Local response to AIM video reported by Indiana public radio
April 24, 2023
Local clergy, educators and supporters held a prayer circle at Martinsville High School Thursday evening for a local educator who came under fire after discussing sensitive curriculum material in a secretly recorded video.
The video of six educators across Indiana was taped by activists posing as parents while working for Accuracy in Media (AIM), a right-wing media organization. The video was later broadcast on Fox News.
One of the administrators in the video was Jenny Oakley, director of e-learning and literacy for the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville.
“We’ve talked to our textbook companies that are coming in to do presentations, and I actually prep them a little bit because I’m like, ‘we want this in our curriculum, so if you could just not say specifically “this” then it won’t cause a red flag with the community,’” Oakley told the activists posing as parents. “I hate that we have to do that, but that way it’s still there. They would support it if just the content was there. It’s just the title.”
The clip didn’t include the question posed to Oakley or specify what content she was referring to, but some on the internet interpreted it as deception against parents and an endorsement of critical race theory.
The video was shared widely by Purple for Parents, an organization that promotes conspiracy theories and says its goal is to expose “the indoctrination and sexualization of children in the public education system.” Attendees of the prayer circle said Oakley had received death threats and online harassment.