Isaiah Hines was sipping an iced latte and talking with a reporter last week at Starbucks in South Burlington when a middle-aged woman approached the table.
Cindy Shuman leaned in, looked at Hines and said with sincerity: “I want to thank you for everything you’ve done.”
Shuman, a South Burlington parent, isn’t the only stranger to rain praise on Hines lately. The teenager said he hasn’t been able to visit the local grocery store or walk downtown without someone paying him a compliment.
So it is now for the 18-year-old, who has barely put away his sky-blue graduation cap and gown but is already a recognizable racial justice leader. Hines, who identifies as African American, spent much of his senior year leading a successful campaign to drop the Rebels name at South Burlington High School on grounds that the term is a direct reference to the Confederacy.
His efforts precipitated a frank and at times frightening public conversation about race in Chittenden County.
For every Shuman, there’s a South Burlington resident who would say Hines failed to understand the true spirit of the Rebels as a nickname and bears responsibility for dividing the community. Earlier this month, Hines testified in court against one of those detractors — a white South Burlington dad accused of stalking him in person and online, where much of the nastiness played out.
Through it all, the well-mannered young man has kept it together, according to his friends, family and teachers, displaying maturity and wisdom beyond his years.
“He couldn’t not speak up,” his mother, Khrishna Hines, explained in a telephone interview. “He felt compelled.”
Isaiah Hines has freckles, a boyish smile and quiet determination. He packed plenty into his high school career, spending time volunteering at the Peace & Justice Center in Burlington, working various part-time jobs and putting in lots of late-night study sessions — all of which helped him gain early admission to Columbia University.
Getting into the Ivy League school “was an amazing feeling,” Hines said.
He has received awards and recognition for his efforts in the Rebels debate — including an enthusiastic round of applause June 21 when he spoke as part of an anti-racism panel at Fletcher Free Library in Burlington.
In his speech, Hines talked about the Rebels name change and how he convinced the school board to see the matter as he did. But that effort, which he views as a victory, took a toll — on Hines and the larger community. In April, his name appeared on a death list that shut down the school — and terrified South Burlington. A fellow classmate, Josiah Leach, an African American whom Hines said he knew only in passing, has pleaded not guilty to a federal crime related to that incident.
Hines also endured a more recent, targeted threat. Ten days before graduation, his name appeared in a single sentence found spray-painted on an athletic field at South Burlington High School. Police described the message as a “racial slur” and declined to reveal more. But Hines and his mother said it read: “Isaiah Hines is a dumb nigger.”
Hines told Seven Days the graffiti incident really rattled him. Support from family and people at school had helped him stay strong throughout the year, but this was a personal attack. He doesn’t know who did it, but, “Obviously, it’s someone who doesn’t like me very much,” Hines said.
Khrishna was not so diplomatic. “I was horrified. Horrified. When the school called me to tell me what was written, I was in tears,” she said.
Khrishna believes her son is a stronger person after what he experienced this school year. The former Hines, who cared very much about what people thought of him, she said, has been replaced by a young man willing to step into the spotlight and open himself to criticism to do what he believes is right.
The third of four boys, Hines “was always a very quiet child,” according to his mom. She and his dad divorced, but both still live in the area: Khrishna works at Toys”R”Us in Williston; her ex, who lives in Colchester, is a municipal employee at the Burlington Department of Public Works.
There were plenty of Rebels sports jerseys in the townhouse off Spear Street where Hines lives with his mom. Hines attended South Burlington schools starting in kindergarten. Older brother Kareem, 23, a social worker in Boston, played football all four years at South Burlington High School. Malik, 21, was a multi-sport athlete who now plays lacrosse at Castleton University. Younger brother Elijah, 16, will be a junior at SBHS this fall.
Isaiah ran cross-country, indoor track and outdoor track — and, for years, he wore the Rebels jersey without hesitation. He wasn’t initially aware that the nickname, adopted shortly after the school was built and opened in the early 1960s, had anything to do with the Civil War. For decades, the school’s Captain Rebel mascot marched out at halftime to the tune of “Dixie,” and cheerleaders and fans displayed the Confederate flag.
As Hines learned about the history, he became concerned and more interested in racial justice. His family discussed the topic, and the kids knew discrimination existed, but Hines said he’d never experienced it in South Burlington — until this year.
Khrishna grew up in New York City in a mixed-race family. Her mother is white, and her father is black, which she said made people want to “box” her into one category or the other.
“I consider myself both,” Khrishna said, noting, “Most people would just look at me and say, ‘You’re black.'”
She moved to the Green Mountain State to attend the University of Vermont in 1989, met her husband — a fellow New Yorker who is black — and decided to make her home here.
Like her son, she had no initial problem with the Rebels nickname.
But public discomfort with the Confederate symbols prompted the school board to ban the flag and Captain Rebel about 15 years ago. The board kept the Rebels name.
Concerns flared up again in 2015 — but the school board voted to keep the name and start “rebranding.” Initially, Hines supported the decision, and so did many of his friends.
After joining the school board as a student representative, Hines noticed that the rebranding wasn’t progressing. At a meeting in the fall of 2016, he asked why. He told his fellow board members that their inaction made him and other students of color feel “invisible.”
His lobbying helped convince the school board to drop the name. “It felt like a victory. It was definitely a joyful moment,” Hines said.
The good feeling didn’t last long. Supporters of the name quickly rallied against the change — that night, two out-of-state alumni created the Rebel Alliance Facebook page, which grew to more than 2,000 members.
The reaction stunned Hines.
“I never, ever would have expected the … community backlash,” he said.
“I never, ever would have expected the … community backlash.” Isaiah Hines
Why the intensity? The Rebels conversation was “one of the first times” many community members had “to engage critically with race and racism,” Hines said of the city of 19,000.
People debated the issue at school, Hines said, but the conversation there was much more measured than the high-voltage rhetoric circulating among adults, especially online.
“Being forced to engage with it, against your will, is like a really emotional thing, and people will fight it,” Hines said.
Andrew Samara, a South Burlington High School social studies teacher and adviser to the Student Diversity Union, credits Hines with starting a debate that’s been divisive — but important.
“More people have been exposed to discussion about racial tension, and I really think that’s a good thing and a necessary thing, and people are finding their way,” Samara said.
It was in Samara’s AP psychology class that Hines gave a presentation on the concept of “white fragility,” which posits that Caucasians get defensive when talking about racism because they have the luxury of being race-oblivious in a dominantly white culture.
The talk didn’t generate friction in the class, Samara recalled. But a picture on Facebook that showed Hines lecturing on the topic certainly got people riled. Specifically, the image captured a smiling Hines standing next to a PowerPoint screen bearing the words “White People Are Fragile” in big letters.
Members of the Rebel Alliance saw the shot and re-posted it, calling Hines a hypocrite for endorsing a concept they saw as a form of racial stereotyping itself.
Hines said he wanted to respond directly on the page — but he’d been blocked by Rebel Alliance cofounder Kiya Batmanglidj earlier this year. Instead, he posted a lengthy explanation on his own Facebook page, which went viral. It has attracted 7,462 comments so far — and counting.
Batmanglidj said he banned Hines because his remarks, while never profane, generated constant side debates that distracted from the real issues.
“Finally I just said, ‘This is it. This is getting to be too disruptive,'” he said, adding that the Alliance’s primary mission was to “overturn the school board’s decision.”
There are still signs of dissent — some seniors at graduation painted their caps with the words “Always a Rebel.” But the same senior class voted Hines “most unforgettable.” And the remaining South Burlington students have picked a new school nickname: the Wolves.
Hines is eager to study in New York City, which he knows well from frequent visits to see relatives; he loves its bustle and diversity. He hopes to become a lawyer one day to continue his social justice work.
Alesia Clear, a South Burlington mother of three, spoke for Shuman and many others when she read a statement at a recent school board meeting that praised Hines for his efforts. “We just wanted to thank him for making our community better,” she said. “He’s leaving us better than he found us.”
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This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 4, 2017.
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I’m very confused Mr. Hines identifies as African-American this sentence allows me to believe that he might be of mixed race because otherwise wouldn’t he just be African-American instead of just identifying as one. And if he is of mixed race does that mean he might be somewhat fragile because he would have some fragile DNA. It’s to bad that in all his time in the South Burlington school system he never got a real history lesson. If he had he might have understood that southerners referred to northerners as Yankee rebels and he might have had some pride in being a rebel instead of making a mountain out of a mole hill and costing the taxpayer that footed the cost of his entire education thousands of dollars to change the schools nickname. He will make a great Democrat someday, spend money on pointless ideas instead of putting that money into projects that actually serve a productive purpuse.
“Batmanglidj said he banned Hines because his remarks, while never profane, generated constant side debates that distracted from the real issues.”
These “side debates” were all about whether the Rebel moniker was racist or not, which was absolutely central to the issue at hand. But anyone who mentioned race was banned from the group. So it ended up being an echo chamber for a group of white adults who couldn’t handle thoughtful discussions about racism and race in their own community.
I have a tremendous amount of admiration and respect for Isaiah and am excited to see what he does next. And, no No high schooler should have to endure the amount of vitriol and hatred thrown Isaiah’s way this year, often by grown adults. We should be ashamed.
Obviously that was not the meaning of “rebel” the school adopted, if they played Dixie and showed the stars and bars.
Citizen: Your attempt to justify the school’s nickname by associating it with “Yankee rebels” might have made some sense if the mascot was a Minuteman and the flag was yellow with a disjointed snake and the words “Don’t Tread On Me.” But since the mascot was clearly a Confederate officer, created during the centennial of America’s Civil War, and the flag was the Confederate Stars and Bars, your “history lesson” rings quite hollow. Anyone with knowledge of American history knows the difference. I’d encourage you to venture into the Cedar Creek room at our statehouse, and ask yourself what that flag and mascot would have meant to the Vermonters who died fighting to rid this continent of the south’s “peculiar institution.” And Mr. Hines’ race identification is irrelevant to the discussion. His efforts forced us all into a proper reflection of who we should be as a society. From this Republican’s perspective, that’s not a bad thing.
Isaiah: I wish you success in your quest to go to law school. However, be forewarned that your becoming a lawyer means you will constantly be challenged by those who don’t understand or don’t appreciate the career you are taking on. You will frequently find yourself up against odds that surprise you. But it appears to me you are already possessed with the skills that will enable you to handle that adversity quite well, and, contrary to the opinion of some, the law remains a noble profession. Best of luck in future endeavors.
Hines, who identifies as African American…
He’s biracial. I wish he would identify as biracial because being biracial is important too.
An intelligent and courageous young man who stood up to hatred and ignorance and never flinched. Maybe there’s hope for this nation yet.
Sounds like his parents didn’t do much with their UVM education.
Thank you, Isaiah, for your courage and principles. I look at the Rebel Alliance facebook page from time to time and am absolutely horrified by what they say. We appreciate everything you have done to help move Burlington into the 21st century!
There is a question lawyers ask…”Well, Mr Leavens, when did you stop beating your wife?” As you may guess, there is no good answer to the question. The question is not fair. So, when you, as a black person, get out a broad brush & paint every white person as racist & fragile, what makes you think you are going to get any other reaction other than the predictable one? You say you think it is funny, & that it proves your point, but frankly, it means you have posted an unfair characterization, lumping the innocent in with the guilty (collective punishment).
Go to the Rebel Alliance page today and see pow they disparage a young SB teen bound for an Ivy(!!!) league school. Hey Kiya, why ban him and not those who harass and defame him, often in racial terms?
When I think of Isaiah Hine’s honesty, courage, and persistence, I think to myself, “This is what a hero looks like.” We should all be proud to have Hines among us.
34,000 Vermonters left their farms and answered Abraham’s call. Most volunteered to serve in infantry units taking on the Rebels face to face. Yuppies from out of state who relocate here, run and hold political office, they should remember those backwoods deplorables they shake their righteous fingers at are direct descendants of those brave souls who continue to die for their privileged lives to this day. I’d bet money that South Burlington’s original board members who named the school the “Rebels” belonged to those precious few who never serve.
I am so proud of this young man and all those who took a stand against racism in South Burlington. I’m DISGUSTED by the actions of many I grew up with and went to SBHS with, your white supremacy is showing loud and clear. Best of luck to you Mr. Hines in school and in life, you are an inspiration!
Emma Kupferman
“For decades, the school’s Captain Rebel mascot marched out at halftime to the tune of “Dixie,” and cheerleaders and fans displayed the Confederate flag.” For DECADES?! This is B.S. I went to SBHS in those early years. Cheerleaders didn’t display the Confederate flag…maybe you should contact some of them to verify your statement. I do remember a couple times when fans did bring one of those flags to our basketball games. Does this make us “accidental racists” by association? It certainly did NOT extend for “decades”. But the connection HAS been gone for decades. Do your homework and stop adding fuel to the fire.
Before we all go off to Columbia University to study law, let’s go to summer school for just a minute. When you, as a black person, get out a broad brush & paint every white person as racist & fragile, what makes you think you are going to get any other reaction other than the predictable one? White Fragility makes an unfair characterization, lumping the innocent in with the guilty. “Collective punishment, is absolutely banned under international law. Think about that for a minute. Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, collective punishment is defined as a war crime.”…”Hitler and all the other despots from the beginning of time… repeatedly engaged in collective punishment. Collective punishment is a weapon, it is a preferred tool, of a tyrant. Innocence is not only not a defense, it is not even relevant”. So the South Burlington School District has embraced, encouraged, & rewarded the use of the concept. In the process, they have chosen to divide us as a community, to obliterate history, & to ignore 50 years of social progress in the name of social justice. Shame on you!
Changing the name is a war crime?
The kid is biracial, though it doesn’t suit his needs to be so, I guess, so he identifies as black. He did a simple school project. Most kids his age think they can go out and change the world. Let him try. I hope he is appreciative of the privileges he has had that have afforded him the opportunities he has. In a lot of places not a lot of black kids have those opportunities.