Published: March 14, 2008 09:11 am         

'Miles to go,' but a 'good first step'

CUMBERLAND - Bill AuMiller said he felt "miles of progress" were made Thursday afternoon during a meeting with parents of students who have been involved in recent racially motivated incidents or displays of the Confederate flag.

AuMiller, superintendent of the Allegany County public school system, also admitted there were "miles to go." But, he said, "this is a good first step."

AuMiller told a group of nearly 30 parents, administrators and police officers during an invitation-only forum to discuss what has led to the recent spike in racially charged incidents and how best to solve them. "I'm optimistic that we're going to bring good out of this."

Part of the solution could be as simple as a change of clothing - at least temporarily, AuMiller said. He asked parents to encourage their children not to display the flag on articles of clothing on school grounds for the time being.

"As long as the symbol is out there, the black community is going to be up in arms," AuMiller said. "I can foresee the time when" the students would again be permitted to wear the flag on shirts and hats.

The group of parents agreed with AuMiller that part of the solution also might be sensitivity training. Teach the kids about how to get along with others, they said. More than one parent suggested some of the statements made by white students were out of ignorance.

Jeannette Rinehart is a physical education teacher at John Humbird and Flintstone elementary schools. She also is the mother of three kids, at least one of whom attends Fort Hill.

To her son and other students, "there's nothing offensive" about the flag.

"They have no intention of offending anybody," Rinehart said. "They like the 'Dukes of Hazzard.' There are no racial tones at all."

She said many of the students who are displaying the Confederate flag are following the lead of eastern Allegany County residents. One Flintstone area businessman, Rinehart said, proudly and prominently displays the Confederate flag at his place of work.

Freshmen such as her son, she said, "don't have a clue" what administrators are talking about when they try to explain to the students the flag has a negative connotation to black Americans. After all, they don't learn about the Civil War until their junior year.

But AuMiller reiterated a message he gave at Monday's meeting at Metropolitan AME Church with a predominantly black crowd, that "we fully acknowledge the right to display the Confederate flag."

Once students cross the line and begin to use that symbol as a means to taunt, tease or intimidate fellow students, AuMiller said, the flag must go. Fort Hill Principal Steve Lewis banned the flag from being anywhere on school grounds on Friday.

A number of parents expressed frustration that school administrators didn't give the alleged perpetrators a fair hearing before being punished. Others said their children didn't feel welcome at the school. It was an attempt of trying to mix city children with those accustomed to more of a rural lifestyle, they said.

Still others were concerned they didn't have enough communication with school staff. Some blamed school administration or Board of Education staff for letting the situation get out of hand.

Rinehart teaches gym at one city school and one rural school. She teaches the same material but approaches each lesson differently, she said.

"I teach the same lesson two different ways," Rinehart said. "It's two different worlds. Somebody who doesn't do that on a daily basis doesn't have a clue."

"You're pinpointing the redneck kids," said one woman. The meeting was conducted in a manner in which speakers were not required to identify themselves.

Her comment sparked a discussion that indicated white people from rural areas felt the term "redneck" is just as derogatory as the "n" word is for blacks.

AuMiller said the school system's bullying and harassment policy is intended to catch all times of taunts or teasing - but only when school officials know of a situation can they do something about it.

"If we don't talk to each other, we're not going to solve problems," AuMiller said.

After the group agreed some sort of sensitivity training would be an appropriate beginning to a peaceful resolution, Lewis, the principal, said he hoped the exercise would be extended to Washington Middle School, a feeder school for Fort Hill. Otherwise, the same problems are going to crop in a few years, he said.

Lewis also said he hoped the first sensitivity training could be completed before the end of the current school year.

"We need to get one session done," Lewis said.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.



For related stories, click the following links:

Confederate flag tense topic

Messages lead to police presence

Racism at Fort Hill behind complaint

Intimidation continues

'We've crossed the line'

Slurs spread over the Internet