The town of Wake Forest, North Carolina has announced the cancellation of its annual Christmas parade, due to threats of violence from protesters over the parade’s inclusion of a Confederate group, according to USA Today.
The annual parade has featured the Sons & Daughters of the Confederacy as participants for over 20 years. However, authorities say they received “credible information in recent days” that signaled a “potential for violence” by over 200 protesters, mostly from outside Wake Forest, planning to disrupt the parade. As such, the police were forced to cancel the event altogether, which was scheduled for December 14th.
Mayor Vivian Jones released a passionate statement on the matter, saying that she was “angry, disappointed, and heartbroken” over the cancellation, and that planning for next year’s parade would begin immediately. While Mayor Jones personally disagreed with the decision to cancel, it was determined that the risk of moving forward was too great. It was the first cancellation of the Christmas parade in 70 years.
Sons & Daughters of the Confederacy are a peaceful historical group, which participates in the parade wearing “period costumes” and carrying “a banner that includes an image of the Confederate flag.”
A similar announcement was made in the nearby town of Garner, forced to cancel its own Christmas parade due to the inclusion of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
The cancellations reflect the growing tensions around the country as far-left groups demand censorship of any and all Confederate imagery, essentially trying to erase history. This trend began in late 2017, with many instances of violent protesters destroying Confederate monuments, and Democratic city and local officials voting to remove similar monuments due to left-wing pressure.