A 12-year-old boy was kicked out of his class in Colorado because he had a Gadsden flag sticker on his backpack.
An official with the Vanguard School, a charter school in Colorado Springs, told the boy’s mother that he was kicked out of class over the flag “due to its origins with slavery and the slave trade” and insisted that she was “following district policy,” according to a video of their meeting posted to social media by Connor Boyack, president of the Libertas Institute, a libertarian think tank.
“Meet 12yo Jaiden who was kicked out of class yesterday in Colorado Springs for having a Gadsden flag patch, which the school claims has ‘origins with slavery,'” Boyack said in the Tuesday post.
“The school’s director said via email that the patch was ‘disruptive to the classroom environment,'” he said.
Meet 12yo Jaiden who was kicked out of class yesterday in Colorado Springs for having a Gadsden flag patch, which the school claims has “origins with slavery.”
The school’s director said via email that the patch was “disruptive to the classroom environment.”
Receipts in the ? pic.twitter.com/qQ8jK1zSpR
— Connor Boyack ? (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
Of course, the famed Gadsden flag has no direct connections to slavery and instead served as a flag of American unity in 1775 during the Revolutionary War.
The flag is named for its designer, Christopher Gadsden, a South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress and brigadier general in the Continental Army. It was first unfurled on the flagship of Commodore Esek Hopkins in December 1775, two days before Hopkins was designated the commander in chief of the Continental Navy.
The yellow banner features a coiled rattlesnake with the slogan “Don’t Tread On Me” beneath it. The rattlesnake served as a symbol of colonial unity as far back as 1754.
Naturally, with its rattle-tipped tail, the rattlesnake is a creature of warning as well — and Gadsden meant the symbol to warn the British not to encroach on the colonists’ freedoms and rights.
But there was never any connection to slavery when it was introduced.
Despite the historical facts, in an email to the student’s mother, school administrator Jeff Yocum cited a 2014 decision by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to a follow-up post by Boyack.
They cited @USEEOC, which admitted that the flag “originated in the Revolutionary War in a non-racial context”…
But then said “However, whatever the historic origins and meaning of the symbol, it also has since been sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages…” pic.twitter.com/w0M74bMgN2
— Connor Boyack ? (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
The EEOC ruled that the flag could be viewed as racist if someone feels it is racist whether it is or not.
The agency found the Gadsden flag had no connection to racism or slavery, saying, “After a thorough review of the record, it is clear that the Gadsden Flag originated in the Revolutionary War in a non-racial context.” It said the flag is also often used “to express various non-racial sentiments” in political contexts.
Still, the EEOC said the Gadsden flag is “sometimes” used by bad actors to convey a racist message.
“However, whatever the historic origins and meaning of the symbol, it also has since been sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages in some contexts,” the agency said.
It concluded that the flag “must be investigated” as an example of racism because of the “ambiguity in the current meaning of this symbol.”
Based on this, Yokum argued that the flag is racist because some people feel it is because some “hate groups” have also used the flag, according to a screen shot of an email shared by Boyack.
The director then argued that the flag is associated with “hate groups,” linking to this weak article that cites a “graphic design scholar” ? who claimed that “some may now see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of intolerance and hate—or even racism.”
Link: https://t.co/ZD6JZ4AhDK pic.twitter.com/sUOqLEwGf0
— Connor Boyack ? (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
The email insisted that the Gadsden sticker violated the school district’s policy against disruptive items in class.
So what rule was he actually breaking? According to the director, this one (see highlight).
Though it’s unclear what alleged slavery connections have to do with drugs, tobacco, alcohol, or weapons. pic.twitter.com/KohiU4X0jz
— Connor Boyack ? (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
The mother and her son went to the local NBC affiliate, KOAA-TV, to tell their story, but the station turned them away and refused to take the story, Boyack said.
As you can hear his mom say in the video, Jaiden wanted to stand up for his (non-racist!) beliefs. So after he was kicked out of class, he asked his mom to take him to the news station to get the word out.
(He got the idea from a @tuttletwins book ??)
They declined an interview pic.twitter.com/BEdxWIj7Gp
— Connor Boyack ? (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
One has to wonder how this flag can be a racist symbol when several states — including Virginia, Florida and Alabama — use the design on car license plates.
Boyack invited Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to respond to what he had posted — and the Democrat did so Tuesday morning.
“Obviously the Gadsden flag is a proud symbol of the American revolution and a iconic warning to Britain or any government not to violate the liberties of Americans,” Polis said in a social media post. “It appears on popular American medallions and challenge coins through today and Ben Franklin also adopted it to symbolize the union of the 13 colonies. It’s a great teaching moment for a history lesson!
Obviously the Gadsden flag is a proud symbol of the American revolution and a iconic warning to Britain or any government not to violate the liberties of Americans. It appears on popular American medallions and challenge coins through today and Ben Franklin also adopted it to…
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) August 29, 2023
While it might be shocking to see a Democratic politician defend the Gadsden flag, it wasn’t surprising that many people on social media railed against the Vanguard School’s ignorance of U.S. history and its example of the same sort of tyranny that the colonists were fighting in 1775.
Ironically The Gadsden flag was a Revolutionary warning to the British that the colonists would defend themselves from any royal attempt to coerce them or abuse of their liberties
This is the absolute state of public school . https://t.co/GIVg26nTYM
— The Redheaded libertarian (@TRHLofficial) August 29, 2023
Unreal. @HarrisonSD2, why did you kick a kid out of class for wearing a freedom flag? Why weren’t other kids kicked out for wearing other types of flags? https://t.co/IAMvG7CyEk
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 29, 2023
Fox News reported that Yokum and the school did not respond to its request for comment.
This is the extremely woke state of our schools, unfortunately.
Left-wing activists posing as “educators” are shutting down the free speech of conservatives in nearly every school system, even those in red states and red districts.
Naturally, students in these biased indoctrination centers can sport all the LGBT “pride” flags they want. But God forbid they want to show pride in America and its history.
Apparently, feelings outweigh historical facts. And if that is the case, then can’t just anything at all be called “racist” if someone “feels” it is?
For years, many on the left have claimed the U.S. flag and “The Star-Spangled Banner” are racist. Do we dump them because lunatics “feel” they are racist, or because some “hate group” once used them?
Where does the line get drawn, and why can’t it get drawn on facts instead of feelings that are based on nothing?
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.