ALPHARETTA, Ga. — The Alpharetta City Council recently adopted a resolution that ended public funding of the Old Soldiers Day Parade which has marched through downtown Alpharetta for 67 years.
“Moving forward, we will no longer put taxpayer dollars towards the parade, and our staff will not be involved in planning or organizing that event,” James Drinkard, the assistant city administrator, said. “One thing we need to make clear is that we are not opposed to the event itself. We're simply not putting taxpayer dollars toward it because of the controversies that have accompanied that over the last couple of years.”
The controversy started two years ago when Alpharetta banned the use of Confederate flags in the parade, which is designed to honor and celebrate combat veterans.
“We felt that it was not appropriate for the Confederate battle flag to be a part of the parade itself, and so the city prohibited the flag from being flown in the parade,” Drinkard said. “We were very clear on our stance that any citizens who wished to carry Confederate battle flags along the parade route, not in the parade, but standing on the sidewalks, that is their right to do so.”
There was an immediate backlash to the ban. The Roswell Mills Camp 1547 Sons of Confederate Veterans filed a lawsuit against the city of Alpharetta, stating their first amendment rights were being infringed upon. Drinkard said the city of Alpharetta, which was already spending more than $20,000 in taxpayer money on the parade, was forced to defend itself.
“It has detracted from celebrating and honoring our combat veterans,” he said. “Our hope is that if the city is not involved, and public funding is not involved, that some of the controversies - that have been created frankly by people that aren't part of this community - will cease and focus can return to celebrating, honoring, and coming together as a community to raise up our combat veterans who have defended the United States of America.”
Martin O’Toole is the spokesman for the Georgia chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and he thinks pulling funding from the parade was a tactical decision.
“The law, in my reading of it, clearly says they cannot exercise content discrimination like that,” he said. “Interestingly enough, this parade was founded and started originally as a tribute to Confederate soldiers. So it's unbelievably appropriate that the Confederate battle flag be displayed at a parade founded to honor Confederate soldiers.”
O’Toole says there was no reason to prohibit the flag’s use in the parade.
“We made a request in the Freedom of Information Act for everything related to the parade and any controversy, and we found no letters complaining about the display of the Confederate flag, which had been done about 15 years prior to them banning it.”
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