Vermont's Montpelier High School has announced that it intends to fly a Black Lives Matter flag during the entire month of February, which is Black History Month.
Student Joelyn Mensah, who created the student group Racial Justice Alliance to fight for equality in education. said, "I feel like raising this flag will show that we are here and we're here to be heard and we want to be represented in our education," according to the local NBC station. "I think it's very fair to say that we are pretty much robbed of our education," she said. "As a black student, there have been many times where I have had to leave class because of some racist comments."
Members of the Racial Justice Alliance met with school board members on Jan. 17 to discuss their idea to fly the flag of the Black Lives Matter organization of Marxist intersectional feminists and race-mongers. The students wanted to fly the flag as a representation of the school's fight for equitable education for black students. The board voted unanimously in favor of supporting the concept.
Flying the flag "is grounded in the educational goals of the Montpelier Public Schools Continuous Improvement Plan," the board said. While conceding that the move will spark controversy, the board members said the decision to fly the flag builds on Vermont's legacy of being at the forefront of civil rights movements.
"In taking this step, the board and administration recognize student leadership and their desire for support," said Superintendent Brian Ricca. "This is integral to other meaningful and purposeful work around equity that is happening in Montpelier Public Schools. This is not a singular event.
"We welcome those voices into a constructive and peaceful dialogue, in the hopes of deepening our shared understanding of race and privilege in our education system and broader community," Ricca said.
State Rep. Thomas Terenzini said, "I just think it's a bad example for the Montpelier School Board to establish this precedent. I don't see myself as being a bigot or prejudiced but I just don't think that Black Lives Matter is a national organization to look up," Terenzini said, calling BLM a national anti-police organization.
Others think flying the flag will draw attention to an important issue.
"I think it's easy to overlook the issue of race disparity in the state because we are such a white state," said local resident Rick Barstowe. "I think that's great. I'd like to see that go up on all the schools and maybe right up on the flagpole up here at the State House."
"It's completely on par with Vermont. We are leaders in so many ways, especially when it comes to social justice," state Rep. Kiah Morris said.
Morris believes Montpelier High School is the first public school in the country to do this, although some universities, such as the University of Vermont, have flown the flag.
"It says that we're willing to accept, understand, appreciate and acknowledge that there are factors, there are challenges, there are systems of oppression that uniquely affect Africans-Americans in our country and in our state," Morris said.
Montpelier High School Principal Mike McRaith said he supports the board's decision.
"This is a response to our collective recognition that we need to be a more inclusive community," he said. "In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 'The time is always right to do what is right.'"
The Vermont teachers' union too supported the school's decision. Union president Martha Allen said,
“In flying the Black Lives Matter flag, Montpelier High School is officially saying that bias exists. I am encouraged by this step, and am glad to see that school officials are actively addressing with teachers, students, and staff the experiences of students of color who uniquely bear the brunt of our nation’s systemic racism. I want to congratulate the hard work by the students of the Racial Justice Alliance, who put it exactly right when they said, ‘We will raise the flag with love in our hearts and voices.’"
The Black Lives Matter flag will fly every school day during the month of February.