A day just like any other day. Routine. A nonevent. These were all phrases used to describe the morning of June 1, the day that Westboro Baptist Church’s (WBC) singled out First Flight High School for one of their notorious protests.

Carrying signs bearing their infamous message of God’s intolerance for homosexuality and the military, 13 people from WBC of Topeka, Kansas, marched on the sidewalk on the northeast side of Veterans Drive across from First Flight High School. The protesters yelled, held signs and played music for 30 minutes, from 7:40 a.m. until school started at 8:10.

Two counter-protest groups were also present, one having organized a Facebook event called Celebrate OBX Safe School Zone and the other put together by Source Church from Manteo. The groups of approximately 127 and 45 people cheered as students and parents drove by, holding signs depicting messages of love.

Sandy Semans, leader of the Celebrate OBX Safe School Zone group, said she got involved because she did not want WBC’s views to be the only message the community witnessed that morning.

“We stayed true to our message that the Outer Banks is a loving, caring place where people support each other,” Semans said. “That was a message that allowed a broad spectrum of diverse faiths, political beliefs and ages to rally behind it.”

Another group that was present was a gang of motorcyclists that rode passed the protest groups every few minutes, honking horns and waving American flags.

Because of the location of the protests, the Kill Devil Hills Police Department had jurisdiction over the events. However, the Kitty Hawk, Duck and Nags Head Police Departments, as well as the Dare County Sheriff’s Department were also involved. FFHS principal Arty Tillett said he was appreciative of the efforts of all of the law enforcement agencies.

“The police were very instrumental in coordinating this effort,” Tillett said. “It was really a concerted effort with a lot of different agencies. To pull all that together in such a short period of time and for it to happen like it did was a lot of heavy-lifting on many people’s parts. We are very thankful.”

Raven Girard, co-president of the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club, made an announcement on the Nighthawk Report on Friday, May 29, asking students to wear rainbow colors or tye-dye on the day of the protest to show school unity. Girard said she was proud to see the school flooded with color three days later.

“The main message we were trying to send is one of positivity,” Girard said. “I wanted kids to know they are supported not only by their peers but by their community as well. The Westboro Baptist Church failed here. We didn’t give them any kind of success. The support and respect within the school was obvious, and it only made us stronger.”

When the clock struck 8:10 a.m., Captain Mark Evans of the KDH Police Department led the WBC protesters back to their vehicles and members of the group began their journey home. After a long morning of fighting for her beliefs, Semans had advice on how negativity should be handled.

“Hate left unchecked or addressed with hate spawns more hate – that is how it grows,” Semans said. “By banding together behind a positive message, our counter-protest provided an outlet to respond in a meaningful way that didn’t include hateful speech or violence. The best way to deal with hate is to make it irrelevant – and that is what we did. We didn’t feed it; we outshined it.”

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