A&EHey—not everyone was happy, happy, happy about at Queen Creek High School's "Redneck Day."
Now, the feds are planning to investigate the Arizona school's Duck Dynasty-inspired event that took place on May 1, 2013. One student wore a Confederate flag to the event, offending fellow students and civil rights activists. Because of this, the Department of Education is, per Azcentral.com, looking into whether "Redneck Day" created "a racially hostile environment."
The DOE stated that "the display of the Confederate flag concerns rights protected by the First Amendment," which includes the right to freedom of speech. They noted, however, that the investigation's scope "will be limited to whether a racially hostile environment was created due to language and actions that were not protected by the First Amendment."
According to Tom Lindsey, superintendent of the Queen Creek Unified School District, the student wearing the Confederate flag had "no ill intent."
Lindsey explained, per USA Today, the student was pulled aside and asked to remove the flag. He also noted that the student was originally from a state where the Confederate flag was much more prevalent, noting, "It was explained to him that in Arizona, we look at it differently."
"We apologize to any people who, because of the word [redneck], were offended," Lindsey added.
Reverend Jarrett Maupin, a prominent civil rights activist in Phoenix, is optimistic that the investigation of this incident will enable schools to avoid a repeat of this controversy in the future. Maupin said the Department of Education's investigation will "determine the remedy, including moderating conversations between school administrators and civil rights community leaders, to shape new policy and racism prevention measures."