Meet the Wisconsin Teacher Fired for Protesting Ban on Miley Cyrus & Dolly Parton Song “Rainbowland“

We speak with first-grade teacher Melissa Tempel, who was fired last week for a viral tweet in which she criticized the Waukesha, Wisconsin, board of education’s decision to ban her students from singing “Rainbowland“ during a school concert earlier this year. The hit song about inclusivity by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton includes the lyrics “We are rainbows, me and you / Every color, every hue / Let’s shine on through.“ The school district said Tempel’s firing was not about the song but about the way she protested the decision. Tempel says the Waukesha school district’s so-called controversial content policy, which bans discussions about race, LGBTQ identity and other speech considered political, is “disturbing“ and “dangerous.“ Transcript: Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET. Support independent media: Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: