On Tuesday, Red State posted an article about a child who attends the The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, who was kicked out of class because he had a Gadsden Flag patch on his backpack.
The article reported:
According to one of the school staff, the famous flag wasn’t allowed in the school due to its “origins in slavery and the slave trade.” A revelation that clearly amused Jaiden who clearly knows more about his nation’s history than his own school.
The flag was one that was popularly displayed during the Revolutionary War as a symbol of the people’s resistance toward the tyranny under the British monarchy which had used and abused the American people, sparking the war that gave birth to what would eventually become the United States.
…Then Yocum (Director of Operations of the Vanguard School, Jeff Yocum) claimed Jaiden was breaking a rule by displaying the flag because students were prohibited from displaying things that referred to “drugs, tobacco, alcohol, or weapons.”
If it feels like Yocum was scrambling in desperation to find justification for this false and clearly biased take on a patriotic flag, then you’re not alone.
Jaiden attempted to take his story to the local press but they declined to interview him.
Thankfully that is not the end of the story.
On Wednesday, Red State reported:
First, we’ll start with the hero of our story. Jaiden remains undeterred and has decided he’s going to walk back into the school with his bag and patch still attached. Jaiden says he will refuse to remove the patch and will conduct a school sit-in if it comes down to it.
According to Connor Boyack, who first reported on this story, two law firms have now offered to assist Jaiden and his family if it comes down to lawfare, and will fight this clear discrimination against Jaiden and his beliefs. The story has also reached Colorado Governor Jared Polis who posted about the story seemingly taking Jaiden’s side but there has been no word on Polis actually doing anything about it.
The more recent article includes the tweet below:
In a very surprising turn of events, the members of the school board called an emergency meeting and affirmed their respect for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In doing so, they also decided that the Gadsden patch is a valuable part of American history and that Jaiden may keep it on his backpack if he so chooses.
It’s worth noting that this probably goes a different direction without the reach of social media and conservative sites like RedState. Without the immense amount of eyes placed on this story, who knows if the school board even meets at all? Congrats to Jaiden and to those who publicized this story so that the required amount of pressure was applied.
Wow.