‘Origins with Slavery’: 12-Year-Old Boy Booted from Colorado Class for Gadsden Flag on Backpack

Gadsden flag
Getty Images/herreid
Paul Bois

Democrats and Republicans have come out in defense of a 12-year-old boy in Colorado who got booted from class for having a historic Gadsden flag patch on his backpack.

On Tuesday, video went viral on the Internet that featured an elementary school administrator in Colorado Springs lecturing a boy’s mother about the Gadsden flag not being allowed in school due to its “origins with slavery.” Though the Gadsden flag has become popular at protests in recent years, it actually originated during the American Revolution and has no connection with slavery.

“The bag can’t go back if it’s got the patch on it because we can’t have that in and around other kids,” the school administrator said.

“Yeah, it has nothing to do with slavery, that’s like the Revolutionary War patch that was displayed when they were fighting the British.” She asked if maybe the woman was mistaking it for the Confederate flag,” the mother pushed back.

The administrator responded, “I am here to enforce the policy that was provided by the district, and definitely you have every right not to agree with it.”

Libertas Institute President Connor Boyack later obtained images from an email correspondence between The Vanguard School’s director of operations Jeff Yocum and the boy’s mother, in which Yocum linked the Gadsden flag to racism. Per Fox News:

Yocum cited The Conversation media network, which featured a quote from Iowa State University graphic design professor Paul Bruski, that said, “Because of its creator’s history and because it is commonly flown alongside Trump 2020 flags, the Confederate battle flag and other white supremacist flags, some may now see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of intolerance and hate – or even racism.”

Yocum also shared a Washington Post article that detailed a case in which the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ordered the U.S. Postal Service to investigate a complaint made by one of its employees, who said that a co-worker who wore a Gadsden flag hat to work amounted to racial discrimination.

Fortunately, it seems that both Democrats and Republicans have come out in the boy’s favor, with even Colorado Gov. Jared Polis defending the Gadsden flag as a proud symbol of the American Revolution.

Polis declared on X, formerly known as Twitter:

The Gadsden flag is a proud symbol of the American Revolution and an iconic warning to Britain or any government not to violate the liberties of Americans. It appears on popular American medallions and challenge coins through today and Ben Franklin also adopted it to symbolize the union of the 13 colonies. It’s a great teaching moment for a history lesson!

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) agreed.

“I oppose banning the Gadsden flag in schools for the same reason I oppose conservative schools districts that ban LGBTQ flags in schools. Let kids be their authentic selves and give them a world of information—students can figure out what’s important to them,” Lieu said.

Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.

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