By law, the First Amendment allows for citizens to choose whether or not to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
But this Spanish teacher at Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, Illinois doesn’t seem to realize that.
Shemar Cooper, 15, from Chicago refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance while in Spanish class due to his distaste at the way that black Americans are treated and discriminated against.
He claimed that the country “sucks” and chose to sit during the pledge.
Image Credit: Eisenhower High School
This got Cooper into quite a bit of trouble, but his mother, Kelley Porter, was happy to apologize to the teacher on behalf of her son due to his poor language.
With that being said, she would not be sorry for her son’s personal choice to not stand for the pledge.
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However, his teacher was having none of this.
During the next class, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited once more, and as he had the week before, Cooper refused to stand.
The teacher became furious at his refusal and then attempted to pull him up to stand in a physically violent manner.
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This led to Porter reporting the teacher to the police.
She is insistent that her son is allowed to make a statement on his own, as he and his family have strong feelings regarding the police brutality and oppression that is forced upon black Americans.
She believes that the teacher should be suspended and threatened that she would press charges.
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Porter also clarified that her family has never hated America, and her father served the country in World War II.
However, she believes that the negative behavior towards black Americans and other people of color needs to be stopped.
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The high school sent out a statement that they respect each student’s First Amendment rights and are taking the issue seriously.
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