College Reinstates Pledge of Allegiance After Initial Claims It Was Based on 'White Nationalism'

Steve Warren
01-29-2019

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The president of the board of trustees at a California college has restored the Pledge of Allegiance at board meetings after a fiery public response.

Robert Miller, the president of the Santa Barbara City College Board of Trustees, had previously "decided to discontinue use of the Pledge of Allegiance for reasons related to its history and symbolism," according to an email to former SBCC instructor Celeste Barber obtained exclusively by Campus Reform.

However, a statement released Tuesday by Miller shows he has decided to reverse that position.

"Effective immediately, the Pledge of Allegiance will be recited at Board of Trustee meetings until some future date when the matter may be considered by the Board. This decision, which restores the status quo, follows an appeal for reinstatement from members of the public who raised important issues at the January 24 board meeting," Miller wrote in the statement posted to the college's Facebook page. 

"While the College recognizes that there are different opinions about the Pledge of Allegiance, it expects that the First Amendment rights of members of the public to comment at board meetings will be respected. It is inconsistent with those rights for other audience members to interrupt and mock speakers on this topic, as happened at the January 24 Board meeting," the statement continued.

At the Jan. 24 meeting, Barber reminded the board what the Pledge of Allegiance represents during the time set aside for public comment, according to Campus Reform. 

"You are an elected body at a public institution serving a community college," Barber said while protesters shouted in the meeting. "When you recite the Pledge of Allegiance, you are recommitting your oath to uphold and defend this country's Constitution."

One Twitter user posted a photo of Barber after seeing a television news story on the board meeting.

"This poor teacher got Shut Down while she cried and recited the Pledge of Allegiance in protest of her School doing Away with it! Like many of us, She is saddened to See where Our Great country has gone... #WakeUpAmerica #GodBlessAmerica," the user wrote.

Meanwhile, Facebook has suspended a University of Georgia teaching assistant who's come under fire for racist statements about white people.

Teacher Irami Ose-Frimpong announced his 30-day suspension from the social media site on Saturday. The suspension came following a post he made to the social media site on Jan. 22 in which he wrote: "Some white people may have to die for black people to be free."

The statement wasn't the first one Ose-Frimpong had made. The teacher had also compared white people to autistic kids and white gun owners to terrorists.

Campus Reform reports the university is exploring legal options and his future employment. 

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About The Author

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News. Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion. A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory. It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of
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