A North Carolina School Board has voted not to ban the Confederate flag from school grounds, ignoring pleas from a local chapter of NAACP.
According to the News & Observer of Raleigh, the Northern Orange County NAACP asked the Orange County Schools Board of Education to ban the Confederate flag on school grounds during the board’s earlier meeting in February. It was the second time the NAACP chapter made the request, prompting a flurry of backlash on both sides of the issue.
“To the NAACP, that includes the historical context of the Confederate flag to slavery, the Confederacy, the Civil War and Jim Crow,” NAACP President Patricia Clayton said in her letter to the school board members. “For many, the flag is a racially inflammatory symbol, which is undeniably rooted in slavery and racism. Given OCS’ commitment to serve all students, the district should not allow the Confederate flag on its campuses.”
Some students, parents, employees and community members said there’s been an increase in Confederate flags appearing on vehicles, bags and pieces of clothing on school grounds.
Shaniece Thorpe, a junior at Orange High School, told the News & Observer that she doesn’t appreciate it when her fellow students use the Confederate flag to make themselves feel superior to her and other black students.
“It makes me feel isolated and distracts me,” she said. “… I have the same potential or more potential than the people who feel like I am belittled in my class.”
