Philly schools censored a podcast about Palestinian resistance art because of complaints of antisemitism. Now, there’s pushback.

The African American history class assignment: Examine a modern-day group of indigenous or oppressed people’s use of art as an act of resistance and connect it to enslaved Black people’s use of spirituals.

Two Northeast High students chose to create a video of a podcast about Palestinian art. Their teacher gave them an “A” and chose it for entry into the school’s Black History Month assemblies, after clearing the video with her principal, who reached out to higher-ups in the Philadelphia School District.

After the first assembly, one Jewish teacher raised objections that the video was antisemitic, as did community groups alerted about it, and then district officials ordered the immediate removal of the video, which never mentions Jewish people but mentions “the ongoing situation in Palestine and Israel” and uses an image of people in Muslim garb standing in front of a Palestinian flag next to people in yarmulkes in front of an Israeli flag.

The act proved to be a lightning rod, stirring voices of educators aghast at censorship, while groups including the newly formed School District of Philadelphia Jewish Family Association say that the video indicates Jewish people are oppressors and is therefore antisemitic.

Teacher Keziah Ridgeway, who assigned the project, is crushed.

“Our kids are entitled to choose what they want,” she said. “They have freedom of speech.”

When Ridgeway told her 10th-grade students about the project, she deliberately did not assign them a group to think and write about. Some chose Brazilians using Capoeira, a martial arts dance, others picked Native American resistance art.

And one student chose Palestinian art. A friend of the student, who is not in Ridgeway’s class, was so excited about the assignment that he chose to participate, too.

“These kids were very measured in what they created, and very respectful,” said Ridgeway.

The video begins with the voice of one of the students.

“Welcome to the Oppression Art Podcast, where we explore the profound impact of artistic expression on the resistance of oppressed and indigenous people,” it said. “In today’s episode, we delve into the historical use of art as a tool for resistance, drawing parallels between the experiences of enslaved African Americans and the ongoing situation in Palestine and Israel.”

The students go on to describe enslaved Black Americans’ spirituals and visual art, and reference murals on the separation wall between Gaza and Israel, and talk about Palestinian artist Emily Jacir’s work bringing “global attention to the injustice in the region.”

Ridgeway was impressed by the final product, which described the situation as “complex,” and referenced “attempts to erase the Palestinian name.” Because the plan was to show the video at the Black History Month assembly, Ridgeway sent the video to Northeast’s principal, just in case he saw issues with it.

The veteran principal, Omar Crowder, said he saw no problems, Ridgeway said, and was also impressed by the students’ work. He sent the video to district officials to flag if they had objections, but heard nothing back.

The video aired on Feb. 21, at Northeast’s first Black History Month assembly. (The school, with 3,200 students, is so large that four Black History Month assemblies were scheduled.)

After the assembly, one teacher complained to Crowder, and apparently someone shared a photo of the event, including a screenshot of the video, with others. A parent of a child who attends another district school also emailed Crowder to ask him why there was an assembly about “Palestinian resistance efforts” and requested that future assemblies be canceled.

Concerns were also raised to district officials, who ordered the video removed. (Ridgeway shared a copy of the video on her personal Instagram account, with the students’ permission, but she said it was an edited copy — the students edited out the image of the Palestinian and Israeli people on their own, Ridgeway said, but made no other substantial changes.)

Telling her student that his project was being removed was excruciating, said Ridgeway, who has won the district’s prestigious Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.

“His first response was, ‘What did I do wrong?’” said Ridgeway, who is a member of the Racial Justice Organizing Committee, a city activist group. “He did nothing wrong. This is what we want students to do — to think about, to synthesize, to connect history to modern-day issues. You would think the school district would be celebrating a student that’s able to do that at the highest level.”

The district parent who asked Crowder to take down the video said there were “serious civic and legal concerns about your school’s actions taken to educate students on why ‘Palestinian resistance’ is warranted and needed.”

“Jewish individuals, including [district] students, are currently fighting unprecedented antisemitism, and this assembly will undoubtedly create more,” the parent wrote in the email, which was obtained by The Inquirer.

The School District of Philadelphia Jewish Family Association, in another email to Crowder, said that even if the word “Jewish” were not used in the video, the inference was that Palestinians are resisting Jewish oppressors.

“This narrative is antisemitic and dangerous,” the email said. “This misinformation stokes the flames of hate against Jewish people in America, and now, within the confines of your school.”

The Jewish Family Association said it knew of specific acts of antisemitism, including swastikas drawn in schools, but a district spokesperson said there was no record of such acts.

Caroline Tiger, a district parent and member of the Jewish family group, said that in the school system, “Jewish students and teachers are scared and are not being supported in their schools or by school leadership. Antisemitism is going unchecked and the climate is hostile.”

Crowder, in response to the first parent’s email, said that Northeast has “a zero-tolerance policy in regards to discrimination and we take antisemitism and all other forms of bigotry and discrimination seriously.”

Monique Braxton, a district spokesperson, responded to questions about the students’ podcast with a statement that read, in part, “the violence in the Middle East region is heartbreaking” and “we urge everyone to channel their anger, sadness and heartbreak into caring actions. We hope there will be a swift end to this crisis so that peace and healing can begin.”

Northeast’s final Black History Month assembly was held Thursday morning, without the video.

The student hosts of the assembly — members of the school’s Black Student Association — made a speech about the video’s removal and blamed it on censorship at the point in the program where the video was shown in the first assembly. The students then continued with the program.

Shortly after the assembly, the Jewish family association sent an email to Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. and school board members, saying that Ridgeway “had students stage a protest, calling out ‘white teachers’ (Jewish) for having the ‘truth’ removed from the program.”

Ridgeway said she had no idea the students were planning to speak about the video, and did not direct them to do anything.

Members of the Jewish family organization, which has partnered with the regional Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Federation, told Watlington and the board that Ridgeway “cannot continue to incite violence and indoctrination against Jewish students and faculty,” an accusation that Ridgeway denies.

With word of what happened at Northeast spreading on social media, some people upset at the video’s removal have drafted letters to read to the school board. Others testified at a Thursday board meeting.

Andrew Saltz, a teacher at Paul Robeson High School, wrote to the board to implore that they reverse course and apologize to the students who created the podcast.

Saltz, who is Jewish, said he was “ashamed” that a Jewish colleague engineered the removal of a student project.

“I hope Mrs. Ridgeway’s class understands there are many Jews who may agree or disagree with their idea, but support their right to express themselves in the classroom.”

Alondra Ramirez-Colondres, a Northeast student, told the board she found the district’s actions “hypocritical” and took issue with the notion that the video was antisemitic.

“I saw the video,” Ramirez-Colondres said. “It wasn’t at all. I’m just confused as to why it was banned.”

As several people held signs that read “Free Palestine” and “Stop Silencing Students” stood behind her, Ridgeway herself told the board that she was furious that the district took down the best student assignment she’s seen in her career because a white teacher was uncomfortable. By doing so, it is harming Palestinian students who feel erased.

“Guess what? I am a Black woman and I was born feeling uncomfortable,” Ridgeway said. “They are just upset that the word Palestine is being said.”

Ridgeway and others asked the superintendent to address the issue.

“We will gladly look into that matter,” Watlington said, adding that he was not prepared to address it Thursday night.