Confederate Flag Prompts Black Lives Matter Protest at Manatee High

BRADENTON, FL — Teens at Manatee High School showed their disapproval of a fellow student’s decision to bring a Confederate flag on campus Wednesday by staging a peaceful protest before classes Thursday.

A large group of students, all donning black, gathered before the first bell in a school courtyard to stage the Black Lives Matter protest, the Bradenton Herald reported. When that bell did finally ring, the students ended the protest and moved on to their classes, the paper noted.

The student who brought the flag Wednesday, which also appeared to have "Trump 2016" on it, reportedly handed it over when school officials asked. The flag was brought on campus during the school's Spirit Week celebration.

A tweet posted Wednesday showed the flag:

Students who participated in Thursday’s protest took to Twitter to share the experience via social media.

“The feeling and energy was amazing,” wrote one student.

Former students also had a few a few words to say.

The Confederate flag has come under heavy fire in recent years with many saying it is a symbol of racism. Many counties across Florida removed Confederate flag displays from government centers following the June 17, 2015, shooting in Charleston, S.C., that left nine black churchgoers dead.

The Charleston shootings created a national cry for the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces. Accused shooter Dylann Roof, 21, was associated with the flag courtesy of an online posting in which photos of the man posing with a Confederate flag were found.

Read more about Thursday's protest on the Bradenton Herald.

Image credit: Richard Elzey via Flickr