Should Confederate imagery be part of a Christmas parade? Knoxville organizers think so

Every year at the Christmas parade in downtown Knoxville, there's one float that chills the holiday cheer: the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

The group calls itself a heritage organization that honors the men who fought for the South during the Civil War. But to countless others – including Black Americans and those with knowledge of East Tennessee's deep support for the Union during the war − the group is viewed as supporting white supremacy and distorting our nation's history.

The parade's guidelines for participants are clear: "No overtly political message are permitted in the parade."

To Sons of Confederate Veterans critics, the group's cause and politics are impossible to separate.

City responds to Confederate imagery in parade

The Christmas parade, while promoted by city officials, is organized by local radio station WIVK.

Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 87 was part of the parade down Gay Street on Friday night alongside 113 other participants, from the Austin-East Magnet High School marching band to the Girl Scouts of the Southern Appalachians.

"Essentially, we provide road closures, traffic support and crowd safety," city spokeswoman Kristin Farley told Knox News in an email.

Farley's office has received one complaint about the Sons of Confederate Veterans' participation this year prior to Friday's parade. After following up with the radio station, Farley said, the city was told by WVIK the group could not be denied participation in the parade because of First Amendment rights.

But that's not accurate. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that a private organizer like WIVK legally can decide which groups and messages can be included in the parade.

Farley said the station has asked the organization to not fly the flag, which has been deemed a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League. The group's float placard in years past have included the Confederate battle flag, the symbol most often associated with the Confederacy in modern times, and did again Friday.

"The argument that the Confederate flag and other displays represent 'heritage, not hate' ignores the near-universal heritage of African Americans whose ancestors were enslaved by the millions in the South," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. "It trivializes their pain, their history and their concerns about racism - whether it’s the racism of the past or that of today."

The Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 87 and WIVK did not immediately respond to Knox News' request for comment.

Knoxville debates, remembers pro-Union past

Parade participation by Knoxvillians from all walks of life illustrate shared community pride, with sometimes-conflicting groups coming together for the holidays.

But the Confederate flag still is a dark reminder of our nation's racist history for many Americans, including those who watched in horror as it waved during the January 2021 insurrection of the U.S. capitol.

A post in Knoxville's Reddit community sparked a local debate following last year's Christmas parade, with 246 comments weighing in on the post criticizing Sons of Confederate Veteran participation − a post that received 75% upvotes.

Some users were quick to point out guerilla operations that included bridge burnings by East Tennesseans who sympathized with Union efforts during the war.

Roughly 31,000 Tennesseans, primarily from East Tennessee, joined the Union army. This was more than provided by all other Confederate states combined, according to an entry in the Tennessee Encyclopedia, a joint project by the Tennessee Historical Society and the University of Tennessee Press.

Court precedent says Confederate flags can be removed

While the Sons of Confederate Veterans participated in Friday night's parade, a 2020 "reverse" Christmas parade in Arkansas resulted in a lawsuit after Confederate imagery was removed from the event.

The parade, which involved vehicles driving past stationary floats in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, similarly was organized by a private group on the main street of Van Buren with city permits.

The newly implemented "American flags only" rule led to parade board members asking the Sons of the Southern Cross to remove their float depicting silhouettes of kneeling soldiers − one next to a U.S. flag and the other next to a Confederate flag. The float included a sign reading, "Under One God."

A U.S. District Court in Arkansas ruled in favor of the city, stating local government did not prohibit speech by issuing a permit to a private group.

In June 2020, U.S. District Judge William Ray ruled a suburban city near Atlanta did not violate constitutional rights of a Sons of Confederate Veterans group by banning the Confederate battle flag from an annual Old Soldiers Day Parade, according to an Associated Press report.

The ruling, which was upheld by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, stated the parade amounted to government speech.

"Because governments are not obliged under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to permit the presence of a rebellious army’s battle flag in the pro-veterans parades that they fund and organize, we affirm,” Circuit Chief Judge William Pryor wrote in the opinion.

No matter how you slice it, cities and private entities have precedent for asking groups not to include Confederate flags in public celebrations.

Ryan Wilusz, downtown reporter and urban explorer for Knox News, can be reached at 865-317-5138 or by email at ryan.wilusz@knoxnews.com. Follow Ryan's work on Instagram @KnoxScruff, and sign up for the free, weekly Urban Knoxville newsletter. Unlock premium perks and support strong local journalism at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville WIVK Christmas Parade welcomes Sons of Confederate Veterans