Photos of students wearing Confederate flags at school-spirit day event spark outrage
A Virginia school came under fire this week after photos were shared on social media in which students posed on school grounds while wearing Confederate battle flags.
The incident occurred at Jefferson Forest High School in Forest, Va., during its “Country vs. Country Club” school-spirit day on Monday. Now the Bedford County School District is investigating, according to an email sent to parents.
Bedford County spokesman Ryan Edwards told Fox News the particular day during “spirit week” encouraged students to dress as either a farmer or a “highty-flighty high society-type.” Two students arrived at school wearing Confederate flags as capes, three students wore the Gadsden flag, with the words “Don’t Tread on Me,” and a fourth wore an American flag.
“At some point, one student sent a group text to those wearing the flags around their necks between fifth and sixth periods, telling them to meet at a location for a photo op,” Edwards told Fox News. Edwards said the photos were taken during a 30-second window when no teachers or administrators were present.
The district spokesman clarified to the outlet that the students were allowed to wear the flags and that they do not have a policy that would prohibit Confederate clothing being worn.
“What we have is a student code of conduct that prohibits any action or materials or clothing that causes any disruption,” Edwards said. “The administrators did not feel that a disruption was present, so no measures were taken on Monday to remove the flags.”
However, parents of students at Jefferson Forest High School were not pleased.
“This is a wound that’s been allowed to fester,” Lyman Connor, a parent of a student at the school, told Harrisonburg, Va., news outlet WHSV. “It was people walking the halls with Confederate Flags … in the cafeteria.”
Connor shared the photos of the students on Facebook, writing, “I‘m seeking some public support for my daughter and other children of color attending Jefferson Forest High in Forest, Va. They are being persecuted by throngs of overtly racist students that [indiscriminately] walk the hallways waving confederate flags. … This ‘tone’ is nurtured by the school Principal and the Superintendent and I find it abhorrent.”
Tiffany Forest, whose child is a 10th-grade student at the school, told the News & Advance the incident had the potential to make minority students feel uncomfortable at school and called on the district to apologize.
“Schools should be a safe and an inviting place,” she said. “No child should be made to feel less of a person. If students are allowed to display the Confederate flag, what will they do next?”
Neither the school’s principal nor the superintendent of Bedford County Public School immediately responded to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment but released the following statement to WHSV: “On Monday, February 4, 2019, several JFHS students displayed various flags, photographed themselves with the flags, and then posted those images on social media. This posing, photographing, and posting was not reported to staff on Monday, as it occurred in a matter of seconds. Though our school and student population was and has not been disrupted by the posting, we have received considerable concern about the post from parents and others in the community related to the theme of the post and what they believe it implies about our schools and community.
“Any time our staff witnesses or receives a report of any disturbing behavior, we investigate the matter immediately and take all appropriate action, as we have done in this case. It is troubling to see what has transpired on social media following the incident, as what has been alleged by many is simply not true and in no way reflects Jefferson Forest High School and the high standards we hold for our students and staff.
“Ensuring the physical and emotional safety of our young learners is always our top priority, and we will continue to work with our entire school community to foster a climate where everyone feels welcome.”
The school did not clarify what actions it took nor did it an issue an apology.
Yahoo Lifestyle reached out to Lyman Connor for comment and will update this post when we hear back.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
