In 2020, the spirit rock at Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, was painted with BLM slogans and iconography after George Floyd died in Minneapolis. At the time, local media reported about how the rock was defaced just a few days after students completed the work.
Now Ardrey Kell High School and its spirit rock are back in the news because students painted it to honor Charlie Kirk.
Principal at Ardrey Kell High School, NC says the spirit rock is “under investigation” after it was painted with a tribute to Charlie Kirk.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 15, 2025
In 2020 it was painted for George Floyd and was celebrated.
Cannot make this up
.@ArdreyKellHS you should be ashamed of yourselves. pic.twitter.com/zvhwsYhXv3
Here's more from Queen City News:
The father of one of the students who helped paint the rock, and wanted to remain anonymous, spoke with Queen City News, saying his daughter and two of her friends got approval before painting the message, which he said was meant to honor political commentator Charlie Kirk and his family following what he described as Kirk’s “brutal murder.”
“My daughter and her friends received permission to paint the school rock in front of Ardrey Kell HS,” the father said. “Then this email goes out to all the parents from the principal.”
He’s referring to a message sent by Principal Jamie Nichols, who told parents the school learned over the weekend that the rock had been painted with a message “not authorized or approved by the school or district.”
Nichols also said, "Acts like these are considered vandalism to school property and are in violation of the CMS Code of Student Conduct. If students were responsible for the vandalism, they may be disciplined." Nichols also added that enforcement had been contacted.
The double standard in the use of spirit rock did not go unnoticed.
Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte NC
— T Bradley (@TBradleyNC) September 15, 2025
BLM rock: Lessons in persistence
Charlie Kirk rock: Vandalism pic.twitter.com/cnqcTcFsAs
Others noted the reaction probably violates the First Amendment:
That is a straight up violation of the first amendment
— (((Aaron Walker))) (@AaronWorthing) September 15, 2025
These rocks are basically a classic first amendment forum. Because it is school grounds some limitations can be applied such as decency and all that, but there’s no way that a school can rightfully stop people from painting… https://t.co/DDZguSdPNp
The entire post reads:
These rocks are basically a classic first amendment forum. Because it is school grounds some limitations can be applied such as decency and all that, but there’s no way that a school can rightfully stop people from painting a simple tribute to a person who died.
Over the last week, public educators haven't exactly covered themselves in glory with how they've responded to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. One teacher was suspended for showing students a video of the shooting and allegedly saying Kirk "deserved it." In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis warned educators to "govern yourselves accordingly" and that any Department of Education employee who celebrates Kirk's death would be investigated.
Here's hoping the outcry over spirit rock will lead to a satisfactory outcome for these Ardrey Kell High School students.