Confederate vendor reinstated at Festival

A vendor of Southern and Confederate items was denied a permit at the "Fun Fourth Festival" in Greensboro recently. The SLRC was successful in obtaining the reinstatement of the vendor. A copy fo the letter sent to the festival organizers follows:

June 27, 2005

Ms. Betty Cone
Grassroots Productions Limited, Inc
Post Office Box 29212
Greensboro, North Carolina 27429

RE:  Steven Crowley, K & S Distributors

Dear Ms. Cone:

            Mr. Crowley has asked the Southern Legal Resource Center, Inc. (the “SLRC”) to represent him in the matter of his being refused a vendor’s permit to sell his Confederate-themed merchandise at the upcoming “Fun Fourth Festival” (the “Festival”) scheduled to take place in Greensboro, NC on July 3-4, 2005.  Several attempts to contact the Festival office to resolve this matter by telephone have been unsuccessful, as the Festival’s telephone has evidently been disconnected or is no longer in service.

            The SLRC understands that Mr. Crowley timely filed his paperwork and submitted a check in the amount of $225.00 to reserve his vendor table for this event; and further that he was sent an e-mail confirmation stating that his money had been received and his application approved.  Several days later, however, an official of the Festival telephoned Mr. Crowley to advise him that a meeting had been held at which it was decided that it would not be appropriate to sell Confederate-related items at the festival, that Mr. Crowley would therefore not be allowed to participate and that his money would be refunded.  This action occurred too late for Mr. Crowley to schedule another venue for that weekend and he stands to be financially damaged accordingly.

            Since your festival takes place largely on municipal property and is supported in part by Greensboro and Guilford County, Mr. Crowley’s exclusion raises First Amendment constitutional free speech and other issues that may very well be actionable.  It appears that the Festival has elected to exclude Mr. Crowley as a vendor based solely on the historically accurate content of his merchandise. 

It has not escaped the attention of the SLRC that Grass Roots Productions, Inc, a non-profit Code Section 501(c)(3) organization, professes its stated purpose is to “foster interest in local history and events in Guilford County.”  There was perhaps no event that was of more historical significance to the history of Guildford County than of the War Between the States, 1861 to 1865.  The War’s impact on North Carolina, which contributed more Confederate soldiers to the Confederate military than any other Southern State, was significant.  The effects of North Carolina’s participation in the War had a hugely significant impact on our region, and Greensboro in particular, for generations afterward.

It was in Guilford County that Confederate Secretary of War John C. Breckenridge attempted an honorable surrender of the Confederate armed forces with Union General Tecumseh Sherman in April 1865.  Breckenridge, negotiating on behalf of President Jefferson Davis who was in Charlotte, and Sherman, on behalf on Lincoln in Washington, agreed in Guilford County to terms equivalent to those entered into by Lee and Grant at Appomattox.  Terms accepted by Davis and the Confederacy, but rejected by Lincoln.  The result was a prolonged engagement in the western theatre lasting into the summer. 

Evidence of the public’s interest regarding this era in American history is overwhelming and knows no racial or socioeconomic boundaries.  War Between the States tourism is the largest revenue generating tourist attraction in central Virginia.  The 36,000 member Sons of Confederate Veterans actively work to preserve the memory and heritage of the Confederate soldier to insure acts of political correctness does not overshadow modern American’s memories of the sacrifices of their ancestors, many of whom came from Guilford County.  To shut out a vendor for merely exercising his constitutionally protected right to sell an historically accurate product with an inextricable link to Guildford County’s local history therefore seems wholly inconsistent with the stated purpose of your organization.

 Our request is that the Festival organizers reconsider their action and allow Mr. Crowley to receive the permit he applied for in good faith.  Considering the short amount of time until the scheduled event, we would appreciate your contacting our office so that we may negotiate a resolution to this matter.

                                                                                    Yours truly,

                                                                                    Roger W. McCredie
                                                                                    Executive Director

CC:      Mr. Steven Crowley

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