WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC-Rebel flag appears at Gaston school, soon disappears

Rebel flag appears at Gaston school, soon disappears

DALLAS, NC (WBTV)- Dallas residents woke up Saturday to find obscenities and a rebel flag painted on the "Spirit Rock" in front of North Gaston High School.

While officials had painted over the images by 10 am, it still had concerned parents flooding our newsroom with calls and e-mails.

It's just the latest in a string of issues involving race relations at the school, made public after the appearance of a rebel flag on the flagpole last week.

A day after the flag incident, African American student Devante Long wore a Barack Obama T-shirt to school.  He claims his white classmates called him the "N-word" followed by a disturbance. Long and three other students were suspended for five days because of the argument, not because of the T-Shirt, the school said.

Earlier this week, a note was sent out telling students to adhere to the dress code. Several parents told WBTV their children went to school Thursday with rebel-flagged T-shirts and had to change clothes.

A white student was suspended Thursday after a verbal altercation with an African American student.

As for Long, he's slated to return to school Monday.

No one was available at the school to take our calls Saturday.