Brian Hickman loves to dance. His mom, Adriana, taught him to never let his cerebral palsy keep him down, and he took that advice with him everywhere he went.
So when Brian’s elementary school announced they were going to have a student talent show, the fifth-grader was excited to showcase his dancing talents in front of his fellow classmates. He spent weeks practicing a dance routine he learned at church, working hard to nail down all the right moves.
But a week before the talent show, Brian’s mom received a phone call from the school’s principal. He told her that the song Brian had chosen “said Jesus too many times,” and violated the so-called “separation of church and state”--a phrase found nowhere in the Constitution. He would have to select a different song, or not perform in the school’s talent show.
Brian was heartbroken. He worked hard to master his routine, and couldn’t understand what was so controversial about dancing to a song about Jesus.
With the talent show just a week away, Adriana made a deal with her son. If Brian kept working on his song, she would do what she could to give him the chance to perform his chosen song. Adriana called Alliance Defending Freedom, and together, they filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Within days, the school reversed course and announced it would allow Brian to perform his song. And it even revised its policies so that other students never face the same restrictions if they choose to use a religious song at a school talent show.
Thankfully, the LA Unified School District did the right thing in time for Brian to perform at the talent show—for which he received a standing ovation from the community. But that should cause us to ask, “Why should Brian and his mom have had to go to court just to speak freely?”
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