Mother left furious as daughter, 14, is suspended by school 'for wearing Confederate sweatshirt'



New Jersey girl Torri Albrecht 'received death threats'

Mum Jane West considering taking her out of school

Torri is from Virginia and says her sweater is not racist



Flag: Torri Albrecht was suspended from school after wearing the sweater

A 14-year-old girl who was suspended from school after wearing a sweater with the Confederate flag on it says she has received death threats.

Torri Albrecht, of East Windsor, New Jersey, claims she was suspended for wearing the sweatshirt after she refused to take it off or turn it inside out.

Her mother Jane West is now considering taking her daughter, who was born in Virginia, out of the school and suing the district over the affair.

‘The Indian kids wear their turbans,’ Ms West told the Times of Trenton. ‘The Jewish kids wear their yarmulkes. That’s their birthright.’

‘That flag is her heritage and I’m not telling her to take it off,’ Ms West said, adding she specifically told Torri to keep the sweater on the right way.

But the school district denied Torri was suspended for wearing the sweater, although its dress code bans clothing creating major disturbances.

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Action: Her mother Jane West, left, is now considering taking her daughter, who was born in Virginia, out of the school and suing the district over the affair

‘We’d rather be proactive than reactive,’ District Superintendent Edward Forsthoffer III told the Times of Trenton.

'The Indian kids wear their turbans. The Jewish kids wear their yarmulkes. That’s their birthright. That flag is her heritage and I’m not telling her to take it off' Jane West, mother

‘Ninety-nine times out of 100, when asked, students say: “OK, I’ll change”. Some want to make an issue of it for ulterior motives.’

The battle flag from the American Civil War in the 19th century offends many people across the U.S. who see it as a racially-charged symbol of slavery.

But Torri denied she was being racist. ‘It shows I am from the South,’ she told CBS 2. ‘I am proud of where I came from and it shows my heritage.’

Upset: Torri Albrecht, of East Windsor, New Jersey, claims she was suspended for wearing the sweater after she refused to take it off or turn it inside out

Now her mother says she wants to take her daughter out of Melvin H. Kreps Middle School and send her to live with her sister in Virginia.

'It shows I am from the South. I am proud of where I came from and it shows my heritage' Torri Albrecht

‘We are so far from prejudiced,’ Ms West told the Times of Trenton. ‘My older daughter is biracial. For Torri this was about expressing herself.’

The Confederate battle flag has been a chief target for groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

It called for a boycott of South Carolina in 2000 for flying the banner over its statehouse. The state moved the flag to a capitol memorial.



In 2003, Georgia replaced its state flag, which included the Confederate battle standard, with one combining other elements from older state flags.

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