The story of the Colorado child who was expelled from school because he had a Gadsden Flag on his backpack became viral Monday. The school officials said the flag was forbidden because of its “slavery origins”.
Jaiden, a 12-year-old student at The Vanguard School, Colorado Springs, got into trouble with his teachers when he was caught wearing a backpack featuring a patch depicting the Gadsden Flag. Jaiden was thrown out of class, and his mother called the office for a discussion about what Jaiden did.
One of the staff members said that the flag was not allowed at the school because it “originated from slavery and slave trade.” Jaiden was clearly delighted by this revelation, as he clearly knew more about the history of his country than his school.
The mother of a young boy named Jaiden filmed her meeting with the director of the high school. You can hear her rebut the notion that the Gadsden Flag is about slavery. She notes that its origins date back to the Revolutionary War. The director was combative in the video and claimed that she had no choice but to enforce the district’s policy.
Meet 12yo Jaiden who was kicked out of class yesterday in Colorado Springs for having a Gadsden flag patch, which the school claims has “origins with slavery.”
The school’s director said via email that the patch was “disruptive to the classroom environment.”
Receipts in the 🧵 pic.twitter.com/qQ8jK1zSpR
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
Brandon wrote that there had been some updates.
Let’s start with our hero. Jaiden is undeterred and has decided to return to school with his bookbag with the patch attached. Jaiden has said he won’t remove the patch and will hold a sit-in at school if necessary.
According to Connor Boyack who broke the story first, two law firms are now offering to help Jaiden, his family, and himself if this comes down to legal warfare. They will also fight against this discrimination of Jaiden’s beliefs and actions. Colorado Governor Jared Polis has posted on the story, seemingly siding with Jaiden. However, there is no news of Polis taking any action.
The school administrators were apparently scared by this, as they canceled back-to-school evenings due to some unforeseeable circumstances. Now we know the circumstances.
It’s a good story.
We won! #JusticeForJaiden pic.twitter.com/Y8dX43e9Sp
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 30, 2023
The members of the board of education called an emergency session and declared their respect for both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They also agreed that the Gadsden Patch is an important part of American History and Jaiden can keep it in his bag if he chooses.
This probably takes a different turn without the influence of conservative and social media sites. Who knows if this school board would even meet if there weren’t so many eyes on the story? Congratulations to Jaiden, and those who made this story public so that the necessary amount of pressure could be applied.
