Sixth-grader charged in Pledge of Allegiance incident

Child called flag racist, national anthem offensive to blacks

A student from a Tampa suburb is facing misdemeanor charges after an apparent confrontation with his teacher who wanted him to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

The 11-year-old refused to recite the pledge, telling his teacher that he believes the flag is racist and America’s national anthem is offensive to black people, according to a Bay News 9 report that cited a statement the teacher gave to district officials. The teacher, who was substituting at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Fla., then had what appeared to be a contentious exchange with the sixth-grader.

If living in the United States “was so bad,” why not go to another place to live? the teacher asked the student, according to the statement cited by Bay News 9.

“They brought me here,” the boy replied.

The teacher responded by saying, “Well you can always go back, because I came here from Cuba and the day I feel I’m not welcome here anymore I would find another place to live.”

The teacher said in the statement that she called the district office because she did not want to keep dealing with the student, Bay News 9 reported.

The student was later charged with disruption of a school facility and resisting an officer without violence, Gary Gross, a spokesman for the Lakeland Police Department, told The Washington Post.

An arrest affidavit cited by Bay News 9 says that the student repeatedly called school officials racist and threatened to beat the teacher.

The student’s mother, Dhakira Talbot, denied those accusations.