The historic Gadsden flag is at the heart of a controversy involving a twelve-year-old boy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The child was removed from the school due to a patch on his backpack featuring the flag. The school district defended the action and claimed that, despite its historical symbolism, it is now considered racist and connected to slavery. Not only is the flag a historical image originally unconnected to slavery, but the action (in my view) contravenes core free speech protections.
The flag was designed by Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina in 1775 as a symbol of the defiance of colonists to British rule. (Some trace the origins of the flag earlier to a design by Benjamin Franklin). Featuring a timber snake, it affirmed the view of the colonists that they would not be stepped on by overbearing British officials and troops.
While Gadsden would become a brigadier general in the Continental Army, he gave the flag to Commodore Esek Hopkins who later adopted it as his flag as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy. For the revolutionaries, it embodied the essence of the war: they were the victims of the British overstepping their authority and treading upon the rights of the colonies.
The historic image is still cherished by many, including those who see it as a symbol of defiance of individual citizens to overreaching government action.
That was the view at The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs. A video on the social media platform X, shows the 12-year-old elementary school student being removed from class.
A staff member explained that the image is now deemed “disruptive to the classroom environment” and that it has “origins with slavery.” The boy’s parent is told that the child must remove the patch before he can return to school.
The staffer tells the parent to speak with Jeff Yocum, the director of operations at the school.
Yocum reportedly cited research by a graphic design professor at Iowa State University Paul Bruski, who declared the flag as now a symbol of hate: “Because of its creator’s history and because it is commonly flown alongside ‘Trump 2020’ flags, the Confederate battle flag and other white-supremacist flags, some may now see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of intolerance and hate – or even racism.”
Yocum also reportedly cited a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruling involving a Postal worker, which found that while the flag “originated in the Revolutionary War in a non-racial context,” despite its “historic origins and meaning of the symbol, it also has since been sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages.”
We previously discussed how the EEOC reinstated a case in 2016 of an employee objecting to another employee wearing a cap with the symbol.
Clearly, symbols can have different meanings for different people. I disagree with Professor Bruski, but respect his right to raise such objections. The question is whether others respect the right of those with opposing views, including viewing this flag as an important and inspiring symbol of the American Revolution.
The censorship of the image strikes me as a clear denial of free speech rights for this student. I obviously do not agree with the historical interpretation, but I am far more concerned about the constitutional interpretation of the school district allowing such censorship of images.
It is an ironic moment for a flag that symbolized the resistance to overbearing government actions and the denial of core rights in the American Revolution.
Update:
Today the school district reversed its decision and will now allow the student and the flag back into the school:
From Vanguard’s founding we have proudly supported our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the ordered liberty that all Americans have enjoyed for almost 250 years. The Vanguard School recognizes the historical significance of the Gadsden flag and its place in history. This incident is an occasion for us to reaffirm our deep commitment to a classical education in support of these American principles.
At this time, the Vanguard School Board and the District have informed the student’s family that he may attend school with the Gadsden flag patch visible on his backpack.
‘It is an ironic moment for a flag that symbolized the resistance to overbearing government actions and the denial of core rights in the American Revolution.’
As I said the other day about a different matter, it actually seems perfectly in keeping with modern progressivism to me. It’s precisely the kind of ignorant, fascist action I’ve come to expect. We’ve got to keep standing up to them.
We are almost – not quite, but almost – to the point where younger people are so convinced all of history is racist, sexist, ___ist, any and all historical symbols or events must be too, by extension. And anything that disturbs their personal levels of comfort must be destroyed.
That’s the real irony to me – that the people taking the most offense actually grew up in the most peaceful and prosperous time in recorded history, and are themselves privileged beyond measure.
By the way, I’ve got a drinking cup I bought at Buccee’s a few weeks ago with the Gadsden Flag on it.
Buccees is Racist!!!—Dennis
Black activists such as Hannah Nicole-Jones attribute EVERYTHING in American history to slavery and make them “racist,” (a term that came along in the 1930s and was originally attributed to Nazis.) They and their white leftist supporters have foisted their beliefs on society and now we’re all racist and every symbol is racist (except Black Lives Matter which truly IS racist.) I hope the kids parents sue the pants off of the school district.
Re: “Black activists such as Hannah Nicole-Jones ..” There ya go. ‘The 1619 Project’s required reading for the blue-haired meanies and their cloying virtue signaling. This is what’s teaching yer kids. The lot which re-writes the Brother’s Grimm for a New Age
This one dude flew the Kansas state flag outside his home a few doors down from my townhouse. I complained to the HOA and got him to take it down because I once hired a dog sitter who had that flag on the back of his pickup truck, and it turns out his nephew’s girlfriend knew someone in Florida whose second cousin’s landscaper once made a racist statement. Therefore, the flag is associated with racism.
“Because of its creator’s history and because it is commonly flown alongside ‘Trump 2020’ flags, the Confederate battle flag and other white-supremacist flags, some may now see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of intolerance and hate – or even racism.”
So what? The professor’s biased, selective, recitation of where the flag is “commonly” flown, together with the modifier “some may” in the last clause, is doing an awful lot of work in that sentence.
SOME MAY not fly the Gadsden flag in those situations at all. SOME MAY see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of positive progress and liberation, just as SOME MAY see the homosexual rainbow flag and the flag embraced by cross dressers as positive symbols of progress and liberation.
However, SOME MAY see the homosexual rainbow flag and the flag embraced by cross dressers as offensive, anti-traditional family symbols. Symbols of moral rot. Symbols representing abnormal, dysfunctional sexualities. Yet the flags of homosexuals and cross dressers are everywhere.
It is in the imagination of the viewer of the symbol how it is interpreted.
People need to be tolerant of artful expressions. Not everyone thinks the same way. At least not yet.
Reality check folks……the Left shall look for any and all ways to play the Race Card!
Facts, history, context, and plain old commonsense eludes their capability to grasp reality.
Sadly, reality today is the Left is trying to destroy this Nations system of values, morality, and sensibility.
The only way to deal with then is to harshly denounce their evil for exactly what it is…..evil.
That flag flew from Masts of Navy ships whose crews fought to protect the freedom we enjoy today.
It did as a message to other Nations to not mess with the United States.
The message today is exactly the same….but is now directed to the Left…..who are a much graver threat than any foreign threat down through history.
I fly that flag on special occasions on the flagpole that stands in front of my home as my time serving with the military along with others who have fought to defend this Nation.
I also fly the Bonny Blue Flag that bears a single White Star on a single day each year as I have ancestors who walked with Pickett and others who stood against them at the Angle.
Then there is the Flag that bears the single blue stripe that I fly on special occasions…..in honor of the Law Enforcement Officers of this country who protect and serve us all.
Symbols have to be considered for their true meanings…..not what some weak minded jerk wishes to attach to them because of their brain washed thinking wishes them to think.
The Yellow flag bearing the motto “Don’t Tread On Me” is a historical symbol and icon of this great Nation’s willingness to defend itself and the freedom we all enjoy.
Sadly, the Left has a completely different and evil need to destroy or attack anything that challenges or departs from what the Left agenda demands.
Fly that flag, wear a patch, put a bumper sticker on your vehicle and show your respect for history and freedom…..and drive the Lefties bonkers in doing so,.
Exercising your freedom can be an infectious event…..knowing there are people who shall attack you for doing so makes ever so more enjoyable.
Would the Left object over that same Student wearing a Gay Pride piece of apparel or symbol?
It shows you what they really think of freedom….for themselves and not for others.
Jonathan – There is also a larger issue here, the seemingly unending effort of the government/union K-12 education complex to replace their traditional role of educating children in the basic skills to one of Indoctrination in leftist ideology.
Perhaps they are unknowingly and unintentionally acknowledging the fact that they have demonstrably failed in their historical mission of basic education, and find indoctrination easier. They also don’t seem to recognize that they are sealing their own fate, as parents are losing faith in government/union schools. These schools are facing the title wave of school choice that will eventually empty their classrooms.
Parents have understandably lost confidence in much of the government education complex, and particularly the teacher unions that run it. So let them continue to practice pronoun, gender, racial and historical ignorance and lunacy, because their cartel is now rapidly being taken apart by parents, judgment and common sense.
We fund and support the basic education of children because it benefits the children and the society. Unfortunately this support has evolved away from supporting the education of children to supporting a government/union education complex. For better or worse, their end is near.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jl2hPXJOIM
The video demonstrates several issues:
1. Public schools have become a breeding ground for poorly educated teachers and administrators. Here, they are disciplining a kid and they (the teachers and administrators) are not even familiar with the history of the item that precipitated their actions?
2. The school official in the video is inappropriate in terms of explaining the actions being taken. Not only is her body language immature for the circumstances, she waffles between inaccurate history, non-specific references to school policy and providing the name of yet another the school official, Jeff Yocum. This kid is being removed from school and the parent has to be run around all over the place like this? This is a appalling.
3. The absurdity of the administrator’s claim and her adolescent behavior, the inaccurate history behind the symbol and allusion to foundations in slavery and the bureaucratic maneuvering to hinder the parent’s ability to respond to the situation demonstrate boldly the sad state of public schools and why alternative systems for schooling must be adopted for all our sake.
After this performance from a ‘top charter school’, little wonder why minorities in public school systems get the short end of the stick on education generation after generation. And this school, the Vanguard School, has a “strategic plan” to “Attract, Develop, and Retain the Best Teachers”? These people do not even know history and are taking disciplinary actions against students based on the teacher’s ignorance. Again, this situation clearly demonstrates that public schools are all bun and no meat.
There are also three simple questions and I invite all to reply as attorneys would do in a court setting.Does this “ruling” by the Vanguard school mean that:
1) Will ANY displays of the Black Lives Matter, black flag, “uniforms” (black clothing prevalent everywhere) logo and initials, will ALSO be disallowed?
Because this indicia, as it is displayed uniformly, is clearly a hate and racial symbolism display. Right or wrong. It is also “provocative” and “disruptive” to the teaching environment. Also a symbol of hate and violence. Look at the riots all over the US back in 2020, and the continued “mob” thefts that occur today if one seeks proof–again, right or wrong, the facts show that these visual representations (which is what this Don’t Tread On Me” flag is) can be construed by MOST people as being representative of the same issue as the Vanguard School has adjudicated (solely).
2) Will ANY displays of the multi-colored LBGT flags and symbols also be disallowed? They are also “provocative” and “disruptive” to the “teaching” environment by a vast majority of Americans today because of the things they represent to people of belief. Again, right or wrong.
3) Does this mean that the sole arbitrators of these “rulings” are UNIFORMLY from ONLY segment of the denizen audience? In other words, does one person’s opinion (a simple professor at a college in Iowa, with supposed “expertise” in what graphic design is all about, get to be the SOLE judge?) Can a contrarian, or other expert “witness” arbitrator also be consulted and their rationale be openly discussed? Or is that, again, only the opinion of ONE side of the argument? Where is the balance in opinion? Are we living in a dictatorship of haut monde people, where one segment of society is the ONLY perspective? Hmm . . . makes one think.
Anything that represents freedom, liberty, free speech, the left has to call racist.
It is about power and control.
If Daniel is correct in his 8:41 AM comment, I would hope more students would wear the flag on their backpacks.
“I would hope more students would wear the flag on their backpacks.”
I think this moron at that school just ensured that they do.
In fact, I think I will start a GoFundMe to raise money to buy that patch for any kid at that school that wants one.
When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail; and when you’re a race-obsessed leftist, you see racism in every nook and corner. These people need to get a life.
Noli me tangere (‘touch me not’)
according to John 20:17, by Jesus to Mary Magdalene when she recognized him after his resurrection.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noli_me_tangere
Used by the Left and Right:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_flag#Use_by_the_left
It is oxymoronic that They have managed to place the Flag in a position whereas the Flag Itself stands to defend Itself.
WOW! All this Modern Technology at Ones finger tips and Nobody know how to use it, Yet alone an entire ‘School’ [The Vanguard School of Colorado Springs]
First the Gadsden Flag, Next the Flag of the United States.
The entirety of the American educational apparatus, from elementary to college, is controlled by the left. This story proves what has never been a secret to begin with.
I understand the School Committee met in a special session and overruled the school, saying the student was free to keep the patch on his backpack in school.
None of what the prog/left decries is about actual racism; it is about control of thought. The Gadsen flag represents freedom and the willingness of individuals to protect and fight for that freedom. This idea is anathema to the prog/left plan of total social confirmity to their overreaching desire for control of the nation and its inhabitants..
I was questioning if the child was the subject of national origin discrimination. It is never the individual’s obligation to justify their communication, it’s the government’s responsibility to justify a restriction. If a school official wishes to assign ill intent through adjacency, aka association, to the child’s expression of association with his national origin, then the school official is wrong. Demanding someone speak in specific language, you are comfortable in, is discrimination. Denying a person the ability to identify with their nation of origin is discrimination.
That is the precise problem with the prog/left. They view the government as a force to control the population; that is anathema to the constitution’s intent – which was to severely limit the power of the government . How the prog/left arrived at such a inverse understanding of our founding fathers is where we would begin to understand their transmogrification into would be tyrants and socialist/fascists.
Nothing says individual freedom more than escorting a 12-year-old out of class for having a revolutionary war flag patch on his backpack. That’s some real freedom there !! The school’s website states “The Vanguard School is an extraordinary place to be, and it all begins with our mission: to help guide students in development of their character and academic potential through academically rigorous, content-rich educational programs”. Jeff Yocum’s twisted explanation of the Gadsden flag being somehow connected with slavery, racism, and President Trump borders on the absurd but pretty much says it all. Yocum hates America.
“I reject your reality, and substitute my own”—Jeff Yocum
You know what they say Yocum if they can’t take a F—
Actually he is spot on.
Anything the left disagrees with, they decry racism.
It is on display for all to see.
LMAO…as if to prove his point…
Fascist Democrats don’t CARE….they want to be German “Socialists” 1930’s….STEALING total control of America. Ever hear of the Hitler Youth? That is the model!
Before there was Hitler Youth, there was Mussolini’s Avanguardista. Before there was the Gestapo, there was OVRA. Just saying. It wasn’t a one-off.
Actually, I find more similarity between the prog/left and the islamic jihadists. They both are fanatics adhering to an unwavering but illogical ideology that demands total devotion to the faith and a destructive desire to eliminate any and all who oppose their imposition of their ideology on the world. They are far more dangerous than the hitler youth.
“It is an ironic moment for a flag that symbolized the resistance to overbearing government actions and the denial of core rights”
It’s not ironic. It’s exactly why they don’t like it.
12 year old student
“A video on the social media platform X, shows the 22-year-old elementary school student being removed from class.” Isn’t the presence in the story of a 22-year-old being in elementary school more newsworthy than the patch on his hat?
“He was raised a poor white democrat”….
Actually I was guessing he is one of the many trump supporters that believe in trump over friends and family.
He identified as an 8 year old.
He’s 12, clearly stated by Professor Turley.
“That was the view at The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs. A video on the social media platform X, shows the 22-year-old elementary school student being removed from class.”
We knew what Professor Turley meant, just trying to notify him of the typo.
It was never easy being a 22-year-old elementary school student …
Hey, I already alluded to that.
“I was born a poor white democrat”
Great video though. Funny sh!t. and the race baiters don’t even know they’re being pranked.
12-year-old, not 22-year-old.
RE: “Isn’t the presence in the story of a 22-year-old being in elementary school more newsworthy than the patch on his hat?” Only if the ‘by-line’ reads ‘Philip Bump-on-a-log’. Then it can be filed as true and sorely defended by the employer, even if completely false.