Colorado school forced to allow student to return after being dismissed for displaying Gadsden flag

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A school administrator told a 12-year-old student attending a charter school that he could not return to class until a Gadsden flag patch was removed from his backpack. 

Key Players

Jaiden Rodriguez, a seventh-grade student, was kicked out of class at the Vanguard School for having a Gadsden flag on his backpack. 

An unnamed administrator upheld the removal of Rodriguez, explaining to his mother that the Gadsden flag was offensive, because of its connections to the slave trade. 

Connor Boyack, a conservative author and president of the libertarian think tank Libertas Institute, published the video of the conversation between Rodriguez’s mother and the school administrator, as well as emails relevant to the incident. 

Further Details

Many people were outraged when Rodriguez was kicked out of class on Aug. 28, 2023, for having multiple patches on his backpack, one of which was of a Gadsden flag. The yellow flag depicts a rattlesnake along with the phrase “DONT TREAD ON ME.” Some of the other patches depict semi-automatic weapons, which the school claimed was in violation of its dress code. 

Soon after the incident, a video began to trend on Twitter in which an unnamed administrator explained to Rodriguez’s mother that the backpack must be left behind in order for him to return to class. “The reason we do not want the flag displayed is due to its origins with slavery and the slave trade,” the administrator stated. Rodriguez’s mother maintained that the flag was unrelated to slavery. “It’s the Revolutionary War patch,” she stated.

Almost a decade ago, in 2014, a Black maintenance mechanic working for the U.S. Postal Service filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against a fellow employee for wearing a hat with a Gadsden flag on it. No racial harassment was mentioned in the complaint, other than the suggestion that the flag was a symbol of racism. After conducting an investigation, in 2016, the EEOC ruled, “It is clear the Gadsden Flag originated in the Revolutionary War in a non-racial context.” However, the EEOC claimed the flag may be “interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages in some contexts.”

Despite being introduced during the American Revolution, the Gadsden flag has taken on various connotations throughout history. According to The Washington Post, it was a symbol adopted by Confederate supporters during the Civil War. In more recent times, the flag has been used culturally, from being printed on bumper stickers to emblazoning U.S. Soccer jerseys in 2006. The flag has more recently been taken as a symbol of the far right and has been seen during various acts of violence and terrorism. 

Outcome

Colorado governor comes to Rodriguez’s defense

Amid the social media uproar concerning the event, Gov. Jared Polis (D) posted in defense of Rodriguez, presenting the flag as a patriotic symbol rather than a discriminatory one. He tweeted, “The Gadsden flag is a proud symbol of the American Revolution” and that the situation was “a great teaching moment for a history lesson!”

Vanguard School board of directors allows Rodriguez to return to class 

Following public outrage over the incident, the school’s board of directors permitted Rodriguez to return to class with the Gadsden flag on his backpack. 

In an email sent the following day to families of children attending the school, the board wrote, “From Vanguard’s founding, we have proudly supported our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the ordered liberty that all Americans have enjoyed for almost 250 years.”

Mike Claudio, the assistant superintendent, said one of the primary issues in this case was the patches depicting weaponry. For this reason, the administration said, “The student returned to class without incident after removing the patches of semi-automatic weapons from the backpack,” as those were still in violation of school policy.