Vermont school board prohibits Black Lives Matter flag
Several Vermont high schools have the Black Lives Matter flag prominently displayed
The Black Lives Matter flag will no longer fly in front of Bellows Falls Union High School in Westminster, Vermont.
As reported by the Brattleboro Reformer this week, the BFUHS board adopted a new policy that states that only the U.S. flag and Vermont state flag can be flown outside the high school. The BLM flag flies outside some other Vermont high schools.
The school board voted against the BLM flag after Superintendent Andrew Haas read a June 16 letter from the Diversity and Equity Committee of the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union, which supported BFUHS junior Grace Waryas’ suggestion to fly the BLM flag in response to the impact of racism at the school.
The letter stated that Waryas “brought a very difficult issue to the forefront.” It continued, “All of us would benefit greatly from anti-bias and anti-racism training, as well as a well-oiled restorative practices machine.”
In March, Waryas asked that the school start flying the flag to support students of color, according to the Bennington Banner.
BFUHS School Counselor Andrea Carlson expressed her frustration over the failure to acknowledge racism at the school, the Bennington Banner reported. At a school board meeting in April, Carlson disclosed that as a counselor she often deals with racially charged incidents, such as students saying the N-word and the targeting of Asian, Jewish and Mexican students.
“Racial incidents happen regularly,” she said, using the word, “punch,” to describe the incidents. “Punch, punch, punch,” she said. “Their lives don’t matter.”
After several months of debate about the issue, the board decided that the BLM flag does not belong at the school.
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