Last Friday, we posted an article on our Facebook page about the Hastings Area School District in Hastings, Michigan, where the superintendent recently received a petition from students with more than 300 signatures asking that they be allowed to display the Confederate flag on school grounds. The petition arrived a week after the superintendent asked high schoolers in the district not to display the flag on their vehicles, hats or clothing during the school day.
What happened in Hastings is interesting for a number of reasons. On one hand, you have a superintendent who has made a laudable move by requesting that students not display a symbol many Americans find hateful. On the other hand, you have student activists pushing for what they believe is their right to freedom of expression.
Curious how the TT audience would handle such a student response, we posted the article with a question: “What advice would you give to the leaders at this school?”
We received nearly 250 comments advising the Hastings Area School District leadership. While not all commenters agreed on how to handle the situation, the consensus from the thread was that the petition offers a teachable moment.
Some commenters suggested ideas that would allow students to learn how harmful displays like the Confederate flag can be.
Take time to do a school wide assembly and teach some factual history about what this flag represents.
—Marie Lemenu
Two thoughts... Sometimes teachers have to teach students that the rules at school are not the same as the rules at home, or grandma's, or work. We wouldn't play football using baseball rules, so we need to consider whether displaying the Confederate flag is being used as a tool of education, a toy to distract or entertain, or as a weapon to do harm in some way... proceed from there. If it disrupts the school, then respect the rules of the school. Second thought... use it as a teaching tool via the English/Social Studies collaboration to hold a Lincoln-Douglas debate to ‘discuss’ the issues/history relative to displaying the Confederate flag. Sometimes, if people/students just want to feel like they are being heard. I believe this school is doing a good job of letting students present their side, and still standing behind their policy. Holding a debate gives both sides a forum to educate the other side, without necessarily needing to change the policy. Education to inform... not necessarily persuade.
—Brenda Schaefer
Another commenter thought a moment such as this is best handled in small groups.
These kids are old enough to know the facts. They're old enough to see the evidence themselves. Just to come down hard on kids misses the moment when you might reach a few (and maybe even their parents). But I don't think you do it at a school-wide assembly. This kind of difficult conversation is held best in small groups, with each teacher having the same curriculum and the same level of knowledge. It takes planning and training. It also takes choosing the right teachers.
—Elizabeth A. Hutchinson
Other commenters thought teaching accurate accounts of slavery and the Civil War was the way to go.
I would ask them to teach the truth about the flag... Slavery... the Civil War... lynching... and....the KKK…
—Heather Grizzle
After a lesson about the flag (including the Civil Rights movement years) suggest that it might be OK if the flag is displayed as a museum piece. It's time to retire that flag to the past.
—Jeanne Gregorowicz
You may not, even if you are in the majority, take the rights of the minority away; when it comes to this flag, it is an historical symbol of slavery and is reinforcing the idea that black lives don't matter. You cannot display a Nazi symbol just because you have 300 signatures and only 3 Jews go to the school. Get over it.
—Kelly Inman
One commenter thought the district has handled the situation well.
I think the school is handling it with dignity. They are turning it into a conversation. They are opening the discussion about why the flag is inappropriate at school. The messages it sends to some people. This is how they will she [sic] a change. Holding open forums and beginning to educate and talk about race and race issues.
—Kristin Arsenault
Challenging the presence of Confederate flags on school grounds—as well as monuments, mascots and school names honoring Confederate leaders—remains a hot-button issue deserving of thoughtful discussion. The situation in Hastings shows that this is not only a southern issue but also remains relevant to schools across the country.
Have you faced this issue in your school or community? What did you do? What advice would you give to leaders at this school?
To learn more about how to call for the removal of Confederate symbols on public property, visit the Erasing Hate campaign page on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s website.
Williams is the new media associate for Teaching Tolerance.
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