Before Colin Kaepernick made it cool to sit during the National Anthem, high school student Leilani Thomas was sitting down during the morning Pledge at school for years. Her silent protest started back in the second grade after her parents started teaching her about their Native American ancestors:
“My mom and my dad brought up what it meant to us and our people. So I just started sitting down.”
She’s been doing this for years, and it’s never been a problem before. But thanks to the recent drama surrounding Kaepernick and several other professional athletes, one teacher at Thomas’ high school in Northern California decided to teach Thomas a lesson. The lesson being that you’re never truly free.
The teacher, who has not been identified, docked the girl’s participation grade and then told her she was being disrespectful:
“She told me I was being disrespectful, and I was pretty mad. She was being disrespectful to me also, saying I was making bad choices, and I don’t have the choice to sit during the Pledge.”
Of course we all know she does have the choice to sit during the Pledge. No teacher can force you to stand during the Pledge. It’s something I wish I would have known when I was in middle school after the events of 9/11 in Texas. For months following the tragedy, lunches were basically a worship session for America.
We were all forced to sing patriotic songs as we ate our meals, and the whole time I remember thinking:
“I’d be more willing to celebrate America if these chicken tenders didn’t taste like butt sweat and gravy.”
Anyway, the good news is that there is a happy ending to this story. After Thomas complained to school officials, the Konocti School District superintendent defended Thomas and said it was her right to stay seated during the morning Pledge:
“They have the same rights when they walk into the schoolhouse than anybody else does.”
Thomas and one other student who also refused to stand have been reassigned to another teacher’s classroom.
Featured image via: YouTube Screengrab
