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==Election & main riot==
[[Image:EscambiaHighRiot2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Non-student Raymond Lindsay is arrested for aggravated assaulted]]
On [[February 4]], [[1976]], an impromptu school election was held in which students were allowed to vote to either keep the name as "Raiders" or change the name back to "Rebels." The students who preferred "Rebels" failed to secure a [[Wikipedia:supermajority|supermajority]] needed to win the ballot. White students complained the vote was "unfair" because there had not been enough advance notice. The vote was held on senior skip day, resulting in a large number of students being absent from school that day for the vote.
The next day, hundreds of white students gathered outside the school and attempted to hoist a [[Confederate flag]] on the flagpole. After black students in the school lobby saw the display, a riot erupted. In the ensuing violence, which lasted for four hours, around 30 students were injured and four were shot, including football team quarterback [[Keith Hughes]].
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Link title]]5. King, Wayne (1976-03-07). "Racial Animosity Turns to Violence in Pensacola, Fla., on Issue of Calling High School Teams 'Rebels'". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-05. [[Link title]]6. Pensacola News Journal article dated July 14, 1977. "Board turns down Klan meeting plea" by Journal Staff writer Marry Barrineau
[[Category:Demonstrations & unrest]] [[Category:Race relations]] [[Category:Escambia County School District]]
