By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Somali flag flown outside Vermont school building over Trump 'garbage' slur brings threats
US VT SCHOOL SOMALI FLAG 20251212cr_1920x1080.jpg
A Vermont school district is receiving racist and threatening messages after raising a Somali flag at a school building last week to show support for its Somali students in response to remarks by President Trump about Minnesota’s Somali community. - photo by AP Video: Amanda Swinhart
WINOOSKI, Vt. (AP) — A small school district in Vermont was hit with racist and threatening calls and messages after a Somali flag was put up a week ago in response to President Donald Trump referring to Minnesota’s Somali community as “ garbage." The Winooski School District began to display the flag Dec. 5 to show solidarity with a student body that includes about 9% people of Somali descent. “We invited our students and community to come together for a little moment of normalcy in a sea of racist rhetoric nationally,” said Winooski School District Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria, himself a Nicaraguan immigrant.