A 12-year-old boy from Colorado is being praised by many after refusing to back down when he was removed from class for donning a Gadsden flag patch on his backpack.
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The famous motif, designed during the Revolutionary War, includes a rattlesnake and the words, “Don’t Tread on Me.” But, despite the historic nature of the symbol, 7th grader Jaiden Rodriguez, who attends The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs, was allegedly told the emblem violated the school’s dress code.
The incident immediately went viral after a video recorded by the boy’s mom, Eden Rodriguez, purportedly showed school administrators explaining their issues with the Gadsden flag.
“The Tuttle Twins” author Connor Boyack, who posted the clip to his X profile and helped ignite the response, joined CBN’s Faithwire to offer some history on the Gadsden flag, and to explain the backstory surrounding how Jaiden’s story went viral.
“The Gadsden flag … was named for Christopher Gadsden,” Boyack said. “He was a delegate to the Continental Congress. He designed it in 1775 as things were cooking up in the American Revolution.”
Watch Boyack deliver the history of the flag and explain what unfolded surrounding Jaiden:
The flag, which remains a revered political symbol today, was flown on ships and was originally seen as a sign of unity among the 13 colonies that were united against the British.
However, according to Rodriguez, her son was told to remove the patch or not return to class. The viral video of the aforementioned meeting shows a woman telling the family, “The reason that … we do not want the flag is to due to its origins with slavery and slave trade.”
Watch the conversation:
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."
— Connor Boyack 📚 (@cboyack) August 29, 2023
The school's director said via email that the patch was "disruptive to the classroom environment."
Receipts in the 🧵 pic.twitter.com/qQ8jK1zSpR
Boyack dismissed these claims about slavery and expressed dismay over the accusations.
“The idea that it’s connected to slavery or rooted in racism is just historically illiterate and totally preposterous,” he said. “It’s one thing for a Twitter troll to make some type of claim like that; it’s another thing for an academic institution to be conveying total inaccuracies and garbage like that.”
Boyack continued, “And yet, here we are. It’s the sad state of schools today.”
The author said he connected with Rodriguez and her son Jaiden after the mom direct messaged him on X to explain the situation and share the video. Jaiden, a fan of “The Tuttle Twins,” had reportedly tried to speak with media about what happened, but initially, no one was interested.
“He’s a very patriotic kid,” Boyack said. “He’s a huge fan of our ‘Tuttle Twins’ books. He’s been reading them for years. She sends me the video, and immediately I’m like, ‘Oh, this is a gold mine.’ … I knew it immediately would go viral.”
And Boyack was right; within mere hours, millions of people had already viewed the video, with the incident amassing tens of millions of views across social media platforms.
As for Jaiden, he never removed the patch from his bag and went back to school with it. The 12-year-old has since been doing media interviews and speaking out about what unfolded.
Boyack said the ordeal offers a powerful reminder of why people must speak out and stand up for the truth, warning other parents that the same issues could eventually plague them and their children.
“I think we have to anticipate that it will happen,” he said. “It’s a matter of when, not if, and therefore, you need to decide now how you will act in the future.”
The Harrison School District 2, of which The Vanguard School is a part, released a statement claiming the national media around the incident is “incomplete.” Here’s the statement:
There has been national media attention on our charter school, The Vanguard School, related to a student having the Gadsden flag on his backpack. Unfortunately, this story is incomplete. The patch in question was part of half a dozen other patches of semi-automatic weapons. The student has removed the semi-automatic patches. As a school district, we will continue to ensure all students and employees can learn and work in a safe and nurturing environment. The student returned to class without incident after removing the patches of semi-automatic weapons from the backpack. The Vanguard School and Harrison School District 2 worked in collaboration to resolve this matter.
A statement from The Vanguard School Board of Directors further addressed the incident, stating some of the patches on the bookbag showed guns and weapons, and one referenced alcohol. The school said the district had directed that the Gadsden flag also be removed.
“Yesterday, the student returned with the patch still visible on his backpack,” the statement continued. “Following the District’s direction, Vanguard administrators pulled the student aside so that they could speak with his parents and the District.”
But the school is now allowing the student to attend with the patch.
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