Remember the controversy over the confederate flag in Natchitoches during their Christmas parade?
A lawsuit over the issue has officially been filed in court.
Confederate flag supporters and members of the International Keystone Knights oppose an NAACP rally at Ole Miss. The NAACP sponsored the rally in an effort to remove the Mississippi state flag from the campus. (Credit: The Daily Mississippian)
The lawsuit was filed in federal court last Thursday by the Sons of the Confederate Veterans.
The group had marched in the Christmas parade for 25 years, until last year, when the Natchitoches mayor, Lee Posey, made the decision to ban the flag from the popular Christmas parade.
Posey said his decision came from meetings with the community, in which he felt the general consensus was that the flag expressed hate, racism and intolerance.
The lawsuit claims that Posey’s decision violated their first and 14th amendment rights.
Thomas Taylor was the commander at the time of the parade, and is spearheading the lawsuit in court now.
“We are sick and tired of our rights being trampled on.We hope to see our rights restored. This is a tax payer funded event,” said Taylor in a phone interview with KTBS. He resides in Morehouse Parish.
Mayor Posey had said he offered to allow the Sons of the Confederate Veterans to fly any flag but the battle flag. But the group declined and decided not take part in the parade, because they said flying other flags wouldn’t be historically correct.
The mayor’s decision came months after the racially charged killings of African Americans in South Carolina last June.
Mayor Posey clarified during a press conference in November that the flag was not banned from being shown by spectators in the street, just from being part of the parade itself.
While the Sons of Confederate Veterans decided not to march in the parade without their battle flag, the group says they did hand out hundreds of miniature flags and Koozies out to the crowds during the parade.
Former commander Taylor says he hopes to find a resolution with the city in time for this year’s Christmas parade, and says they intend to march in the parade with their battle flag.
Posey could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit as of newstime on Monday.
