4-H club removes rainbow from kids’ window painting after anti-LGBTQ+ complaints

Three children in the small rural town of Odebolt, Iowa resigned from their local 4-H community service club after a club leader removed a rainbow from a window painting created by two of the children to promote the club’s LGBTQ+-inclusivity. The club promotes experiential learning and youth leadership opportunities for kids in rural and agricultural communities.

As part of a club project, two siblings — 10-year-old Frannie Burns and 12-year-old Elwood Burns — agreed to promote the club by painting a message on the front window of the local newspaper, The Chronicle. The children were told that they had complete creative freedom, just as long as the painting mentioned the club by name and encouraged people to join.

Related:

Now Christian conservatives are attacking 4-H clubs because they’re ‘socialist’

They say the group is led by socialists and pedophiles because the organization is considering an update to their nondiscrimination policy.

The children wrote a message on the window that read, “Have you heard the news? 4-H is 4-everyone.” Below the text was a four-color rainbow made of orange, yellow, green, and blue arc bands.

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Elwood Burns said that he included the message and rainbow to highlight the club’s LGBTQ+ inclusivity. 4-H’s national website mentions LGBTQ+ inclusion and states, “4-H strives to reflect America and celebrate the diverse population from all beliefs and backgrounds.”

However, the day after the children painted the window, their mother, Frannie Burns, noticed that the rainbow drawing had been removed. When she contacted the local club’s leader, he explained that he removed the rainbow after people complained, though it’s unclear who complained, KCCI reported. The newspaper office reportedly said that it had no problem with the rainbow design on its window.

Rachel Burns said that her family was upset that 4-H club leaders complied with the discriminatory complaints and altered her children’s design without first contacting them.

In an open letter, Frannie Burns wrote, “I believe (removing the rainbow) was childish and inappropriate. I also believe that this is telling the children of this 4-H club that it is right not to include members of the LGBTQ+ community which is not in fact right. This is the reason I am quitting this club and moving to a new inclusive club. This is also the reason I ask this club either to change for the better or close.”

Her two kids quit the club, and another third child also quit out of solidarity. In a statement to the aforementioned news outlet, interim 4-H state program leader, Mitchell Hoyer wrote, “Iowa 4-H Youth Development is working with local staff and volunteer leaders to address this situation. We are committed to creating high-quality learning environments in which young people feel a sense of belonging as they build skills to make a positive impact on their communities.”

This isn’t the first time that 4-H has faced trouble over LGBTQ+ issues. The organization, which is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and state and local governments, withdrew a policy welcoming LGBTQ+ members in late 2018 after pressure from USDA officials during the presidency of Donald Trump.

Days after the national and local 4-H chapters posted the guidance embracing LGBTQ+ members, Heidi Green, then-chief of staff for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, and a communications manager of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture contacted 4-H to get them to rescind and remove the guidance.

Christian conservatives claimed the LGBTQ+ guidance showed that the group was led by “socialists and pedophiles.” In January 2019, 70 U.S. Congresspeople accused the USDA of “inappropriate … overreach” and asked Perdue to explain his agency’s role in getting 4-H to rescind the policy. The USDA never responded.