Every January, descendants of Confederate soldiers gather in Wyman Park to march under the banner of the Confederacy, sing "Dixie" and lay wreaths at the monument to Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, legendary generals of the Confederate States of America.
And afterward, for 20 years now, everyone has gone across the street to the Johns Hopkins University for coffee and refreshments, with some of the 200 descendants and observers still wearing the uniforms of Confederate re-enactors and carrying the flag. But next year will be different.
Hopkins has informed the Maryland divisions of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans that it will not rent space to them. The Jan. 17 event is scheduled for only a few days before the inauguration of the nation's first African-American president. The university received complaints after the march last January and says that it no longer wants to see the Confederate flag flying on campus.
"We're not legally required to rent rooms to anybody who asks, and in this case we have chosen not to rent a room," said Hopkins spokesman Dennis O'Shea. "We choose not to have the Confederate battle flag carried across our campus, particularly at that time of year, so very close to the Martin Luther King holiday."
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, in its position statement on the Confederate flag, calls it a "wretched symbol of hate" and a "sign of disrespect to all those who cherish freedom."
The university is sensitive to racial issues. Two years ago, a student posted an invitation to a fraternity Halloween party on Facebook, dubbing it "Halloween in the Hood" and encouraging those who attended to wear "regional clothing from our locale" such as "bling bling ice ice, grills" and "hoochie hoops." The student was suspended.
Members of the Confederate groups say they are victims of political correctness run amok. They say they seek only to honor their ancestors and that they have caused no problems in the previous two decades they have used Hopkins facilities. At first, they said, Hopkins gave them space for free. But then prices went up. The groups paid $375 to rent space in Shriver Hall last January.
"We're being singled out for being the descendants of Confederate soldiers," said G. Elliott Cummings, 69, adjutant of the Col. Harry W. Gilmor Camp of the Sons of Confederate veterans. "It's our purpose to remember them and honor their service. ... We're proud of our ancestors. We have no political agenda whatsoever."
