Montpelier High School’s plan to fly a Black Lives Matter flag throughout the month of February has garnered plenty of attention — not all positive.

The school received “some not-so-nice phone calls and some not-so-nice emails” from non-Vermonters after recent news about the decision went national, said principal Mike McRaith.

Closer to home, state Rep. Tom Terenzini (R-Rutland) told WPTZ-TV that he considers BLM an anti-police group. “I don’t see myself as being a bigot or prejudiced, but I just don’t think that Black Lives Matter is a national organization to look up to,” he told the TV station.

About 5 percent of the 350 students at the public high school are black. A group called the Racial Justice Alliance approached the school board in January to suggest the flag be displayed in recognition of Black History Month. The gesture would also demonstrate the school’s commitment to equitable education for black students and help the community show that it recognizes “white privilege and implicit bias.”

The board voted unanimously to fly the banner just below the American flag outside the school. McRaith said he believes MHS will be the first high school in the nation to hoist it.

The University of Vermont did so in 2016, but a student stole the flag and was later disciplined for it.

“Our black students are really leading the way on this work and helping us understand the work that we need to do as a system and as a predominately white community,” McRaith said.

Brian Ricca, the superintendent of Montpelier Public Schools, acknowledged that not everyone will agree with the decision, but he hopes it sparks constructive conversation.

“We want to make change,” he said.

The original print version of this article was headlined “Banner Year”

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This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 6, 2018.

Molly Walsh was a Seven Days staff writer 2015-20.

8 replies on “A Black Lives Matter Flag Will Fly at Montpelier High School. Not Everyone Is Thrilled”

  1. Leftist politics should have no place in the classroom
    This state is indoctrinating children with liberal ideology in the same manner the Church indoctrinates children with biblical scriptures

    Its shameful

  2. Are they going to fly a pennant that says: “Fry the pigs like bacon” or other anti police BLM rants? Seems like the police kept the students safe a few days ago.

  3. So the “community” of Montpelier should involuntarily IMPLY “white privilege” & “bias”. Nonsense, unwarranted. These divisive and vile narratives are being shoved down peoples throats due to administrators and politicians fears re political correctness. The BLM movement has a well documented history of nefarious acts and plain hateful rhetoric. The citizenry of this Nation grow very weary of this destructive charade. The very VAST majority of honest, hard working, tax paying, color indifferent, provider adult Citizenry do not approve of this implicit nonsense.

  7. All I can say, we are all equal.

    This BLM movement is wrong. It is so racist against all colors but black. Yet, they can get away with calling the rest of us racist.

    This be way left wing for me. I like the middle ground myself.

  8. You know I have lived quite a reasonable length of time and remember all the civil rights marches in the 1960s when I was at school and the black power protests at the Olympics and it still seems there is a considerable long way to go with regards racism not only in the USA but in many other countries throughout the world. I always thought we were one people on this planet and one colour as we all bleed exactly the same.

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