A popular annual event held in rural Rockville Virginia called ‘Field Day of the Past‘ usually allows the nationally known group The Virginia Flaggers to set up a booth at their event.
For some reason, this year they are denying entry to ‘The Virginia Flaggers’, a peaceful Confederate heritage organization founded by Susan Lee. The Field Day of the Past organization gave reasons as to why they are not allowing The Virginia Flaggers this time around, and they insist it’s not political, and that it has nothing to do with the controversial confederate flag topic.
SEE EMAIL RESPONSE FROM ‘Field Day of the Past’ TO AN ANGRY ‘FLAGGERS SUPPORTER’ BELOW:
While the decision to not invite the Flaggers comes at a time when the appropriateness of Confederate symbols in modern American is a topic of debate, Field Day of the Past organizers insisted that played no part in the decision.
“For several years, Field Day of the Past has had problems with two arts and crafts vendors [the Virginia Flaggers and Edmund Ruffin Fire-Eater SCV] who have repeatedly been asked to abide by our written guidelines to remain within their assigned spaces with all of their merchandise,” a Field Day of the Past spokesperson said. “These two vendors have consistently disregarded these guidelines. The decision to not invite them back in 2019 was based solely on the fact that these groups will not comply.”
Virginia Flaggers leader Grayson Jennings said he believed the decision was an effort to silence vocal Confederate history supporters.
“Richmond is the Capital of Confederacy, like it or not,” he said. “”Honor our history and quit trying to white wash it.”
The Virginia Flaggers claimed they did everything “in our power to prevent this.”
Group members said they addressed complaints raised by the Field Day of the Past and have attempted to “clear up the obvious miscommunications.”
They have called for a boycott of the event by those who support Confederate heritage.
From a different excerpt of the WTVR.COM article:
An event spokesperson said the implication that Field Day of the Past is “abandoning any and all representation of our Confederate history is incorrect.”
“The Wickham SCV Camp, Richmond Discoveries’ Civil War Camp, and Hoytt Hill’s Civil War Medical Display will be in attendance,” the spokesperson said. “We look forward to sharing the hundreds of years of our Southern history with our attendees in 2019.”
The Virginia Flaggers have pushed back against the reasons given, and there is solid evidence to boot.
It’s extremely bizarre, that a letter from an anonymous source was provided to Politics Elections from Field Day of the Past to The Virginia Flaggers, stating that it WAS, in fact, a political decision and that furthermore, they were concerned with confederate memorabilia being sold at their event.
SEE LETTER BELOW FROM FIELD DAY OF THE PAST’S SUSAN MENEFEE:
This is also ironic, considering the other three groups cited, Wickham SCV Camp, Richmond Discoveries’ Civil War Camp, and Hoytt Hill’s Civil War Medical, were still allowed. Are those other groups more politically correct? Is there favoritism being played additionally? Are the Virginia Flaggers too effective of a group and being unfairly targeted? Seems that way considering the inconsistencies in reasoning from Field Day of the Past.
The Field Day of the Past’s event is described on their Facebook page as:
‘Field Day of the Past is a family event sponsored by the Rockville-Centerville Steam and Gas Historical Association. This show mixes the warm, down-home atmosphere of the county fairs of yesteryear with exhibits and displays of museum quality. In the summer of 1992, a few steam and gas engine collectors gathered for an informal discussion on the possibility of hosting a steam and gas engine show in Goochland County, VA. They organized the Rockville-Centerville Steam and Gas Historical Association and hosted its first show, which attracted 5,000 people. Today the show has expanded into a 3-day event, held the third full weekend in September and draws a crowd of approximately 35,000 people annually.’
The Virginia Flaggers have made three prominent posts on their Facebook page, which has a fairly large following. Those posts with pictures and detailed information about the situation can be seen below. They are asking that you please let the Field Day of the Past organization know how you feel if you disagree with the actions taken against them.
SEE FACEBOOK POSTS FROM THE VIRGINIA FLAGGERS BELOW:
