In Austin, Texas, Mayor Steve Adler won’t be marching in Saturday’s Veteran’s Day parade because groups marching in the parade will be carrying the Confederate battle flag.
“Symbols of racism, Civil War secession, and white supremacy should not be forgotten or erased, but they need to be remembered and studied in museums and classrooms, not cheered and applauded in parades,” said Adler.
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Adler said in a statement that Veterans Day should only be about honoring United States Miliary Veterans.”Symbols of racism, Civil War secession, and white supremacy should not be forgotten or erased, but they need to be remembered and studied in museums and classrooms, not cheered and applauded in parades,” Adler said.In an interview, Adler said, “there are people in our community that feel great pain associated with having the confederate flag in the parade.”He also added this is a personal decision that was a hard choice to make.The Austin Veterans Day Parade Committee said in a statement that they understand that “some in our community consider the Confederate battle flag as a negative symbol, and therefore voted unanimously to ban the flag from the parade.””We also understand that Mayor Adler met with the veteran Confederate groups and was of the belief that they had worked out a compromise for both of them to participate in the parade,” the committee said in a statement.However, the mayor’s office said Mayor Adler informed the parade committee of his decision back in September.
In lieu of walking in the parade, Adler will spend the day volunteering at the Central Texas Food Bank which serves a large veteran population.
Editor’s Note: Post title originally read as “Confederate Battle Flag.” That was inaccurate. Groups agreed not to cary the battle flag in this parade. Title has been changed for accuracy.
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