Among the protesters Saturday, was H. K. Edgerton, an African-American activist for Southern heritage and a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He came to Oxford from his hometown of Ashville, North Carolina to attend Saturday’s protest. He believes that the South has been given a bad reputation . “These people who want to tear down our flag and destroy our heritage always use the black folks as an excuse to do it. Using this flag and our Confederate heritage to go against the Christian white folks of the South is a terrible thing to do.” Edgerton said the entire world was involved in slavery and it is wrong that the South bears all of the guilt. “Thank God my great-great grandmother ended up in the South or I’d still be in Africa facing cannibalism, ebola and great poverty. The African government didn’t love us then, and they don’t love us now.” As the protesters made their way around the Square, waving flags and singing, “Pride of Dixie,” Oxford Mayor Pat Patterson admitted he wasn’t at all pleased at their arrival, particularly during the family-friendly Summer Fest event by the Oxford Downtown Council, that featured activities for children, free snow cones and cotton candy and sidewalks sales. “What a way to suck the air right out of it,” Patterson said. “We have all these kids up here with their families.”
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 15:41:49 +0000