Southern Heritage Links

March 8, 2001 - The Sixth Circuit, United States Court of Appeals today reversed and remanded a district court ruling in the case of Castorina vs Madison County School Board. In this case, the principal of the Madison Central High School had twice suspended students for wearing Hank Williams t-shirts bearing images of Confederate Battle Flags and other Southern icons. The parents of the students were never allowed to address the site-based council or the school board on the matter, and were left with no recourse but the courts. In a summary judgment, the district court ruled in favor of the school system,saying that the symbols on the shirts were not protected speech. The 6th Circuit flatly overturned this argument, stating it appears that the school board enforced the dress code in an uneven and viewpoint-specific manner, thereby violating core values of the First Amendment.The court also said, the school board cannot single out Confederate flags for special treatment while allowing other controversial racial and political symbols to be displayed. Persecution of Southerners and Southern heritage has increased dramatically in recent years,said Don Shelton of Nicholasville, Commander of the Kentucky Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, it is reassuring to know that we can still turn to the courts for constitutional protection.

Every attempt was made to settle out-of-court, Shelton continued, but now that we have gone through the legal process, this decision by the 6th Circuit creates case law which I hope school systems in Kentucky and elsewhere will respect without the need for further legal action. I also hope the media will cover this victory for the first amendment and Southern heritage as much as they covered the case initially.

The Kentucky Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, has supported the case from its inception, and will continue to support it to its conclusion. The Sons of Confederate Veterans is a non-profit organization of male descendants of honorably discharged Confederate soldiers, sailors and marines. Internationally, the SCV has 30,000 members; in Kentucky there are 800 members in 31 local. For further information contact:

Don Shelton
110 Apple Grove
Nicholasville, KY 40356
(859) 885-3248
(859) 266-5603
sheltonreb@qx.net

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