The Boys in Red Hats

“The smirk heard round the world.”

On January 18, 2019, 17-year old Nick Sandmann, a student at the affluent Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky, was internationally villainized on social media and in the 24-hour news cycle as he and his classmates appeared to confront Native American elder Nathan Phillips on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. during a March for Life rally. Video clips of the interaction went viral overnight and Sandmann and his classmates faced worldwide outrage as the entire Covington Catholic community became the center of uncomfortable conversations about racism, privilege and politics.