The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission agreed with a complainant who claimed that his coworker wearing the Gadsden flag (more popularly known as the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag) was a form of racial harassment.
The complainant, who is black, objected to his coworker wearing a cap with the flag, a patriotic and anti-tyranny icon dating back to the Revolutionary War. The man stated that he “found the cap to be racially offensive to African Americans because the flag was designed by Christopher Gadsden, a ‘slave trader & owner of slaves.’” He also argues the flag is a “historical indicator of white resentment against blacks stemming largely from the Tea Party.”