A Difference Between the Xs

Recently I’ve had a certain incident from my childhood come to mind from time to time. At first, I couldn’t figure out why I kept recalling this incident and remembering how it felt, but then it occurred to me that it very well could be that this incident that took place when I was in the 7th grade keeps popping into my head and recurring to me over and over again because of the current political climate in our country.

At the middle school I went to in Central Virginia, we had a really big issue with racial conflicts during my 7th grade year. The atmosphere was tense that year from early on. There were several fights, which almost all seemed to be between people of differing races, and several incidents in which slurs and hate speech were exchanged between students.

A few of these fights were really bad; some people were seriously hurt and injured, and a few of the verbal exchanges and attacks that I heard about were no less than heinous as well. None of these incidents are what I remember most about the race issues we had when I was in middle school though. What I remember most is actually an act that was carried out by our school administration.

Around this time, the movie X had come out about Malcolm X, by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington. Clothes and hats with an X on them were a fashion statement, or a statement in general at the time. The movie had a lot to do with the idea and the ideas of Malcolm X, and Malcolm X as a figure being very popular circa 1992.

What also became popular there then, or maybe it was always popular there and I just never realized it, was wearing gear that showed the Confederate Flag, or which featured Confederate Flag themes. I realized this was happening and could somewhat perceive the combativeness in what it could mean, but I never thought the outcome that took place as a result would’ve been the outcome before it actually became the outcome.

The school administration announced that both Malcolm X gear, or gear featuring the signature “X” representing him and the movie, and gear featuring the Confederate Flag could no longer be worn to school by students. Maybe the term of the restriction was actually for the remainder of the school year; I don’t one hundred percent remember that part or what exactly the punishment or penalty was for disregarding the rule, but I do remember what we could be reprimanded for very vividly.

I’m not positive about what made the administrators decide to take that action; I don’t know what made them choose this particular thing to try to enforce to calm the tensions amongst students, but even then, I remember feeling that choosing this solution was an interesting choice of remedies. Was restricting what we wear going to stop us from knowing who was on what side of this situation?

I’d heard about this type of thing before at public schools in other places where they had problems with violence. Students in certain places weren’t allowed to wear certain colors or certain types of clothing, or symbols that identified what side they were on in known ongoing conflicts between rival factions. I could see why that made sense in those situations, but I couldn’t see this as the best solution for us. In my opinion, it was safe to say that there were plenty of other factors that came into play in this scenario that identified where we stood.

Perhaps the school administration made their decision on a basis as simple as this symbol is one that offends White people, so we should disallow it, and this symbol is one that offends Black people, so we’ll disallow that; issue addressed. Maybe they even went as deep as to base it on the idea that one symbol represents a nationalistic movement that supported violence and hate toward a race of people to further its cause, and the other is a symbol of supporting an old way of life that supported oppression and slavery; so neither should be condoned, and that’s understandable.

At that point in time, that decision didn’t quite feel right to me, though I don’t know that I would’ve gone against that decision myself had I been a member of the administration; I should admit that. Now, however, at 44, I think I have a better sense of why I was uneasy about that decision.

Throughout history, nationalistic movements have happened, and in concept and theory, most of them haven’t been so different from one that I’m witnessing take place right now. A group of people wholeheartedly believes in their cause, and a generous segment of them would go to almost any lengths necessary to support that cause. I could site two specific incidents to strongly support that argument, and I could think of several more incidents I’d consider large-scale actions that were and have been taken in that same spirit.

The difference between nationalistic movements is usually the cause, which tends to dictate the people who support it. Another rather frequent consistency between these movements is that throughout history, at least in America, the actions associated with supporting these causes have largely been viewed as lawfully protected political speech, meaning this speech cannot be banned in public spaces; even if it offends people. I haven’t heard of any red hats or 45 gear being banned in any public spaces recently.

The Confederacy was a bit more than a nationalistic movement, however. It was a secessionist movement that formed its own government and went to war against The Union, it’s self-proclaimed former government and country; also known as the United States.

I feel like we’ve come a long way since 1992 in this country. I don’t really know how a situation like this would be handled if it were to take place today, but I’d like to think that our school administration might’ve at least come to a decision on how to handle a situation like this differently today in 2024.