The move was made to show support for Somali students and families, expressed officials of the Winooski School District.
"We are raising the Somali flag this week in honor of our Somali youth and families in Winooski and Vermont," the Winooski School District said in a Facebook post on Dec. 5. "On Monday, we will be gathering to celebrate together and to learn more about our civil rights."
But it comes on the heels of the fraud story from Minnesota reporting millions of dollars meant for welfare were channeled to terrorist groups in Somalia.
“They describe it as a harmless gesture of inclusion. It was a response to President (Donald) Trump's statement about garbage immigrants from Somalia. So, in other words this is a political reaction, which schools should stay out of,” says Laurie Higgins, a culture-education writer for Breakthrough Ideas.
The blowback was so bad that the school took down their website, according to Breitbart News. Higgins says the flag-raising was a completely inappropriate political statement.
“Maybe some of it will be good that it's taken down. Now that it's generated a big controversy, maybe students will learn what might be problematic about this. Is this the job of the school to make people feel good about their culture?"
The Facebook post continued, "The Somali flag is being flown for one week as a gesture of support for our Somali students and families. Winooski is a proudly diverse community, and we are committed to recognizing and uplifting all of the cultures that make our district stronger."
Winooski made headlines two years ago after becoming the second city in the country with an all-LGBTQ city council, according to OutKick.
