An 11-year-old Florida boy was arrested this month after a dispute with a substitute teacher over his refusal to participate in the pledge of allegiance at his school, it has emerged. The student at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Florida, was arrested on 4 February for creating a disruption in the classroom, police said in a statement. The boy, who is black said he would not stand “because the flag of this country was racist”, and said he considered the national anthem “offensive to black people”, the teacher said in a statement to authorities.
— source theguardian.com | 20 Feb 2019