Educator: Would 'Black Lives Matter' T-Shirt Get Same Support As MAGA?

CANTON, GA — A well-respected and long-time educator in the Cherokee County School District has weighed in on the controversy surrounding a River Ridge High School math teacher who has been removed from the classroom after criticizing T-shirts worn by two students adorned with President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan.

Frankie Ferguson Shepherd, the former administrator of the Ralph Bunche School, came before the Cherokee County School Board at its Sept. 14 meeting to "make a statement and ask a question."

Shepherd said she was always told that any clothing worn by a student that was "disruptive" to the classroom or school was a violation of the dress code (Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

With this in mind, Shepherd said if a student wore anything other than Trump's slogan — such as apparel with Hillary Clinton's "I'm With Her" slogan, Black Lives Matter or any other statement — "I wonder if those students would be treated the way these students were."

"I hope that it would be fair," he said of the treatment of students wearing shirts, regardless of their political, social or economic messages.

Shepherd's sentiments come just days after the Cherokee County School District said Lyn Orletsky was removed from the classroom after she was caught on video sharing her views on Trump's campaign slogan.

"Ms. Orletsky no longer is your child’s math teacher, effective immediately," a letter authorized to be sent by Superintendent Brian Hightower and signed by River Ridge Principal Darrell Herring said. "We have assigned a substitute teacher and are searching for a knowledgeable and experienced educator to teach these classes for the rest of the school year."

Orletsky landed in hot water late last month when a video surfaced on Thursday, Aug. 31 of her espousing her beliefs in front of her students. She expressed personal opinions about the president as well as his Make America Great Campaign slogan, and told two students who were wearing the shirts with the phrase that the apparel was not allowed in her classroom.

In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Orletsky said she believed the slogan would be harmful to minority students in light of white supremacists marching in Charlottesville, Virginia, and chanting the phrase during their demonstration. Readers recall a woman counter-protesting the march was killed and others were injured when a white supremacist behind the wheel of a vehicle plowed into the crowd.

Orletsky told the newspaper that she requested the two students wearing the pro-Trump shirts to turn them inside out because she didn't think it would be appropriate given the recent events. You can read more of Orletsky's interview by clicking here.

The Cherokee County School District backed the students, informing the teacher, its entire workforce and the community that not only were her assumptions about dress code wrong, but that she was in violation in federal and state laws that prohibit employees from taking in activities such as sharing their personal political opinions with students during performance of their job duties and responsibilities.

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