A small school district in Vermont has found itself at the center of a national storm after raising the Somali flag in a gesture meant to support its students. The Winooski School District began flying the flag on December 5 as a show of solidarity with its Somali community, which makes up about nine percent of its student population. The move followed comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, who referred to Minnesota’s Somali community as “garbage,” remarks that sparked outrage and concern across the country.
What started as a message of unity quickly drew an ugly backlash. Within days, the district was flooded with racist phone calls, threatening voicemails, and hostile social media posts directed at staff and students. The volume and severity of the harassment became so intense that school officials were forced to temporarily shut down phone lines and even take the district’s website offline to protect employees from further abuse.
Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria, himself an immigrant from Nicaragua, said the intention behind the flag was simple: to create a sense of belonging and calm for students in the middle of a tense national climate. He explained that the Somali flag was flown alongside the United States and Vermont flags, not in place of them, but videos circulating online deliberately cropped out that context. Those clips spread rapidly through right-wing social media spaces, fueling anger and misinformation.
Inside the school community, the response was very different. Somali students reportedly cheered and applauded when they saw the flag, telling administrators it meant a great deal to feel seen and supported. For many families, however, the threats that followed brought fear. Mukhtar Abdullahi, a multilingual liaison who works closely with Somali-speaking families, said students have begun asking whether their immigrant parents are safe. He stressed that no human being, regardless of background, deserves to be dehumanized, adding that the strength of the community has been a source of comfort amid the chaos.
As the threats continued, the district began working closely with law enforcement, and additional police officers were stationed at school buildings as a precaution. While the White House distanced President Trump from the harassment, calling it the actions of unrelated individuals, the incident comes at a time when Trump has repeatedly made harsh and racially charged remarks about Somali immigrants. Immigration enforcement efforts have also intensified in Minnesota, home to the largest Somali population in the United States.
Local leaders in Minnesota have pushed back strongly against that narrative. The mayor of Minneapolis has pointed out that Somali Americans have built businesses, created jobs, and enriched the city’s cultural life. Most are U.S. citizens, and more than half of Minnesota’s Somali population was born in the country.
For Winooski, what was meant to be a small, symbolic act has become a stark reminder of the divisions shaping national discourse. Still, district leaders and community members say they are standing firm, choosing solidarity over silence and unity over fear, even as the spotlight grows hotter.