Burt has an issue with a second-grade textbook called “My World Interactive” by publishers Pearson, Scott Foresman and Prentice Hall. On the page with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, the name Jose Julio Sarria appears. He’s widely believed to be first openly gay person to run for public office.
One page highlights Sarria saying “He decided to be honest. He told people he was gay and that sometimes he dressed as a woman. He was the first person to do this when running for office…. It inspired other gay leaders to run for office too.”
“I just don’t think Elk Grove parents are ready or interested in having their second graders learn honesty from a drag queen who has a criminal record!” Burt said.
According to a New York Times article, Sarria was arrested on morals charges in 1947 in a public bathroom at the St. Francis Hotel....