California college board retracts removal of Pledge of Allegiance
Issues@Hand
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April 2019 – The Board of Trustees of Santa Barbara City College decided to no longer recite the Pledge of Allegiance prior to each meeting. Robert Miller, president of the board since early January, took full responsibility for the decision to discontinue recitation of the Pledge because he felt its history was “steeped in expressions of nativism and white nationalism.” Miller also objected to the phrase “one nation under God.”
It was not the first time recitation of the Pledge was omitted during SBCC’s live-streamed board meetings. In fact, former SBCC adjunct professor Celeste Barber witnessed its omission as early as spring 2018 and voiced opposition to its removal in writing and at several board meetings.
Regarding Miller’s recent action, Barber was not the only person who voiced outrage. Following public opposition, expressed loudly and openly during the board’s January 24 meeting, Miller temporarily reversed his decision.
