MARYLAND – Earlier tonight, The Allegany County Board of Education denied an appeal by The Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization in which it sought to provide the district schoolchildren with a brochure educating them on the many historic Confederate flags and their meanings.  

     The organization had previously been granted approval by the county’s superintendant of schools to distribute the literature and had paid for its publication out of their own funds.  The Superintendant then reneged on his approval and refused to allow the distribution of the educational brochure after they had already been delivered to the schools.  His reason for not allowing their dispersal was they were “Covered in religious symbols”.  The Board of Education also has refused to refund the organization the money it has spent to have the brochures printed.

     I can only guess that by the Superintendant’s statement that the brochure was “Covered in religious symbols” that he must have meant the pictures of the flags themselves.  Most Confederate flags contain Christian imagery! Examples of this are the famous Saint Andrew’s Cross of the Battle flag of Northern Virginia and the Roman Crosses of the Missouri Battle Flag and the flag of the 3rd Kentucky Mounted Infantry. These flags contain Christian Imagery because they are indeed Christian Flags and were carried by the armies of a nation that had declared itself to be a “Christian Nation”! The symbols were placed upon its flags to emphasize that they were fighting against what they saw as the invasion of a Godless and heathenistic Federal army that sought to impose its will upon the South.  You might have noticed by the distinct lack of God in our schools today that they unfortunately were not successful.

                                            Missouri Battle Flag

3rd Kentucky Mounted Infantry

     It is absolutely ludicrous that the Superintendant of Schools would deny the education of the counties children on this basis.  It is no different from him refusing to educate children about art history because some of the paintings contain religious imagery.  This whole thing smacks of someone looking for any conceivable excuse to back out of something they had already agreed to do.

I implore you to contact the School Board of Allegany County Maryland to let them know your opinion on this travesty of justice. 

Contact Information

Superintendant David A. Cox can be reached at 301-759-2000 or by emailing him at ”david.cox@acps.k12.md.us”.