September 21, 2005
Private: Florida High School Student Flaunts Racist T-Shirt
An 18-year-old at a Florida high school was suspended for three days for wearing a racially-charged T-shirt to class last month. He has since left the school.
The student's T-shirt had a confederate flag on the front with the words "Keep it flying." On the back, a cartoon depicted a group of hooded Klansmen standing outside a church, waving to two others who had just pulled away in a car reading "Just married." Two black men in nooses were being dragged behind.
"I'm not racist or anything," said the student, whose identity has not been revealed to protect him. "It's just, some people I hate, some people I don't get along with. And black people just happen to be the ones because they think they're better than everyone else."
Sgt. Darin Lee of the Clay County Sheriff's Office investigated the altercation and found no criminal action. Offensive as it may have been, the former student's shirt is protected by free speech, Lee said.