A group of East Burke High School students is reacting after part of a mural they created for the school was painted over by school officials.
Funded by a grant from The North Carolina Arts Council, the program paid for an Arts in Education Arts Residency for a variety of projects throughout the campus including murals. At the center of the controversy was a brown fist students said was a reference to “Black Lives Matter” and rainbow-colored butterflies. Students said the butterflies were drawn in support of the LGBTQ community.
On Friday, the section of the mural had been painted over by school officials.
According to a statement released by Burke County Public Schools on Friday, the mural was painted over because, as a school-sponsored expressive activity located on school property, the school is able to “restrict political expression, regardless of viewpoint.”
The district cited laws prohibiting “public schools from using funds to endorse or oppose a political referendum” as a reason for covering over a portion of the mural. BCPS says the move was made in response to “numerous complaints.”
The Morganton News Herald contributed to this article