New Jersey Student, Suspended For Wearing Confederate Flag Sweatshirt

It goes without saying that wearing historically racist symbols should never be in vogue, right? Well, 14-year-old Torri Albrecht had to learn that lesson the hard way.

The eighth-grader from New Jersey says she was suspended from Melvin H. Kreps Middle School for wearing a Confederate flag sweatshirt to class. But she later said she was suspended for being "disrespectful in her refusal to take it off."

Albrecht, who was born in Virginia and lived there for only a year, believes that the Confederate flag is simply a representation of Southern heritage and that school is at fault for making her remove it. Jane West, Albrecht's mother, stands by her daughter's clothing choice and has threatened to sue. Albrecht has received online death threats after she began to make news.

"The bottom line is there's no proof that anyone complained about the sweatshirt or that my daughter was disrespectful about taking it off. The only thing I have proof of is that Blount lied to me," West told the Times of Trenton. 

Now West is demanding a formal apology to her daughter, a repeal of the suspension and permission to transfer Albrecht to another school in the district. "If I can't get those things I'm suing," she says.
This isn't the first time a fashion faux pas has gotten Albrecht into trouble. Last year she was approached by school officials for sporting an "I love boobies" bracelet and then again last month for wearing cat ears and whiskers on Halloween.

West says that she and her daughter are "far from racist." When asked by an ABC news anchor if she knew the racially charged history behind the flag, Albrecht replied "I don't pay attention. I don't know."
Sidenote: It doesn't help that Albrecht is sporting a version of the new haircut many are calling the "Hitler Youth" in the video above.

Source; Huffingpost.com