Berea festival cancelled over dispute
concerning Confederate Battle Flag

The Confederate Battle Flag, long under attack by liberal groups, has been banned from display at a Berea festival and has led to the cancellation of a long-standing event in the Madison County city.

In late March, the Berea Chamber of Commerce board of directors voted unanimously to cancel its annual Spoonbread Festival after Mayor Steve Connelly called for banning the display or sale of merchandise depicting the Battle Flag.

The move resulted following a march of some 35 protestors outside the chamber office. One sign read, “Racism is not an ingredient in spoonbread.” A group called Bereans United for Racial Justice said the Confederate flag contradicted the principles of inclusion upon which Berea College was founded. Berea was the first integrated college in the South.

This year’s festival would have been the 20th, a three-day event named for a cornmeal-based dish served at Berea’s Boone Tavern Hotel. Last year, the festival attracted 60,000 people and is the largest fund-raising activity for the Berea Chamber. The event also brings substantial tourism dollars into the city.

The festival has been conducted each year at Berea’s city park.

Connelly proposed the ban in a contract between the city and chamber. In addition to providing the city park property, the city contributes financial funds and in-kind resources for the event.

In a statement, Chamber President Jennifer Napier said, “Mayor Connelly’s desire to ban the Confederate flag, add restrictions to the agreement and tie this agreement to the use of city property has placed the chamber in a compromising position. We are a non-partisan business entity that cannot take sides on issues such as the Confederate flag.”

Connelly noted that he was “disappointed that the chamber chose to deal with this issue in this manner.

“I’m frankly surprised this was the only way they could figure out how to deal with the various, multiple issues that are involved in putting on a complicated, citywide festival.”

In its statement, the chamber said it had looked at alternative locations throughout Berea and Madison County in an effort to salvage the event. But, in the end, the chamber “felt the use of alternative locations would create undue liabilities for those property owners in light of current media attention.”

Meta Mendel-Reyes with Bereans United for Racial Justice said the festival cancellation “was certainly not anything we asked for … We supported the festival. We wanted to make sure it was something that all Bereans could go to and feel comfortable.”

The Confederate Battle Flag is considered by some to be a symbol of Civil War racism, while others view it as a symbol of Southern culture.