CLINTON CITY COUNCIL: Juneteenth flag can fly on city property

Jun. 16—CLINTON — After days of back-and-forth communication between Clinton Juneteenth celebration organizers, Clinton City Council members and city staff, the City Council on Wednesday night gave its formal approval to allow the Juneteenth flag to fly on city property.

The decision came four days before the city's annual Juneteenth festival and after a week of contentious emails that surfaced after the city announced via a June 10 press release that, per city policy, the only flags that could fly on city property are governmental flags. The press release was issued after city staff members denied Juneteenth organizers' request to fly the flag flown on city property in connection with the June 19 federal holiday.

The release issued communitywide through the city's online notification system stated, in part, "The City is committed to the equal treatment of all people and supports the fundamental principles behind the Juneteenth holiday. However, the City's policy is to permit only governmental flags on public property — United States flag, the Iowa state flag, the City Flag and the National League of Families POW/MIA flag, or banners directly related to an approved, city-related program or initiative.

"The City is concerned it will face legal action later if it picks and chooses which groups may fly flags on public property, and once it permits one private group to fly a flag, it must permit all private groups to fly their respective flags as well."

The issuance of the June 10 press release led several Juneteenth organizers to address the City Council on Wednesday night, and caused Ward 2 City Councilman Cody Seeley to add an item to the agenda that allowed the council to vote Wednesday on whether to fly the flag on city property. That motion was approved on a 6-0 vote.

Prior to the vote, several residents said the flag should be flown because of what it stands for — to celebrate emancipation of slaves in Texas in 1865 — and to dignify and unify all members of the community.

Juneteenth celebration organizer Mardell Mommsen, who co-read the Juneteenth proclamation at the start of the meeting, read the names of the several organizations promoting peace through the celebration, calling the city out for describing the Juneteenth organizational group as private when so many are involved.

She also said it was "mind blowing" how quickly a city press release detailing the city's refusal to fly the Juneteenth flag was issued to the community, and "to my knowledge without the Mayor and City Council members being consulted." She asked the council to approve flying the Juneteenth flag on city property in connection with the federal holiday and every year going forward.

Several others spoke to the council about the need to fly the Juneteenth flag to show the community is unified and proud of its diversity. One resident specifically referenced LaMetta Wynn, who as Clinton mayor was the first Black female mayor elected in Iowa, and Duke Slater, a 1916 Clinton High School graduate and nationally known football star who faced discrimination in his sport because of his race.

"Do her the honor of allowing this," she said of Wynn. "Duke Slater deserves this.... David Johnson, one of our newest celebrities, who attended the school where Duke Slater's statue is going."

"Let's make positive steps forward and honor all of our citizens within our city, and with pride and dignity," she said.

Several others echoed her statements, including Ted Tornow, who as the Clinton LumberKings' general manager oversees the stadium, a city-owned property with flag poles. He admonished the council for not allowing the flag to fly, referenced the Duke Slater Statue Committee of which he is a member, and told the council: "We can do better than this. You people can do better than this".

Another issue brought up by several of those addressing the council was the city policy referenced in the city's press release. They said they were unable to find it and one was not produced to them when they requested it from the city.

City Attorney Pat O'Connell said that's where the problem is: That the city had not created a policy but instead defaulted to a standard policy.

"What we need is a policy, which we don't have written up yet," O'Connell said. "What we need is a flag policy that allows Juneteenth."

The council, O'Connell said, needs to determine if it wants to allow only the four flags it listed in the press release or to make a list of the flags it will allow and set that list in the policy. He said the reason the city followed the policy referenced in the release was to prevent flags that don't meet community standards, such as a Nazi flag, to fly.

That's when some residents took to the podium to object to O'Connell's reference to the Juneteenth flag and the Nazi flag.

"Juneteenth and Nazi? Don't go hand and hand. You can use a better reference than that one," Clinton Juneteenth celebration founder Tiffany Harris said, adding the Nazi flag doesn't stand for anything, "but Juneteenth stands for everything."

"That's exactly right," O'Connell said.

O'Connell said he emphatically agreed with those supporting flying the Juneteenth flag. He said the Council should take steps to write that into policy and is allowed to do so under its home rule form of government.

Seeley, who made the motion to fly the Juneteenth flag on city property in perpetuity, also said the council needs to create a policy to determine which flags should be flown and must create a press release policy.