© 2024 KMUW
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Kansas School Grapples With Debate Over Confederate Flag

J. Stephen Conn, flickr Creative Commons

A Kansas student's display of a Confederate flag from the back of his pickup truck has sparked debate about race at a high school named Free State in a nod to Kansas' anti-slavery history.

The student displayed the flag last month on the grounds of the largely white school in the university city of Lawrence. Administrators told him to remove it, and they've banned such flags from the grounds as disruptions. The district says the student won't be disciplined, and that the situation is being used as a learning moment.

But some students have launched an effort to persuade the school board to expand the prohibition districtwide.

Confederate symbols across the country have faced increased scrutiny since last June's shooting deaths of nine black congregants at a South Carolina church.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.