Controversy Over Tenn. Schools' "Christmas Break"

January 30, 2004

Source: The Commercial Appeal

http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_2615673,00.html

On January 30, 2004 The Commercial Appeal reported that "Shelby County school officials will ditch political correctness and call a midyear vacation Christmas break. The name change is either a nonissue or a sign of religious insensitivity, depending on whom you ask. Tim Wildmon of the Tupelo-based American Family Association said dissenters 'should get over it and be grateful we live in a free nation that tolerates different religious views and not in some Islamic country that forbids anything that is not Muslim.' Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, called the move shocking. 'They're now on record as being totally insensitive to the religious diversity in the community.' The school board didn't discuss the change Thursday as it unanimously approved a 2004-2005 school calendar."