N.C. towns cancel Christmas parades over protest fears

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In a Wednesday night video message, Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones announced that the town’s downtown board of directors voted to cancel the Dec. 14 Christmas parade out of concern that “outside agitators” would show up to protest or defend the Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy, who planned to march in the event.

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'For over two decades, the Sons & Daughters of the Confederacy has participated peacefully and without incident in the parade,' the town said in a statement on its Facebook page last week.

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“We aren’t happy telling kids they can’t attend or participate in this year’s parade, but it’s better than trying to explain to a parent whose child was injured why we chose to proceed despite so many warning signs,” Leonard said. “No matter what side of this issue you are on, our focus is public safety and at this point, the risk of moving forward with the parade simply outweighs any possible reward.”

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“Anyone who knows me knows that canceling our parade goes against everything I believe in,” Jones said. “I don’t like bullies, and I don’t like feeling as though we are bowing to their tactics. But at the end of the day I must set aside my personal feelings and focus instead on what’s most important, and that is the well being and safety of parade attendees and participants, many of whom are our children.”

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