vigil honoring Stuckey’s life on
July 22 at 8 p.m. at 1801 Reynolds
Ave in North Charleston.
“We want to honor and memorialize
Denali as she identifi ed
herself and lived her life,” the Alliance
for Full Acceptance wrote on
the vigil’s event page on Facebook.
“Please join us. #sayhername.”
A GoFundMe page has been established
to aid Stuckey’s family in
raising money for her funeral and
burial expenses.
In addition to the dozen known
women who have suffered violent
deaths, other trans women have
died while incarcerated, some in
the custody of federal Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
authorities.
Locally, Layleen Xtravaganza Cubilette
Polanco died in the custody
of the New York City Department of
Correction in early June, and there
have been very few details surrounding
the circumstances of her
death.
August 1 - August 14, 2 14 019 | GayCityNews.com
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