With the support of their school board, students at a predominantly white high school in Vermont raised the Black Lives Matter flag, in February. The school community did so, in spite of warnings that it might divide the progressively liberal small town, at a time when national tensions around issues of race, justice and inequality are heightened. But Montpelier hasn’t erupted in unrest over the flag. In interviews, students and staff tell Mic they are feeling more empowered than they’ve ever felt. The flag has sparked nuanced discussions among students and staff about privilege and race. And there’s evidence that raising the flag could soon become a national movement.
