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Residents, Students, Faculty Take Sides

By Emily Quartimon
Black College Wire

Photo credit: The Student Voice, Albany State University Feelings among community people, faculty and students about the re-enactors mirrored how they felt about the meaning of the Confederate flag.

When Albany, Ga. residents found out that Albany State's marching band would not be participating in the Christmas parade, faculty, students and fellow Albanians took sides.

"It's ridiculous," said Chastity Williams, 29, an Albany native and Albany State mass communications student who is African American. "It's a public[ly] funded parade and anybody can be in it. It says that ASU is the bigger person in the matter if they do march in the parade despite the fact that the Confederate re-enactors are there."

Andrea Pent, a health and physical education professor who is white, said, "I think all civic groups have something to add to an occasion like our Albany holiday parade, and it's a shame that any group is included or is not participating for whatever reason."

High school students expressed their views as well. Cody King, 17, a white student at Westover High School, said, "It's stupid because I see how ASU can come off saying it represents racism because of slavery and all. But to the Confederate group, it only represents heritage and trying to keep our family traditions alive and nothing else."

Another white Westover student, Naomi Sechrest, 16, said she agreed. "A lot of people don't know the real facts in the Civil War. They think it was completely about slavery, which it wasn't," she said.

"It was more on states' rights, not with slavery. So, I don't really think it's about racism and stuff, but I can understand why people would think that. I think people are making too big of a deal."

Paul Weary, a 19-year-old African American and freshman at Albany State, agreed with the decision not to participate.

"That's a good decision with this being an HBCU. They shouldn't be in favor of the Confederate flag representing Caucasian supremacy or whatever," Weary said.

"They say everybody's equal, but we all know that's not true."

Jeffrey DeMott, who is white and is the coach for the Flint River Rapids team in Albany, saw the controversy as unfortunate for residents.

"This far in the 21st century, we should be able to bury our past hatreds and sad feelings," he said. "And at the same time, we need to be sensitive to the feelings of others and be gracious and kind to one another, and I think everybody can get along and be peaceful.

"I hope that it's something that can be ameliorated and dealt with in the future without harm to anyone."

Susan Nelson, 43, a white Albany State physical education graduate student, said, "I support the director's decision because I feel like it's a new day, and we need to move forward and not behind."

Henry Hill, 41, an African American and Albany native, agreed. By not participating, he said, "what you're doing is, you're supporting a situation that we've been trying to fight for years. So why support something like that when it's a negative issue?"

Martistene Williams, an African American and an Albany State professor of speech and theater, said the band's choice not to participate sends a message to parade organizers.

"If the band did not apply to be in the parade, that indicates that they did not want to participate for whatever reason," Williams said. "And, it is my feeling that they should not be forced, if they are being forced, to be in the parade if they did not want to be in it for whatever differences that they might have with the Civil War re-enactors."

On the night of the parade, Lt. Eddie Jones,35, an African American member of Albany's police department, said the Confederate flag is a visual reminder why the community is divided.

However, some residents felt that the mayor made the right decision to let the re-enactors participate.

"I love the decision the mayor made. Whoever fought in the war should be represented," said Lynn Lane, a 40-year-old white spectator and clerk at Gillespie Printers.

Lane said that the re-enactors were marching in the parade for the community, not for any political issue or to cause problems.

Some spectators chose to remain neutral.

"It really does not matter to me if the re-enactors march in the parade or not because I know where I stand in my heart," said Zandria Thomas, 21, an unemployed African American Albany resident.

Emily Quartimon, a student at Albany State University in Albany, Ga., writes for The Student Voice. David Miller, Student Voice photo editor and reporter, contributed to the story.

Posted Dec. 15, 2003