A school district in Vermont passed a motion to fly the Black Lives Matter flag alongside the flag of the United States of America. As a result of the vote, three schools in the district are now flying the BLM flag right next to the stars and stripes.
The Essex Westford School District noted that the request to fly the flag came from the students.
Speaking at the school board meeting, one brave man raised opposition to the motion:
“I come to you today not as a black man but as a human being first,” he said.
“So Black Lives Matter, I understand that. But when do they matter. Do they matter when we’re in uniform? Do they matter in law enforcement? Do they matter in the womb? Do they matter when it doesn’t—My thing is this, there’s a difference between being victimized and having a victim mentality.”
THREAD: A board recently approved a motion to have all schools fly the BLM flag next to the American Flag. As of TODAY, all schools still have the BLM flag flying. pic.twitter.com/CvD25SPqUU
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) February 7, 2022
Students spoke out in favor of the BLM flag, with one student warning: “By voting against raising the BLM flags, what message are you sending to the Black and brown kids who attend the Essex Westford School District? That racism in our community doesn’t matter anymore?”
More than 500 students signed a petition in favor of flying the flag.
The Essex High School Social Union released a statement in support of the BLM flag that read:
“Though we are disappointed in the votes of some of the board members and horrified and appalled by the crimes committed against the flag and our community at Hiawatha, ultimately we are grateful and resolved. We are grateful for the adults who stood by us, the community for lifting up our voices, and the school district for making the right decision and reaffirming that in this community, Black Lives Matter.
“We are resolved to realize the commitment to creating an anti racist community and fostering justice that the flag represents as it waves above us each morning. And we are thankful to our community- all of our community, for gathering under the flag, because everyone who showed up, even those who yelled at us, attacked us and tried to silence us, only ever showed us that justice and history are on our side, and encouraged us to make our voices heard even louder.”
