The discussion continues over a controversial Instagram picture posted by an East Chapel Hill High School student with what appeared to be Confederate flags.
On May 6, a press conference was held at Lincoln Center to discuss the race-related issues stirred by the picture. The conversation then continued at a Board of Education meeting on May 7.
The photo was of two female students holding up Civil War North Carolina regiment flags that looked similar to the Confederate flag. It was captioned with "South will rise." Another person commented "Already bought my first slave" on the photo.
East Chapel Hill High School senior Paige Covington said the picture was posted during a three-day annual trip to Gettysburg and Arlington National Cemetery. She said the students explore both the Union and Confederate sides and go on a march while holding the flags.
Covington said while the comment on the picture is not defendable, the media has taken the picture and twisted it.
Shanda Smalls, a Durham resident and member of the group Organizing Against Racism, said she felt that the picture itself was highly inappropriate.
“There is no excuse for bigoted behavior, which I would easily place this behavior into,” Smalls said in an email. “Even if it was meant as a joke, I don’t believe these students didn’t have knowledge that their behavior would be very upsetting to several people.”
Much of the debate surrounding the picture concerns consequences for the students involved with the post and comments. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District does not have a policy for social media use outside of school. The students were not suspended.
While some community members want the students to face consequences, Smalls and others feel that the school district should focus on educating students about diversity and equity.
“I don’t think 'disciplinary' action is appropriate for the simple fact that the school doesn’t have any policy to address this issue,” Smalls said. “I don’t believe its right, just, or fair to (give consequences to) students without them having a clear understanding prior to them making questionable/inappropriate/poor decisions of what those consequences will be.”
At the school board meeting, Kayla Merriweather, an East Chapel Hill High School sophomore, said it is more important to focus on the underlying issue behind the Instagram post.
“It’s important to focus on the issue this exposed, instead of the people who exposed it,” she said. “I think it’s important to use this as a learning experience to increase racial relations and racial sensitivity."
Superintendent Tom Forcella, in a statement to the media, said he considers CHCCS to be a progressive school district, but that they are always concerned about racism in the schools. He said there is still much improvement to be made to deal with the consequences of social media and to address implicit bias directly in both the classrooms and extracurricular activities.
Rev. Robert Campbell, a Chapel Hill resident and community activist for Rogers Road said at the school board meeting that the school board should be used as a facilitator for the community to come together and create understanding.
“We are here at a point where we’re driving a wedge, again, between the races,” he said. “Racism is still alive. But how do we deal with it as citizens of this great community?”
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