WATERTOWN — Jacob Voigt, a 2012 Watertown High School graduate now living in New York, traveled to the Stonewall Inn to record a video message of support for current students after the school board banned "A Mother of a Revolution" from the school's Spring band concert.
Voigt said the decision was disheartening, particularly because families had already been given the option to opt in or out of having their children perform the song.
"The families already had an opt-in and opt-out option. Parents were able to make decisions about this song for their own children, and while almost all decided to opt in, the board decided to overturn those decisions," Voigt said.
Watch: Watertown High School alumnus travels to Stonewall Inn to support students after school board bans concert song
The song has ties to LGBTQ rights and the 1969 Stonewall Uprising — a series of protests and clashes between LGBTQ people and police at the Stonewall Inn in New York, often considered a turning point in the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
Voigt addressed the students directly in his video, which he posted to social media and tagged our station on Facebook.
"You have a right to play and learn all sorts of different things so you can develop your own views and play where you want to. You can always be heard," Voigt said in the video.
Voigt also pushed back on the idea that exposure to a topic amounts to endorsement.
"Learning that something exists is not the same as being forced to agree with it. You don't prepare yourself for the real world by hiding things from yourself, from the real world," Voigt said in a Zoom interview with TMJ4's Ryan Jenkins.
He also called on the school board to shift its focus.
"I think most people in Watertown don't want a board that spends so much time talking about culture debates, but one that makes sure their kids are safe, that academics are strong, and that don't waste their tax dollars on meetings about whether or not a song should be played," Voigt said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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