Booth selling Confederate and Trump flags at MS Coast elementary school sparks uproar

A booth displaying and selling Confederate flags and Donald Trump flags at a Woolmarket Elementary School event caused controversy and uproar among some within the community.

On April 2, the school’s PTO hosted a fair with various vendors, one of whom is known as the “Flag Lady.” She had various flags for sale at her booth, including flags that support Donald Trump, the old Mississippi state flag and rebel flags.

A picture of the booth was posted by Alexis Weathersby, a local mother of two. The post, which she posted to Facebook on April 7, has garnered over 300 comments and 200 shares.

“(Confederate flags) don’t belong in our schools,” Weathersby, who has a child at the school, told the Sun Herald. “It is a symbol of hatred and pain and slavery and trauma … if this was a Nazi flag, it would be a no brainier.”

Weathersby said she reached out to the school’s principal, Kevin Roberts, who was very apologetic. Roberts told Weathersby that the booth being there was mistake and that rules had been put in place to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

Roberts told the Sun Herald that all vendors will be pre-approved by him in the future to prevent situations like this in the future.

In an email, Harrison County School District Public Relations Specialist Trang Pham-Bui acknowledged the flags and said they were not permitted.

“The Harrison County School District does not allow political statements of any kind at school events. The issue at Woolmarket Elementary was addressed as soon as it was brought to the principal’s attention,” Pham-Bui said.