{"id":50332,"date":"2016-09-26T10:01:04","date_gmt":"2016-09-26T14:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=50332"},"modified":"2016-09-26T10:09:26","modified_gmt":"2016-09-26T14:09:26","slug":"this-is-what-happens-when-a-black-lives-matter-flag-is-hoisted-at-a-public-university-right-up-there-with-the-u-s-flag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=50332","title":{"rendered":"This is what happens when a Black Lives Matter flag is hoisted at a public university right up there with the U.S. flag"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--more-->By Derek Hawkins<br \/>\nThe Washington Post<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Screen-Shot-2016-09-26-at-9.55.23-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-50336\" src=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Screen-Shot-2016-09-26-at-9.55.23-AM.png\" alt=\"screen-shot-2016-09-26-at-9-55-23-am\" width=\"675\" height=\"481\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Screen-Shot-2016-09-26-at-9.55.23-AM.png 809w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Screen-Shot-2016-09-26-at-9.55.23-AM-300x214.png 300w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Screen-Shot-2016-09-26-at-9.55.23-AM-768x547.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It was supposed to be an expression of solidarity. And it was \u2014 for some.<\/p>\n<p>As protests over the fatal police shootings of black men raged in Charlotte and elsewhere last week, students at the University of Vermont hoisted a Black Lives Matter flag at the center of campus, right next to, and at the same height, as the state flag and the American flag. The university and the Student Government Association sanctioned the display, saying it\u00a0was designed to show support for those \u201cstruggling with the violence and search for justice in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophomore Akilah Ho-Young could hardly contain her excitement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to cry when I saw this,\u201d Ho-Young\u00a0said in a Sept. 22 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=1103460566375836&amp;set=a.185098088212093.54844.100001357106770&amp;type=3&amp;theater\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook post<\/a> that included a picture of the Black Lives Matter flag flying outside the student center, alongside the American and state flags.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy body filled with lots of joy to know that my predominantly white university is paying tribute to the deaths in the black community,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the littlest thing that just means so much to me!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The post went viral. The popular social justice writer Shaun King <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/shaunking\/posts\/1148660171839566\" target=\"_blank\">shared it<\/a>, along with more than\u00a014,000\u00a0others. Comments and tweets poured in from supporters\u00a0who\u00a0called it a brave display.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BlackLivesMatter<\/a> flag that was casted on UVM&#39;s campus yesterday makes me proud to be a Catamount.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Cass (@m1ss5cass) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/m1ss5cass\/status\/779346868669153280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 23, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">College and universities, take note. UVM has put us on notice. It&#39;s time for to &quot;go for broke.&quot; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BlackLivesMatter<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ys1XwJDUwJ\">https:\/\/t.co\/Ys1XwJDUwJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Matthew J. Cressler (@mjcressler.bsky.social) (@mjcressler) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mjcressler\/status\/779348251103354880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 23, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-content inline-html\"><\/div>\n<p>Critics accused the public university of endorsing a \u201cracist\u201d group and\u00a0taking a side in a culture war.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is just about as un-American as it gets in my book. The uber liberal University of Vermont has a flag po&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Rsh6Xigl1D\">https:\/\/t.co\/Rsh6Xigl1D<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Democracy In Motion (@DemocracyMotion) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DemocracyMotion\/status\/780089660018077696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 25, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/twitter.com\/Vinnie4T\/status\/779776280203894784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/p>\n<p>Then, over the weekend, as debate roiled on social media, the flag went missing. Student leaders say it was stolen, and the university is investigating it as a theft.<\/p>\n<p>The episode underscored the extent to which a movement and a symbol have come to stand for radically different things to different people.<\/p>\n<p>And it illustrates how the debate over race relations and policing in America has penetrated the land, after a summer punctuated by several high-profile\u00a0officer-involved shootings of black men, the assassination of six police officers by a black\u00a0gunman in Dallas, and the mass demonstrations that have followed in cities around the country.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-content inline-video\">\n<div id=\"player-8a00e59e-16e8-11e6-971a-dadf9ab18869-616685\" class=\"posttv-video-embed wpv-player wpv-processed\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-category-id=\"segments\" data-duration=\"202000\" data-emoji=\"0\" data-headline=\"Black Lives Matter movement, explained\" data-is-truth-teller=\"0\" data-max-height=\"-1\" data-max-width=\"-1\" data-object-id=\"57323ba8e4b002785085e971\" data-show-caption=\"1\" data-show-endscreen=\"1\" data-show-promo=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/posttv-thumbnails-prod\/thumbnails\/57323ba8e4b002785085e971\/20160707_blacklivesmatter_original.jpg\" data-uuid=\"8a00e59e-16e8-11e6-971a-dadf9ab18869\" data-variants=\"0\" data-video-360=\"0\" data-youtube-id=\"i_FywiDWY-0\" data-auto-init=\"0\" data-auto-play=\"1\" data-loading-screen=\"blackout\" data-has-been-visible=\"true\">\n<div class=\"wpv-overlay\">\n<h3 class=\"wpv-headline franklin-light\">Black Lives Matter movement, explained<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"wpv-masthead\">See video here:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2016\/09\/26\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-public-university-hoists-a-black-lives-matter-flag\/\">http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2016\/09\/26\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-public-university-hoists-a-black-lives-matter-flag\/<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wpv-caption inline-video-caption pb-caption\"><span class=\"wpv-blurb\">The phrase Black Lives Matter first received national attention in summer 2014 and, since then, has become part of conversations on race in America. Here&#8217;s how the phrase became a movement.<\/span> (Claritza Jimenez, Julio Negron\/The Washington Post)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"interstitial-link\"><i>[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2016\/09\/21\/black-dallas-police-officer-sues-black-lives-matter-on-behalf-of-christians-jews-and-caucasians-others\/\">Black Dallas police officer sues Black Lives Matter on behalf of \u2018Christians, Jews and Caucasians,\u2019 others<\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n<p>The flag controversy in Vermont played out against a\u00a0backdrop of protests, some of them violent, over the fatal police shootings\u00a0of Keith Lamont Scott in\u00a0Charlotte and\u00a0Terence Crutcher in Tulsa.<\/p>\n<p>When news about the flag spread,\u00a0some critics\u00a0immediately\u00a0cited the demonstrations in Charlotte \u2014 where a civilian reportedly\u00a0shot and killed a protester and some demonstrators destroyed property\u00a0\u2014 as evidence that Black Lives Matter promoted violence and was itself a racist\u00a0movement, although no connection between that shooting and the BLM movement has been alleged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is why I\u2019m ashamed to have gone to this school. This organization has proved time and time again they are a racist hate group,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UniversityofVermont\/photos\/a.424582692636.204873.31152992636\/10154078055602637\/?type=3&amp;theater\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a>\u00a0Chris Dietze,whose Facebook page indicates\u00a0he graduated from UVM in 2013. \u201cIf they really cared about police brutality they\u2019d be mad when someone of any color gets shot and killed by police who were unarmed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some other students appeared to share that view.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot at all surprised that UVM would condone this racist organization which promotes the murder of white people and police officers,\u201d wrote Chris Kaufman on the UVM Instagram account, saying he was from the class of 2018. \u201cIf only people were as outraged at the number of blacks killing other blacks each\u00a0and every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"interstitial-link\"><i>[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2016\/08\/31\/splc-the-much-cited-designator-of-hate-groups-explains-why-white-lives-matter-is-one\/\">Why SPLC says White Lives Matter is a hate group but Black Lives Matter is not<\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Other commenters said\u00a0the university should never have stepped into the fray.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSchools and universities should remain politically free,\u201d David Proemsy wrote\u00a0on Facebook. \u201cUniversities should nurture all political views and expression. This appears to be oppressive to students with other viewpoints.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The flagpole at the student center has historically flown flags that represent different groups on campus and allows university organizations to\u00a0sponsor similar displays, university officials told <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mynbc5.com\/article\/goodbye-to-homework-for-some-elementary-schools-and-classes\/3846691\" target=\"_blank\">NBC 5<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Helen Driesen, a 19-year-old political science major at the university, said she was coming home from a party early Sunday morning when she noticed the bare pole in front of the student center. She said she\u2019d seen posts on social media from people in town, but not necessarily students, calling for the flag to be taken down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was angry but I\u2019m honestly not surprised,\u201d Driesen told The Washington Post. \u201cPeople have all kinds of misconceptions about this movement. They don\u2019t understand the gravity of it and how extremely overdue it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Student Government Association President Jason Maulucci said he never expected such an intense backlash. In an interview with\u00a0The Post, Maulucci said university administrators\u00a0had approved the proposal to\u00a0raise the Black Lives Matter flag without issue. At first, Maulucci\u00a0said, the response was \u201coverwhelmingly positive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But as the display gained national attention, Maulucci said he started getting hate mail and threats from strangers online.<\/p>\n<p>Then,\u00a0at some point late Saturday or early Sunday, someone took the flag down. A picture of the crank on the flagpole suggested someone had pried it open, lowered the flag and stolen it, Maulucci said.<\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/twitter.com\/ChrisCampbel_\/status\/780162027893428225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/p>\n<p>By Sunday afternoon, however, a new flag had been hoisted in its place, sewn together by Pat Brown, the university\u2019s director of student life, according to Maulucci.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was upsetting that someone stole it, but I think it underscored the necessity for raising\u00a0in the first place,\u201d Maulucci said. \u201cWe\u2019re proud of\u00a0the fact that we\u2019re\u00a0contributing to that conversation.\u00a0You can\u2019t make progress unless you acknowledge that there\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was\u00a0not\u00a0the first, and will not be the last, conflict of its kind.<\/p>\n<p class=\"interstitial-link\"><i>[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/post-nation\/wp\/2016\/07\/25\/this-attorney-wore-a-black-live-matter-pin-to-court-and-went-to-jail-for-it\/?utm_term=.29e292b2b6c0\">This attorney wore a Black Lives Matter pin to court \u2014 and went to jail for it<\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n<p>In July, a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/local\/detroit-city\/2016\/07\/11\/detroit-police-official-demoted-facebook-post\/86943612\/\">police officer in Detroit<\/a> was demoted for a post critical of Black Lives Matter. The same month, an Ohio judge <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/post-nation\/wp\/2016\/07\/25\/this-attorney-wore-a-black-live-matter-pin-to-court-and-went-to-jail-for-it\/?utm_term=.29e292b2b6c0\" target=\"_blank\">ordered an attorney jailed<\/a> for five hours for wearing a Black Lives Matter pin to court.\u00a0And in May, a<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedartmouth.com\/article\/2016\/05\/display-removed-in-collis-replaced-with-blacklivesmatter-posters\/\"> controversy erupted<\/a> at Dartmouth University after a group of students removed a \u201cBlue Lives Matter\u201d display and replaced it with Black Lives Matter posters.<\/p>\n<p>In May, conservative commentators joined a chorus of critics demanding a hate group designation for Black Lives Matter from the Southern Poverty Law Center, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2016\/08\/31\/splc-the-much-cited-designator-of-hate-groups-explains-why-white-lives-matter-is-one\/\">claiming that in the wake of the shootings<\/a> of police officers in Dallas, its rhetoric was inflammatory.<\/p>\n<p>The SPLC, which tracks hate groups, refused, explaining itself in a long post by SPLC president Richard Cohen:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"citation\"><p>There\u2019s no doubt that some protesters who claim the mantle of Black Lives Matter have said offensive things, like the chant \u2018pigs in a blanket, fry \u2019em like bacon\u2019 that was heard at one rally. But before we condemn the entire movement for the words of a few, we should ask ourselves whether we would also condemn the entire Republican Party for the racist words of its presumptive nominee \u2014 or for the racist rhetoric of many other politicians in the party over the course of years.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Student activists are set to host a rally Monday at 4:30 outside the student center, where they plan to dress entirely in black and gather for a picture around the new flag, according to a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/340213506323257\/?active_tab=highlights\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook event<\/a>. The event\u00a0had more than 500 guests as of Monday morning. Organizers \u2014 among them\u00a0Ho-Young, whose Facebook post went viral \u2014 stressed that the event was not a protest but a peaceful demonstration to \u201ccelebrate the black community and their alliances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe flags being placed on the same level represents what this nation and institution was built on,\u201d the event\u2019s organizers said. \u201cEquality for all people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2016\/09\/26\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-public-university-hoists-a-black-lives-matter-flag\/\">http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2016\/09\/26\/this-is-what-happens-when-a-public-university-hoists-a-black-lives-matter-flag\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50332\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}