(Photo from Gulfport High School website)
- Riley Pickich is seeking to open a Club America chapter at Gulfport High School. Club America is affiliated with Turning Point USA. The request has sparked debate over the national organization and its slain founder Charlie Kirk.
High school sophomore Riley Pickich appeared before the Gulfport School Board on Monday to ask their permission to start a chapter of Club America at Gulfport High School.
Pickick told the board that despite following all of the procedures to start a student club on the Mississippi Coast high school campus, including securing a faculty sponsor, Gulfport High denied her request as the student organization would be “too political.”
Pickick said the club does not promote any political party. She is seeking to start the club to focus on leadership development, civil debate, community involvement and Christian-based values such as integrity, respect, and service.
“The goal is to create a positive environment where students can grow, discuss ideas respectfully, and strengthen their character,” Pickick told the Gulfport School Board.
Club America is affiliated with Turning Point USA. There are over 1,200 Club America chapters in schools across the nation, with nearly 20 in Mississippi, including at neighboring Biloxi.
Pickick told the board that Turning Point has made it clear that all decisions involving the club go to the school, as they function only as a supporting organization. This aligns with how other school clubs are operated, such as Key Clubs with Kiwanis International or Interact Clubs with Rotary International.
“Nothing will be handled behind the school’s back and they have every intention of working with the school, respecting the school’s authority ensuring everything is transparent and properly supervised,” Pickick told the board.
She said she was not asking for anything special or outside of policy, “only to be considered by the school guidelines” she followed.
“I care deeply about the school and about creating something positive for students who want this opportunity,” Pickick concluded, noting that over 20 students have already signed on to join at the outset.
Opposition Points to Kirk
Various community members followed Pickick to speak in opposition to Gulfport High School allowing a Club America chapter, calling the organization and its founder divisive.
Local pastor Eddie Hartwell pointed to comments of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, questioning the assassinated conservative activist’s beliefs and opinions related to civil rights and the Great Replacement Theory.
“When he called George Floyd scum,” Hartwell said, then pointing to Kirk’s comments on black women in customer services asking if she was there for her excellence or affirmative action. “Dealing with the Great Replacement Theory, spewing the idiotic idea that in America there are groups of people that are actually working to get rid of the major people group of the country. Nothing could be more ridiculous.”
Hartwell said these things are meant to divide, urging that instead unity was needed.
“We don’t need an organization whose founder had a heart was so antisemitic that it put down on every other ethnicity and people group than the majority people group,” Hartwell said.
Kirk, who was assassinated in September while speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University, was known for engaging in public debates on a variety of topics, including the role of America in the world and the need for renewed focus on faith and family while advocating against the national shift to the political left. He advocated for the right of Israel to protect itself from terrorist groups while also at times critically questioning certain policy positions related to the U.S. and the Israeli state.
Also speaking against the Club America chapter was Sonia Williams Barnes, a former Democrat state lawmaker who ran unsuccessfully for Gulfport mayor this year.
“I understand that student-initiated, non-political clubs have a legal right to meet regardless of political or religious viewpoints. I respect that,” she said. “But following the law doesn’t mean ignoring the real world impact a club may have on our students.”
Williams Barnes said Turning Point USA “is not a neutral or harmless student club,” like Hartwell pointing to certain statements from Kirk’s criticism of civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr.
“These aren’t policy debates. These are attacks on the very civil rights legacy that shaped public education in Mississippi,” she said.
Williams Barnes urged the Gulfport School Board to keep “national political agendas from harming” the school’s climate.
“I urge you to use every tool available to ensure Gulfport High remains the school it has been,” she concluded.
A decision on the matter could come from the Gulfport School Board later this week.
Frank Corder
