MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Madison Heights City Council reversed its decision to cancel drag queen story time at the Arts and Pride festival this weekend.
Earlier this week, leaders voted 4-3 to remove the reading from the event lineup over concerns about whether it was family friendly. A special workshop meeting was called by city council, where the main agenda point was to discuss the appropriateness of drag queen story time being at a public park, one of several events planned for the Arts and Pride festival at Civic Center Park.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report below:
But supporters and the performer pushed back.
“I really think this is a victory for everybody and having a dialogue in that intervening time to come up with a resolution,” event organizer Jennifer Nagle said.
Nagle said this is the first year the group had a budget to book a drag performer. She says the board had been planning the festival since February and had specifically vetted the drag performer before booking them.
Nagel says some members of city council are on the boards that helped plan the event, and no problems were found in the months leading up to it.
Nagle says she believes the reversal means “the council is open to hearing opinions.”
“Talking to some of the people at the city council and the city manager's office this week, they've been saying oh, the phone has been ringing off the hook with people who are mad at us for canceling drag story time,” Nagel said.
Watch our report when the event was removed from the festival below:
"At its very heart was the basic fact, we don't want anybody to feel hurt. We want to be very inclusive. We want this event to be a fantastic event for our community,” Madison Heights Mayor Corey Haines told 7 News Detroit.
He says the event came to the council’s attention at the very last minute ahead of Monday's vote. Haines says later conversations helped leaders gain a better understanding of what the drag queen performer had planned for the children.
"We spoke with individuals that were part of the event. We spoke with individuals that were coordinating the event from the two boards. We were able to get more information, and we were to collaborate on what was occurring and how it was occurring," the mayor explained.
The drag queen who is expected to perform is Jadein Black, a K-12 educator in the Ypsilanti area who also performs family-friendly reading events, particularly in June, widely known as Pride Month.
“I’m not grooming people. I can’t even groom my own dog,” Black told 7 News Detroit.
"The outpouring of support from across Michigan and around the country has been incredible," Black said."Seeing this story receive national attention reminded me that there is so much love in this world. I am grateful to everyone who spoke up, shared their voices, and stood with our community."
Channel 7 viewers on our Facebook page had mixed feelings about the reversal.
Jeannie Fox said: "What kind of parent would bring their kid to this."
Tacy Fleming said: "No one is forcing you to go."
Organizers say the selected book focuses on love and acceptance.
"I am ready to show the world what story time really is," Black said. "These events are about literacy, kindness, imagination, acceptance, and creating spaces where every child feels welcome."
“Families have a choice to come and see me. It’s just like any other thing. It’s just like Disney and all the princesses."
The story time will now go on as planned Sunday at 1 p.m.
Haines says there will be a police presence on site to maintain public safety. Arts and crafts, music, food trucks, karaoke and T-shirt decorating will be offered at the festival.
