A high school Valedictorian in Illinois says the school told him to take Christ out of his speech.
Sam Blackledge had worked hard on his valedictorian address. He had written a wonderful speech declaring to his teachers and classmates that he is a follower of Jesus Christ.
But administrators at West Prairie High School in Illinois would not let the 18-year-old deliver that speech – because the content was deemed not appropriate for a high school graduation ceremony.
He was summoned to the principal’s office just a few hours before the ceremony – where school and district administrator’s delivered their ruling.
In a phone interview with Fox News Blackledge said, “They said they didn’t want to make it a religious ceremony. They told me that if I took out Christ I could say everything else.”
The young man with the 4.0-grade point average pleaded his case – explaining that he only wanted to convey to the audience about how his personal relationship with Christ had impacted his life.
The principal told him, “it wasn’t appropriate for the setting,”
Sam told Fox, “I had never felt that feeling before, it was terrible. I felt like I wanted to cry. I had basically – for months – I knew I wanted to talk about Christ in my graduation speech.
School leaders gave Sam the opportunity to remove all the references to Christ – but he declined to do so.
Fox News reported, “They silenced a young man’s voice because he is a follower of Jesus Christ. That sort of anti-Christian censorship must not be tolerated – especially in America.”