Graduation speech pulled over Christian content

The small town of Akin, Illinois is the heartbeat of the heartland. It’s a place where the crops are bountiful and so are the patriots.They don’t even have a post office in Akin – but they do have a church. And around this part of the country, church is what folks do.

So you can understand the concern among townsfolk when the salutatorian at Akin Grade School was told he could not deliver his graduation speech because it was too religious. Seth Clark, 13, was mighty proud of that speech. He referenced God and quoted from the Bible and even mentioned his Christian faith. But just hours before graduation, Seth was told that he would not be permitted to deliver his remarks.

“As a public school, it is our duty to educate students, regardless of how different they or their beliefs may be,” Supt. Kelly Clark wrote in a prepared statement to the Benton Evening News.

“While students are welcome to pray or pursue their faith without disrupting school or infringing upon the rights of others, the United States Constitution prohibits the school district from incorporating such activities as part of school-sponsored events, and when the context causes a captive audience to listen or compels other students to participate,” her statement read.

But that’s not where our story ends.

Read more at Town Hall