As drivers gather in Fairbanks and Big Lake, Alaska to convoy to the entrance of Denali National Park, the National Park Service has responded to the accusation that the superintendent at Denali National Park ordered construction workers to not fly the flag in the park.
The National Park Service’s statement in full:
“Reports that a National Park Service (NPS) official ordered the removal of an American flag from a Denali bridge construction worker’s vehicle at Denali National Park are false. At no time did an NPS official seek to ban the American flag from the project site or associated vehicles. The NPS neither administers the bridge project contract, nor has the authority to enforce terms or policies related to the contract or contractors performing the work. The American flag can be seen at various locations within Denali National Park – at park facilities and campsites, on public and private vehicles, and at employee residences – and we welcome its display this Memorial Day weekend and every day.”
The statement is carefully worded. The order to not fly the flag was reportedly not on the job site itself, which is under the purview of the Federal Highway Administration, but when vehicles went to and from the job site on the Park Road, which goes through the park from the Parks Highway. Must Read Alaska has verified the claim being made by construction workers, who stand by their version of the events.
Update from Sen. Dan Sullivan’s spokesman:
“Senator Sullivan stands by his letter. There is no law or regulation that he could conceive of that prohibits the flying of the American flag in an American national park. The fact remains that one of his constituents called the senator’s office because he was informed that he had to remove his 3 x 5 American flag after the National Park Service received a complaint about him flying the American flag on his truck. In a conversation this morning, between the Senator and the National Park Service Director, the director committed to providing more details to respond to the questions in the senator’s letter.
“Senator Sullivan also strongly recommended to the director that any Alaskans heading to the park today should be allowed to fly their flags in a safe and honorable way without incident.”
While some Alaskans organize a Sunday convoy to the entrance of Denali National Park, where they plan to fly their American flags in protest of a park superintendent’s ban on the flag on the Park Road, sources tell Must Read Alaska that the park staff has called for protection from the Alaska State Troopers.
The official statement from the Troopers is that the Park Service has not called them for backup. Troopers were on site at the Fairbanks Walmart parking lot where the convoy group gathered at noon on Sunday. Must Read Alaska’s source confirms the account that the Troopers were called for traffic control at the entrance to the park.
The news about the flag ban on the road that goes through Denali National Park reached the national level, with a story on Fox News on Sunday morning, and the X/Twitter account LibsofTikTok posted stories about the decision by the park superintendent to keep American flags off of the work vehicles that are building a bridge to connect the Park Road past the Pretty Rocks Landslide, so visitors will next year be able to get to Wonder Lake, the Eielson Visitor Center, and Kantishna Roadhouse.
INCREDIBLE. Alaskans are now planning a patriotic convoy during Memorial Day weekend to Denali National Park after the park manager told workers they can’t fly the American Flag.
The flags on the worksite itself are not under the jurisdiction of the park superintendent, but rather of the Federal Highway Administration project manager. But once the work vehicles leave the job site, Park Superintendent Brooke Merrell wants those trucks to not be flying the American flag, according to numerous sources.
Drivers from Fairbanks will meet at the Fairbanks Walmart at noon and plan to be rolling by about 1 pm, with a stopped planned for the Three Bears store in Healy, before the group proceeds to the entrance of Denali National Park.
Another group has organized from the south, and will meet at the Fisher Fuel on the Parks Highway, a half-mile from the Big Lake intersection, and roll to Denali at about 10 am. The group hopes to have a burger-and-hot-dog picnic when they arrive.
“No matter, we should be able to fly the American flag, no matter where,” said Keith Fons, who is one of the key organizers of the convoy. Fons, who lives in North Pole, always flies an American flag and once receive a $1 fine for driving his truck while it was covered with Christmas lights.
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, a military veteran of the U.S. Marines, has written a letter of protest to National Park Service Director Charles Sams, and at least three Alaska legislators have also written letters to Sams as well — Rep. Ben Carpenter, Rep. Jamie Allard, and Rep. Kevin McCabe. All three are veterans.
Rep. Allard pointed out that the men and women working in the park “do not give up their First Amendment rights when they put on their helmets and go to work.”
Rep. McCabe wrote that Alaska boasts the highest percentage of veterans per capita of any state in the nation. “These veterans, and indeed all construction workers employed in our National Parks, take immense pride in their country and their contributions to it. The American flag represents their dedication, patriotism, and the freedoms they have fought to protect.
Rep. Carpenter wrote, “The facts as reported have yet to be disputed by the National Park Service and, if accurate, deeply concern me and the constituents I represent … No good justification was reported to be offered by Ms. Merrell. From the reports that I witnessed, the justification given was in response to complaints from other park visitors.”
Alaskans in the Denali Borough on Sunday might not only see convoys of trucks and cars with American flags flying, they may even catch glimpse of a plane towing an American flag over Denali National Park.
Matthew McKenna, of the McKenna Bros. company in Alaska, put out an inquiry to find someone who will tow that flag from a plane on Sunday, to send a message to Park Superintendent Brooke Merrell that she cannot limit the political speech of Americans. As of this writing, it’s unclear if he’s found a pilot and plane.
Last week, Denali National Park Superintendent Merrell reportedly told workers building the bridge at the Pretty Rocks Landslide that they must remove the American flag that was mounted on one of their vehicles.
The incident led to a letter from Sen. Dan Sullivan to the director of the National Park Service, Charles Sams, demanding an explanation about what many perceive as an infringement of Americans’ constitutional right to political speech.
On Sunday, a convoy of trucks and cars are heading to the park entrance with flags, with Alaskans road-tripping to the park in order to send a message to the National Park Service that America’s flag is not offensive on federal property.
Ironically, there is a large American flag that flies at the Eielson Visitor Center inside the park, as seen above, although it cannot be reached at the present time because the road is blocked by the landslide.
Alaskans offended by the Denali National Park Superintendent who banned the American flag from a private road construction vehicle inside the national park have decided to take a road trip on Sunday — to the park entrance, with their flags flying.
A convoy with patriotic flags will meet at the Fairbanks Walmart parking lot on Sunday starting at noon, and will be rolling toward the Denali Park entrance at around 1 pm, said Keith Fons of North Pole, who is organizing the convoy. The drive to the entrance usually takes about two hours. The goal is to take a break in Healy at the Three Bears parking lot, where people can attach, reattach or adjust their flags, and arrive around 2:30 or 3 p.m. at the park entrance visitor center.
Others are organizing to come from the south, with people in Wasilla, Palmer, and Anchorage now getting in the patriotic spirit for a Memorial Day ride. Organizers said if the parking lot is full at the visitors center, they will line the road as safely as possible.
Barbara Haney, a member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly , intends to take part in the patriotic convoy. She noted that Hudson Stuck, the first person to make it to the top of Denali, planted a flag and a cross when he reached the top of North America’s highest peak.
“Memorial Day weekend is a perfect time to do such a act! Start Meeting at Walmart at Noon and then we will ride to Denali or you can meet up at Denali Come join do a BBQ or just hang out,” Fons said in his Facebook post.
The convoy is in response to a complaint made by a worker who is on the crew that is building the bridge at Pretty Rocks, which is after Mile 43 on the Denali Park Road. Park Superintendent Brooke Merrell told the road crew that American flags are not allowed on their trucks because they ruin the experience for visitors.
Currently, visitors cannot get past Mile 43 due to a severe rock slide that not only made the road impassable, but unrepairable without a bridge, which is being constructed by Granite Construction.
Sen. Dan Sullivan has written a letter to the National Park Service director, objecting to the banning of the 3×5 flag that was on one of the worker’s trucks.
Construction workers blasting and building a bridge at the Pretty Rocks landslide area inside Denali National Park say the park’s superintendent has banned them from flying American flags on their vehicles because it degrades the ambiance of the park experience for visitors.
Workers from Granite Construction said Denali National Park Superintendent Brooke Merrell contacted a company foreman through an employee of the Federal Highway Administration, saying the Park Service had received complaints from someone driving through the park who reported that the 3×5 flags were detracting from their enjoyment.
Sen. Dan Sullivan sent letter to the director of the National Park Service Charles “Chuck” Sams III, expressing his strong disapproval to the demand that workers take the American flags off their trucks and heavy equipment. Sullivan also spoke about it on the Mike Porcaro Show on Friday, saying Sullivan’s State Director Adam Trombley was on the phone trying to reach Park Superintendent Merrell.
Sullivan said that the matter was especially concerning in that it came on the eve of Memorial Day weekend.
It is an outrage that on the lead-up to Memorial Day, a construction worker was prohibited from flying an American flag in a national park in Alaska. I cannot conceive of a federal law or regulation mandating this.
— Sen. Dan Sullivan (@SenDanSullivan) May 25, 2024
“As you know, a major construction project is underway in the Denali National Park and Preserve to build a bridge at mile 45 of the Park Road, an area known as Pretty Rocks. One of the vehicles involved in the construction had a 3 x 5 foot American flag affixed to it while working on this project. For reasons that remain unclear, someone at the National Park Service (NPS) caused the construction crew to remove the American flag from the vehicle,” Sullivan wrote to Sam’s.
“This is an outrage—particularly in the lead-up to our most solemn national holiday, Memorial Day, a time when Americans come together to honor those that gave their lives in service to our nation, while wearing our country’s flag. The American flag, especially on Memorial Day weekend, should be celebrated, not censored by federal government employees,” the letter said.
“There is no federal regulation or law that I can conceive of that would ban the flying of the American flag on public land – particularly in a national park the principal purpose of which is the enjoyment of American citizens,” Sullivan’s letter said.
Sullivan asked NPS Director Sams to investigate the incident and determine what transpired, including whether there was some kind of requirement in the contract with Granite Construction that would prohibit the display of an American flag, and the circumstances in which this incident was handled and by whom. “I also request you outline what concrete steps—be they increased training, clearer guidelines, updating policies—the NPS will take to ensure an incident like this does not happen again in American national parks.”
In the Stampede area of the Denali Borough, a man who owns property next to Merrell’s homesite and who shares a driveway with her told Must Read Alaska that he lined the driveway with American flags on Friday, so that she can enjoy them when she comes and goes.
Reaction: A Stampede-area man in the Denali Borough who shares a driveway with the Denali National Park superintendent lined it with American flags on Friday so she can enjoy them as she goes to work.
Merrell took over management of the park in 2022, and was celebrated as the first woman to serve at the park’s superintendent. According to the National Park Service, Merrell grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and received a Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of Utah and a law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School. Prior to moving to Alaska, she worked for DNA People’s Legal Services on the Navajo Nation, the City of Portland, Columbia Riverkeeper, and Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Summer access to facilities and services in Denali are limited due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide and the associated closure of the Park Road at Mile 43; the landslide occurred on and off between 2021 and 2022. Transit buses and tour buses travel only as far as the East Fork Bridge (Mile 43 of the Denali Park Road). Eielson Visitor Center and Wonder Lake Campground are closed.
It will be several days or even weeks before the Wing Luke Museum can reopen, after 26 staff member walked off the job on Wednesday, protesting an exhibit because it was too pro-Israel and anti-Hamas for their taste. The exhibit, “Confronting Hate Together,” promotes the concept that anti-Zionism is the same as antisemitism, according to the group’s post on Instagram.
“A collective of Wing Luke Museum workers participated in a walkout on Wednesday, May 22, and have been withholding labor in protest of Zionist language in the new exhibit ‘Confronting Hate Together,'” the walk-out workers wrote.
“We love the Wing Luke Museum and are consistently honored to steward the stories of our community members, many of whom have experienced the destructive harm of white supremacy, genocide, and violence that parallels the experience of Palestinians today. Our solidarity with Palestine should be reflected in our AA/NHPI institutions. It sets a dangerous precedent of platforming colonial, white supremacist perspectives and goes against the Museum’s mission as a community-based museum advancing racial and social equity,” the group wrote, inviting people to send emails to the museum’s executives to “show support for our cause, to emphasize the significant negative impact that platforming Zionist ideology has on our communities, and the Wing Luke Museum’s credibility as a museum representing marginalized communities,” the group wrote.
The group’s Instagram account is called “wlm4palestine,” an indication that it is opposed to the security of Israel and is instead supportive of the Hamas terrorists who attacked Israel on Oct. 7 in the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust.
The Nazi Holocaust ended the lives of millions of Jews in Europe and led to the international decision to allow the creation of a Jewish state where all Jews could feel safe. Today, anti-Israel sentiments have arisen among those who don’t believe the nation has a right to defend itself against terrorists.
Since half of the museum staff has walked out and said they won’t return until their demands are met, it is unclear when the public will be able to see the exhibit and judge for themselves if it is too pro-Israel.
WLM4Palestine demands.
“Staff saw the panel with Zionist language during the May 14 media preview for the exhibit … Despite making a revision after learning of staff’s concerns, the edits made still conveyed Zionist perspectives. On May 19, 26 staff members signed a letter to Executive leadership asking for the removal at the text panel as well as other demands,” the group wrote.
“What is happening in Palestine directly reflects violent colonization and imperialism that has and continues to impact Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA/NHPI) diaspora for generations. Our Museum’s exhibits, education, and programs have brought together communities, shared hard histories and conversations, and helped create joy and light among the darkness of what AA/NHPI diaspora often feel and experience. Zionism has no place in our communities and being anti-Zionist goes hand in hand with our own liberation as AA/NHPI. Our solidarity with Palestine should be reflected in our AA/NHPI institutions,” the employees said.
“White supremacy, colonialism, and imperialism are wide, interconnected systems of power that each ot us‘ either uphold or actively work to dismant|e. Every day we aim for the work we do at the Museum to be a space to provide tools, conversations, and inspiration in fostering connected learning in our collective struggles and solidarity with AA/NHPI and beyond, and our mission in doing so shouldn’t stop with just our immediate communities.”
The group was especially offended by a portion of the exhibit provided by the Jewish Historical Society, which states, “Today, antisemitism is often disguised as anti-Zionism.” One photo shows the Mercer Island synagogue spray painted with the words, “Stop the killing.”
The Wing Luke 26 have four demands: Remove language that frames Palestinian liberation and anti-Zionism as antisemitism, have a “community review” before the exhibit goes live, confess the sin of having a limited perspective presented in the exhibit (not enough Palestinian, Arab, or Muslim perspectives, and put in the center of the exhibit “voices that align with the museum’s mission & values.”
The museum posted a note on its website that said it hoped to open soon:
“The Wing Luke Museum is and will continue to be committed to addressing challenging issues in our work. We expected Confronting Hate Together, an exhibit that explores anti-Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander hate, Black hate and anti-Jewish hate, to be a learning opportunity that invites us to seek out and understand others’ perspectives. As an organization rooted in dialogue, we acknowledge and support the right of our staff to express their beliefs and personal truths and to this end, we are holding space for a careful and thoughtful process of listening with intent to hear multiple perspectives in pursuit of a mutual way forward,” the museum wrote.
“After closing the Museum this week to listen and earnestly engage in dialog with our staff, the Museum looks forward to opening our doors at a future date so that we can continue serving our community in other needed capacities during this time. Please look for updates from us,” the note from the museum continued.
“We welcome the public to come and engage with the exhibit for themselves, when we do open, and we will offer free admission for the community to experience this powerful exhibition. We look forward to continuing to serve our mission to advance racial and social equity together with our staff and welcome them to join us as the dialogue around this important exhibit continues,” the management of the museum wrote, an indication that it may concede to the demands of the Wing Luke 26.
The Wing Luke Museum is an art and history museum founded in 1967, which focuses on the culture, art and history of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Located in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, it is Smithsonian Institution affiliate and the only pan-Asian Pacific American community-based museum in the United States.
The California Senate passed a bill that would ban parental notification for gender changes in public TK-12 and provide more resources to increase parental support of LGBTQ pupils. TK means “transitional kindergarten, a two-year kindergarten program.
While parents broadly support disclosure rules and have approved them in many school districts, state leaders, including the attorney general — who has supported lawsuits against districts with disclosure rules — say these efforts harm transgender children.
In the past year, school districts across California have adopted measures requiring parents to be notified if their children request to officially change their pronouns, go by a different name, or use facilities or school programs for children of the opposite gender.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has responded by supporting lawsuits against these school districts, with California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond supporting Assembly Bill 1955, a bill just passed by the California Senate and heading to the Assembly that would ban these parental notification requirements.
“AB 1955 protects our LGBTQ+ youth from increased risk of bullying and harassment, and it affirms families’ ability to handle family matters at home without school employees being forced to intervene,” said Thurmond in a statement. “The SAFETY Act will allow our teachers to focus on teaching academic skills – not on policing gender identity.”
Parental rights advocates maintain that this bill would likely be found unconstitutional and undermines children’s health and the trust between schools and parents.
“Notifying and involving parents for something as paramount as socially transitioning a child at school is critical for the well-being of children and for maintaining trust between schools and parents,” Jonathan Zachreson, whose Protect Kids Californiaorganization is collecting signatures for a November statewide ballot initiative requiring parental notification, told to The Center Square.
Liberty Justice Center, a legal nonprofit representing two California school districts and Protect Kids California in various cases against the state, reiterated their support for parental rights and said it would fight AB 1955 in court when it likely passes.
“Parents have a right to know what their own minor children are doing at school – and school officials have no right to keep secrets from parents,” said Liberty Justice Center President Jacob Huebert in a statement. “We will continue to stand with parents and the school districts that want to respect their rights – and we’ll continue to represent them free of charge, at no cost to taxpayers.”
While parental rights advocates focus on the trust between parents and the schools, LGBTQ advocates focus on trust between students and schools.
“Teachers should not be the gender police and violate the trust and safety of the students in their classrooms,” Assemblymember Christopher Ward, D-San Diego, who authored the bill, said. “Parents should be talking to their children, and the decision for a student to come out to their family members should be on their own terms. The SAFETY Act simply ensures that conversations about gender identity and sexuality happen at home without interference from others outside of the family unit.”
Earlier this year, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service stopped administering puberty blocking hormones to transgender minors, saying there is “not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness” of such procedures. The United States Supreme Court has recently supported the constitutionality of state laws banning gender hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery for transgender minors, suggesting parental rights advocates may have the upper hand if AB 1955 passes and a legal challenge goes to trial.
University of Washington in Seattle offers a special resident hall exclusively for black students starting this fall. The University insists that this is not segregation.
“Black Affinity Housing provides a unique living experience for students seeking connection through celebrating Black culture and scholarship,” the university says.
The housing will provide space to “promote personal wellness, social connectedness, and academic success centering the Black student experience.”
The goals of the housing segregation experience, according to the university are also to:
Build a community to enhance the sense of belonging and affinity to UW
Champion respect for Black culture, identity, and history
Cultivate open and honest conversations surrounding individual and shared experiences
Celebrate the rich and vibrant Black culture worldwide
Promote self-growth and potential through opportunities for academic achievement, civic engagement and career preparedness both in and outside the university community
Create lifelong friendships and a meaningful network of likeminded individuals
Black Affinity Housing will be located on the 8th floor of Lander Hall on West Campus. The floor accommodates 125 students through single, double, and triple rooms.
Alaska students attend medical school at UW through the WWAMI program, a multi-state medical education program for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. Some 20 Alaska students are accepted each year.
On Monday, the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor announced he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to charge them with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan has responded with a Senate resolution to remove the United States from the I.C.C., which is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands.
His bill is titled, “Stop the ICC Act.” It calls for a prohibition against cooperating with the ICC and prohibits funding for the Palestinian Authority, a supporter of Hamas, as well as prohibits funding for the I.C.C.
I.C.C. Chief Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan announced that he was “filing applications for the warrants of arrests” for Netanyahu, and other senior Israeli and Hamas figures who have played key roles in the ongoing war in Gaza.
A panel of three judges will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants. The process could take several weeks. If the judges agree, then Benjamin Netanyahu, other Israeli leaders, and Hamas leaders could be arrested if they left their own borders.
Earlier this month, 12 Republican senators threatened the ICC with sanctions if it moves forward with an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, who has been drawn into a war to defend Israel from Hamas terrorists after an Oct. 7, 2023 raid conducted by the terrorist organization that killed several hundred Israeli citizens and kidnapped over 200. About 100 have been released. Israel says another 100 hostages are still being held captive in Gaza. There are another 39 bodies of hostages that were killed but not released by Hamas. Israel has only been able to recover 17 bodies of hostages.
“The ICC’s false moral equivalency between Israel and Hamas is reprehensible and dangerous,” said Sen. Sullivan. “Israel is facing a threat to its very existence from a barbaric enemy that actually uses civilians as human shields and welcomes civilian casualties as part of its strategy. Republicans and Democrats have rightly condemned the ICC’s outrageous arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, but now we need to back up those words with action. We must end American cooperation with this rogue organization and stand firmly with our strongest ally in the Middle East—the only democracy in the region.”
Sullivan has said multiple times that Israel has a right to defend itself.
“America stands with the people of @Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East, as they repel a widespread assault launched by Hamas terrorists today at the conclusion of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot,” Sullivan noted on X/Twitter on Oct. 7.
“Israel has a right to defend itself and its existence against any terrorist group or its backers, including the largest state sponsor of terrorism—Iran. We must support this right of our close ally during this horrendous attack on innocent Israelis,” Sullivan said in October, a sentiment he has repeated. “The terrorist regime in Iran must know that the United States is watching its actions very closely.”
