Tyrone N. Butts
APE Reporter
NAACP seeks rebel flag ban
The Clearwater chapter of the NAACP is calling for a ban on the Confederate flag in public schools unless the symbol is part of a class discussion.
Meanwhile, a committee recently created by the Pinellas County School Board is still working on a recommendation on what, if any, action the board should take concerning divisive emblems.
The School Board also wants to teach students why such symbols strike a nerve.
The flag flap stems from the recent suspension of Tarpon Springs High student Krista Abram for authoring an unaut
orized petition seeking to ban the flag from campus.
The Clearwater NAACP sent a two-page letter to the School Board dated Feb. 24 stating that Confederates committed treason against the Unite
d St
ates and the flag should therefore be banned. The le
tter also said the flag represents "racial hatred and the worst period of internal terrorism ever visited upon the citizens of this nation."
The School Board earlier had decided to let individual school principals determine the fate of the flag at their schools. On Thursday, the committee met with principals, school officials said.
"This Confederate flag thing is a symptom of underlying issues that need to be dealt with," said Roy Kaplan, executive director of the National Conference of Community and Justice and a member of the committee. "They're a microcosm of society, but teens aren't mature enough in some cases to know how to deal with these things."
Talking isn't enou
gh for Clearwater's NAACP.
"You leave it in the hands of principals, and you might make bad decisions," said Tom Robinson, director of education for the Clearwater organization
. "If y
ou can't wear a swastika in school, why can you wear the Confederate flag? We're going to push the School Board
."
But, according to school officials, the St. Petersburg NAACP takes a slightly different view.
"They haven't come out with that strong a statement yet," said Carol Cook, board member.
St. Petersburg NAACP president Darryl Rouson says he sent an informal e-mail to the district before the Clearwater chapter sent its letter. Rouson said the e-mail stated the national NAACP's position against the flag, an opinion shared by both the Clearwater and St. Petersburg chapters.
Speaking for himself, Rouson said an outright ban must be carefully considered.
"If someone wants to wear the sign of a losing Confederacy, that shoul
d be their choice, and we should laugh at it and understand its historical context," said Rouson. "Now, if the flag has words around it that say "I hate n------' or there is other
conduct that intend
s to cause pain, shame or harm to an ethnic group, that's unlawful and ought to be banned."
If a ban is enforced, Rouson fears that Hispanic students might not be a
ble to wear Che Guevara shirts to class and black students might be targeted for wearing T-shirts depicting the clenched fist of the Black Power Movement.
"Having said all that, a complete ban may not be so bad after all because each individual has different psychological thresholds," Rouson said.
The issue is thorny.
"It's a serious issue, and they're asking for something, in turn, very serious," said board Chairwoman Jane Gallucci. "We want to teach that there are symbols out there that are offensive to different groups, and we want to teach this within
the curriculum and it'll produce a generation of kids who are more sensitive and someday we can put this to bed."
***********
You can't give n-ggers what they want and
still have the Constitution
of the United States of America. So what do you want, n-ggers or the Constitution of the United States of America?
T.N.B.
The Clearwater chapter of the NAACP is calling for a ban on the Confederate flag in public schools unless the symbol is part of a class discussion.
Meanwhile, a committee recently created by the Pinellas County School Board is still working on a recommendation on what, if any, action the board should take concerning divisive emblems.
The School Board also wants to teach students why such symbols strike a nerve.
The flag flap stems from the recent suspension of Tarpon Springs High student Krista Abram for authoring an unaut
orized petition seeking to ban the flag from campus.
The Clearwater NAACP sent a two-page letter to the School Board dated Feb. 24 stating that Confederates committed treason against the Unite
d St
ates and the flag should therefore be banned. The le
tter also said the flag represents "racial hatred and the worst period of internal terrorism ever visited upon the citizens of this nation."
The School Board earlier had decided to let individual school principals determine the fate of the flag at their schools. On Thursday, the committee met with principals, school officials said.
"This Confederate flag thing is a symptom of underlying issues that need to be dealt with," said Roy Kaplan, executive director of the National Conference of Community and Justice and a member of the committee. "They're a microcosm of society, but teens aren't mature enough in some cases to know how to deal with these things."
Talking isn't enou
gh for Clearwater's NAACP.
"You leave it in the hands of principals, and you might make bad decisions," said Tom Robinson, director of education for the Clearwater organization
. "If y
ou can't wear a swastika in school, why can you wear the Confederate flag? We're going to push the School Board
."
But, according to school officials, the St. Petersburg NAACP takes a slightly different view.
"They haven't come out with that strong a statement yet," said Carol Cook, board member.
St. Petersburg NAACP president Darryl Rouson says he sent an informal e-mail to the district before the Clearwater chapter sent its letter. Rouson said the e-mail stated the national NAACP's position against the flag, an opinion shared by both the Clearwater and St. Petersburg chapters.
Speaking for himself, Rouson said an outright ban must be carefully considered.
"If someone wants to wear the sign of a losing Confederacy, that shoul
d be their choice, and we should laugh at it and understand its historical context," said Rouson. "Now, if the flag has words around it that say "I hate n------' or there is other
conduct that intend
s to cause pain, shame or harm to an ethnic group, that's unlawful and ought to be banned."
If a ban is enforced, Rouson fears that Hispanic students might not be a
ble to wear Che Guevara shirts to class and black students might be targeted for wearing T-shirts depicting the clenched fist of the Black Power Movement.
"Having said all that, a complete ban may not be so bad after all because each individual has different psychological thresholds," Rouson said.
The issue is thorny.
"It's a serious issue, and they're asking for something, in turn, very serious," said board Chairwoman Jane Gallucci. "We want to teach that there are symbols out there that are offensive to different groups, and we want to teach this within
the curriculum and it'll produce a generation of kids who are more sensitive and someday we can put this to bed."
***********
You can't give n-ggers what they want and
still have the Constitution
of the United States of America. So what do you want, n-ggers or the Constitution of the United States of America?
T.N.B.