Ga. 10th-Grader With Confederate Flag on Backpack Leads to School Lockdown Drill

The 10 grade student, who is white, walked into the school’s cafeteria after being dropped off that morning before school, and was confronted by two black students about the Confederate flag displayed on his backpack.

Rockmart High School in Polk County, Ga., went into a lockdown drill after tensions broke out over a Confederate battle flag on campus, Fox 5 Atlanta reports.

“They wanted to confront him about what he had on his book bag… like, ‘Man, why you doing that?’ ” the principal explained.

Historically, the flag was the official symbol of the Confederacy and “southern pride” during the Civil War era, but to African Americans it’s just a blatant symbol of oppression and hatred and relates to a time in history that America should be ashamed of, not proud. What did they say?

A small scuffle ensued, with a few shoving and an exchange of words, but staff quickly brought it under control, the principal said.

He then placed the three students on suspension, adding that the display of the flag had nothing to do with freedom of expression.

However the situation escalated when rumors started swirling that a group of other students were going to bring their own Confederate flags.

However, Betty Dodd, a Polk County resident, said if the two students had a problem with their peer’s Confederate flag, they should have complained to the authorities.

All three of the students involved in the confrontation were suspended.

Parents have said they support the way Cupp handled the situation.

“I don’t want to give him no backlash because it would be different if he said, “just the white kid go home and not the black kid” or vice versa”, High said.

WAGA reported that the students will be offered counseling services to ease any remaining tension when they return to school.