“Tommy DeFoe wore his Southern pride on his Confederate flag belt buckle Wednesday as he argued in federal court that a school dress code banning such items violated his free speech rights. ‘I am fighting for my heritage and my rights as a Southerner and an American,’ the lanky DeFoe, 18, said during a break in the trial that started Monday in his lawsuit against the Anderson County School Board and several county education officials. DeFoe’s lawsuit is the latest in a string of cases across the South since the 1990s challenging dress codes that ban Confederate flag apparel: a prom gown in Kentucky, purses in Texas, T-shirts in Kentucky, South Carolina and Georgia. … The all-white jury in DeFoe’s case deliberated two hours and will resume work today.” (08/14/08)