School Committee votes to ban Confederate flag in Northampton schools
Updated Mar 12, 2021;
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NORTHAMPTON Displays of the Confederate flag are now banned within the city’s school district.
By unanimous vote Thursday, the 10-member School Committee approved a ban on displays of the flag by students, staff and visitors on school property, at school-sponsored activities and during virtual events and learning. The measure allows the flag to be shown in library and other learning materials, during lessons or as a part of an assignment supervised by a teacher.
More than 100 people attended the virtual meeting Thursday night, with about 10 people speaking in favor of the ban prior to the vote.
Northampton superintendent contacts FBI over racist Facebook page as residents urge school board to ban Confederate flag
Updated Feb 25, 2021;
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NORTHAMPTON School Superintendent John A. Provost has alerted the FBI about a Facebook page he says is trying to recruit students into white supremacist groups.
“We will be providing time in flex block tomorrow to educate our students about the tactics extremist hate groups use to try to lure in impressionable youth,” Provost wrote in a letter to parents Thursday.
The “JFK White Student Union” Facebook page appeared earlier this week after John F. Kennedy Middle School Principal Desmond Caldwell created a video responding to student concerns about the Confederate flag being displayed during remote learning. Although the page seemed to disappear Wednesday, it was back online Thursday, with fewer than 10 followers.
Northampton students denounce racism after Facebook page targets principal’s Confederate flag lesson
Updated Feb 24, 2021;
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Students, staff and faculty stood in solidarity Wednesday with John F. Kennedy Middle School Principal Desmond Caldwell after a Facebook page targeted him and his efforts to educate the school community about the history of racism associated with the Confederate flag.
Nearly 200 people assembled outside the Northampton school to denounce white supremacy in a demonstration organized by students Cecelia Ripley, Julia Albro-Fisher and Julian Clark.
Caldwell, who became principal last fall, said he heard from students who felt unsafe when Confederate flags and other symbols started appearing in other students’ backgrounds during remote learning. To address those concerns, Caldwell created a video asking that the Confederate flag not be present during virtual or in-person learning.