If “Everyone Is Welcome” is too political, what kind of legacy are we creating?

In Meridian, Idaho, sixth-grade teacher Sarah Inama resigned after her principal ordered her to remove her “Everyone is welcome” classroom poster. A new school district policy demands all classroom materials be “content neutral and conducive to a positive learning environment.” The content of Ms. Inama’s poster, which included images of hands in varying skin tones, was deemed too political. 

It’s easy to dismiss stories like this as distant or exaggerated, in someone else’s state, someone else’s school. But if we care about legacy, we must ask difficult questions. What are we teaching our children about who belongs? If it’s considered too “political” to affirm that every child deserves a seat in an elementary school classroom, what kind of legacy are we building?

Legacy isn’t just about wills and wealth. It’s the story we leave behind in our families, our communities, and our public institutions. It’s passed down in words and in silences, in the posters that stay on the wall, and in the ones we quietly take down. 

The next generation is watching. 

Click here to read, If "Everyone is Welcome" is Political, What Isn't?, inSharon McMahon's May 27, 2025 issue of The Preamble.