Gina Heslop
A Virginia high school student, William Norman, was asked by his teacher to redo his ceramic hand sculpture after she claimed that the words painted on it promoted racism. The words read, “Robert E. Lee, history not hate”, which had initially received support from the teacher.
However, a few days later, the teacher changed her mind and asked Norman to redo his project. The school then informed Norman that he would receive an F if he did not change his project. Norman refused to change it, stating that he had worked too hard on it.
Norman’s parents eventually got involved and informed the school that Robert E. Lee was their third cousin. Norman’s project was about heritage, not racism.
David Norman, William’s father, said that their family’s bloodline went way back when America first started and that neither he nor his son were racist. After this revelation, Norman was finally allowed to display his artwork. The Accomack County Public School has not commented on the matter yet.
