Leilani Thomas’s protest of the Pledge of Allegiance may be generating attention in light of similar recent protests by athletes around the United States, but the high school student has reportedly sat down for the pledge since she was in second grade.
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During the first week of September, Leilani sat during the flag salute, as she normally does. She says the female teacher tried to force him out of his chair; an action that even her superintendent thought that was out of line.
“She told me I was being disrespectful”, Thomas told KXTV, “saying I was making bad choices and I don’t have the choice to sit during the pledge”.
Her response to those comments, “I always tell her, ‘Well, my people risked our lives for our freedom, for our land, for our rights'”.
“I am very happy with the outcome, and what this tells me is my son’s First Amendment right was definitely violated”.
“I believe in what I believe in”, Leilani said. “She pretty much told us that she could control us”. “I did whatever she wanted me to do in her class”.
Leilani Thomas, center, talks with a reporter about her decision not to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance. But that changed on Thursday when a teacher at her high school told her she didn’t have the right to protest, and docked her participation grade in response.
One of the students is a Native American, and now they are fighting back against the lowered grade.
A high school student in Louisiana was threatened with suspension for refusing to stand for the Pledge, WDSU-TV reported.
Her Superintendent stood by her, but not everyone feels the same.
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The district said in a statement that it respects the right not to stand for the pledge and described Shemar’s situation as an isolated incident. CNN requested to interview the teacher for this story but did not receive a response. Becnel did not reveal whether the teacher would face any consequences. “Your ancestors”, the teacher can be heard telling Leilani in a recording the teen made, per KPIX. Parts of the audio were unintelligible. She was given the option to change her homeroom class, and she took advantage of it.
