Franklin County School Board postpones vote on proposed Confederate flag ban

[mahatmakanejeeves]

I've been friends with someone who lives in Rocky Mount for over fifty years.

Franklin County School Board postpones vote on proposed Confederate flag ban
By Mike Allen The Roanoke Times 5 hrs ago

ROCKY MOUNT — Franklin County School Board members tackled the question of whether to explicitly ban the Confederate flag in the school dress code, ultimately postponing a decision for the third time after a lengthy, contentious, emotional discussion. The motion to table any updates to the dress code passed 4 to 3, with one member of the eight-member board not present.

Before the board addressed the issue, three speakers offered comment to the board condemning the flag. “The flag just straight up represents slavery,” said Franklin County farmer Sherman Witcher. “It’s offensive to black people and we hate it.”

Member-at-large Penny Blue, the only African American on the board, first raised the issue in October, citing the Confederate flag a symbol of racism. At Monday’s meeting, she said the school board needs to make it clear that the flag represents discrimination, for the sake of educating students. “It has always been about hate,” she said.

Other school board members said they struggled with the issue, taking pains to condemn the flag, but questioning whether it’s constitutional to ban it. “I don’t like the flag either,” said Boone district representative Donna Cosmato. “We don’t have the right to tell somebody else they cannot do it.”

“I would rather people choose not to do it than be told they cannot,” said Rocky Mount representative Jeff Worley.

Blue countered that the proposed dress code change as worded shouldn’t be adopted because it’s too vague to be effective. Under that guideline, “I can wear anything I want and say it doesn’t mean hate,” Blue said.
....

[e-mail]

981-3236

Same thing, at Roanoke.com:

FEATURED
Franklin County School Board postpones vote on proposed Confederate flag ban
By Mike Allen [e-mail] 981-3236 16 hrs ago

[CaptYossarian]

1. I'm wondering: Is there a community somewhere that's on the fence over

statues of Benedict Arnold or John Walker? Is there a Lee Harvey Oswald Memorial Bridge?

Why must this garbage be debated? It's like the nameless NFL team from DC. Do these people know what century we're in?