Right-wing pastor John Amanchukwu has built a reputation for himself and generated lots of media coverage by making appearances before North Carolina school boards to rant about the supposedly “perverted” books that are available in school libraries. He’s so pleased with himself that he’s taking his bigotry-promoting show on the road.
Amanchukwu is a pastor at Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, North Carolina, which is overseen by virulently anti-LGBTQ pastor Patrick Wooden, who also happens to be Amanchukwu’s father-in-law. In addition, Amanchukwu serves as a contributor to Charlie Kirk’s Christian nationalist Turning Point USA Faith organization.
Earlier this month, Amanchukwu appeared on Charisma publisher Stephen Strang’s podcast, where he declared that allowing public school students to have access to LGBTQ-friendly books is “mental rape.”
“We are seeing those who support special interests push their agenda upon children,” Amanchukwu declared. “It’s indoctrination. I use that term often; oftentimes I call it grooming as well. But a more appropriate term for what’s taking place, Stephen, is that it’s mental rape. It’s mental rape because it assaults the soul, it stains the brain, and it robs children of their innocence.”
“It’s also kind of normalizing this,” Strang added. ” You know, it used to be considered shameful. In fact, in our language, we called it ‘being in the closet.’ So if people were like this, they hid it in the closet. I guess that’s where the term came from.”
In contrast to Amanchukwu’s intentionally inflammatory rhetoric, multiple studies have confirmed that inclusive curricula have a positive effect on student safety and well-being.
Not content to harass school boards in his home state of North Carolina, Amanchukwu has recently begun to take his bigoted show on the road, appearing before the school board in Temecula, California earlier this week, where he accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of “creating space for pedophiles to have their legacy thrive.”
It appears as if Amanchukwu is just getting started, as he recently posted a video on YouTube bragging about his appearance in California and asking his supporters where he should go next.
Amanchukwu’s eagerness to travel the country to promote his anti-gay bigotry puts him in the company of other far-right activists who are seeking to purge classrooms and libraries and who are harassing school board members who support welcoming school environments for all students.
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