Update: The Gadsden Kid Is Undefeated, Has His School Running for the Hills
by Boncie, RedState.com, August 30, 2023
On Monday, the story of a Colorado child being booted from school for having a Gadsden Flag patch on his backpack went viral. As RedState reported, school officials claimed the flag was prohibited because it had its "origins in slavery."
The mother of the young boy, who is named Jaiden, filmed the meeting she had with the director of the school. In it, you can hear her push back on the idea that the Gadsden flag is about slavery, noting that its origins are in the Revolutionary War. The director remained combative throughout the video, claiming that she had to enforce the policy provided by the district.Twelve-year-old Jaiden, who attends The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs, found himself in trouble with his teachers after he wore a backpack that featured a patch of the Gadsden flag. He was kicked out of class and his mother was called into the office to discuss the wrong Jaiden had done.
According to one of the school staff, the famous flag wasn't allowed in the school due to its "origins in slavery and the slave trade." A revelation that clearly amused Jaiden who clearly knows more about his nation's history than his own school.
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."
โ Connor Boyack ๐ (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
The school's director said via email that the patch was "disruptive to the classroom environment."
Receipts in the ๐งต pic.twitter.com/qQ8jK1zSpR
Then, as Brandon later wrote, there were some updates:
First, we'll start with the hero of our story. Jaiden remains undeterred and has decided he's going to walk back into the school with his bag and patch still attached. Jaiden says he will refuse to remove the patch and will conduct a school sit-in if it comes down to it.
According to Connor Boyack, who first reported on this story, two law firms have now offered to assist Jaiden and his family if it comes down to lawfare, and will fight this clear discrimination against Jaiden and his beliefs. The story has also reached Colorado Governor Jared Polis who posted about the story seemingly taking Jaiden's side but there has been no word on Polis actually doing anything about it.
That apparently struck some fear in the school administrators, because they canceled back-to-school night because of some unforeseen circumstances. Well, now we know what those circumstances are.
This is a story with a happy ending, though.
We won! #JusticeForJaiden pic.twitter.com/Y8dX43e9Sp
โ Connor Boyack ๐ (@cboyack) August 30, 2023
In a very surprising turn of events, the members of the school board called an emergency meeting and affirmed their respect for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In doing so, they also decided that the Gadsden patch is a valuable part of American history and that Jaiden may keep it on his backpack if he so chooses.
It's worth noting that this probably goes a different direction without the reach of social media and conservative sites like RedState. Without the immense amount of eyes placed on this story, who knows if the school board even meets at all? Congrats to Jaiden and to those who publicized this story so that the required amount of pressure was applied.
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