Black History Month started off with a bang for one Montpelier, Vt., high school that began flying a Black Lives Matter flag Thursday in what officials are calling a commitment to make the majority-white school more inclusive.
According to the Burlington Free Press, the flag-raising, which was led by students, is part of a series of events planned at Montpelier High School, where only 18 of the school’s 350 students are black.
Some of those students took turns raising the flag Thursday morning in a ceremony attended by students, staff and community members.
“I think black lives matter in all realms. And really, the education system is where it starts,” senior Joelyn Mensah, who co-founded the student group Racial Justice Alliance, told the Free Press.
Of course, the gesture was not made without the troglodytes crawling up from the dark, dank holes. There were protest threats that came mostly from out of state, according to Montpelier Police Chief Anthony Facos, prompting several police officers to show out just in case.
However, no protesters showed up at the ceremony, and while there was some backlash, school officials said that there was largely nothing but support from the community.
“We are proud to do this because it honors the reality that the experience of our … black students is not the same as the experience of our white students,” Superintendent Brian Ricca said. “And our goal has been to have a substantive conversation about this, not only in our building but in our community.”