FAYETTEVILLE — The Walton Arts Center will no longer host drag shows for children at this year’s Northwest Arkansas Pride Weekend.
According to a press release from NWA Equality, an LGBTQ nonprofit based in Fayetteville, a request was made to book the Walton Arts Center for programming similar to what has been done in the past. According to NWA Equality, they were recently informed that drag performances where minors are permitted are no longer allowed in the facilities. The Walton Arts Center’s governing boards of directors upheld the decision during a meeting on May 2, 2023, with NWA Equality’s representatives.
From a recent Heritage Foundation report: The Walton Family Foundation and the Walmart Foundation have been leading sponsors of Northwest Arkansas (NWA) Equality. The group’s stated mission is “to provide programs, education, and advocacy to serve, connect, and empower the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community.”
The Walmart Foundation first offered NWA Equality a “capacity building” grant in 2007 and has continued supporting the group in subsequent years.
In 2018, the Walmart and Walton foundations donated around $2.5 million to fund a three-year training program in diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, called TRUE Northwest Arkansas. NWA Equality was one of the first groups to receive a TRUE Northwest grant, which the Waltons offered in collaboration with the Transgender Equality Network.
Walmart and the Waltons continued offering grants and capital gifts to NWA Equality as late as 2020.
NWA Equality sponsors LGBTQ-related events in Arkansas’ Benton and Washington counties as part of the group’s stated efforts to “make drag accessible” to new audiences and to place drag shows “at the forefront of Northwest Arkansas’ social calendar.”
NWA Equality’s Dickson Divas drag events, for instance, feature drag queen brunches and children’s story times to Arkansas residents. In Fayetteville, the group sponsors Northwest Arkansas Pride, the state’s largest LGBTQ pride celebration.
The Equality Crew, a beneficiary of the Waltons’ 2021 LGBTQ+ Advancement Fund, hosted a children’s event during NWA Equality’s pride parade in June.
The Equality Crew hosted an event called “Youth Zone” at the Walton Arts Center, named after the Walton family for its donations.
One segment, titled “Kids Zone,” featured a “drag story time for younger children,” as stated in the advertisement. A “Teen Zone” was offered for students in grades six through 12, including “a DJ, local band, and TWO drag shows.”
A “Sensory Zone,” clearly targeting children on the autism spectrum, was also available for “youth needing a break from the sights and sounds.”
Gender confusion is particularly common among young people on the autism spectrum who have difficulty grasping social roles, making them particularly vulnerable to the suggestion that they should change their gender.
Some speculate this decision was made because of the passage of SB43 during the 94th General Assembly. This law, now Act 131, was heavily amended before passage, removing language regarding drag and now restricts any “adult-oriented performances” in public venues. The law defines adult-oriented performance as “performance that is intended to appeal to the prurient interest and that features: a person who appears in a state of nudity or is seminude; the purposeful exposure, whether complete or partial, of a specific anatomical area; or prosthetic genitalia or breasts; or a specific sexual activity.”
The Walmart and Walton foundations have been under scrutiny lately after a Washington Free Beacon report exposed how Walmart pushed public schools to arrange DEI teacher trainings. Read more about that here: (https://conduitnews.com/2023/04/18/how-walmart-pushed-arkansas-public-schools-to-go-woke/)
NWA Equality stated in their release that the nonprofit is pausing its partnership with the Walton Arts Center. The organization will now parter with the Fayetteville Town Center for the NWA Pride Youth Zone, targeting children. The event will take place on Saturday, June 24.
Check out past articles:
The Daily Signal: Walton Family Funds LGBT Initiatives, Opposition to Arkansas SAFE Act
How Walmart Pushed Arkansas Public Schools to Go Woke
Woke Walmart’s Political Clout
Drag Show Stopped But Indoctrination Continues – Who’s in Charge?
