York County NAACP plans ‘peaceful’ protest of Confederacy group at York Tech

York County NAACP groups announced Friday they are planning a “peaceful” protest next weekend as the South Carolina Sons of Confederate Veterans gathers for a convention at York Technical College.

The Rock Hill and Western York County branches of the NAACP announced in a statement Friday that the groups would gather March 17 and 18 outside York Tech to protest the gathering “in a peaceful manner.”

“We are expecting 500 to 1,000 people to protest,” the groups said in a prepared statement via email to area news organizations. “There will be presenters and performances to keep the crowd engaged throughout the protest.”

York Tech officials said in October they would honor a leasing agreement allowing the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ South Carolina convention on campus in March, but pledged to minimize its presence and vowed no Confederate flags or similar symbols will be allowed on campus.

York Tech officials stated in the Oct. 30 news conference that they had canceled the convention contract after learning of its plans to meet there, as a result of reporting by The Herald. However, they rescinded their notification after legal advice from attorneys.

The NAACP and other community leaders have said they are against the Sons of Confederate Veterans event being held at the Baxter M. Hood Center in Rock Hill, because of the group’s use of the Confederate flag.

Melanie Jones, vice-president for college advancement at York Tech, told The Herald in October: “We are aware of their emblem as potentially controversial, but we are apolitical.”

The Sons of Confederate Veterans has a legitimate right to lease the space for the convention, Jones said. Other groups, such as the NAACP and political candidates, have previously leased space at the Baxter Hood Center, college officials said.

The NAACP groups said they plan to protest outside York Tech during the convention, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 17 and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 18.

At 7 p.m. March 16, the Rev. Charles White, former Southeast Region and National field representative, will “educate and inspire participants” at Kenneth Monroe Transformation Center, 745 Saluda St., Rock Hill, the NAACP says.

The NAACP statement issued Friday says: “The emblem of the SCV, which we know as the flag of the Confederacy, is an icon that denotes fear and antagonistic connotations for many residents in York County, and the majority of the United States.

“The flag is a decisive symbol of unpleasant times in our history; the times of lynching, racial profiling, inequality and oppression of one group upon another,” the statement said.

The Rock Hill NAACP says the proper place for the Confederate flag is in a museum, and it should not be allowed to fly freely in public places.

“The gathering of the SCV at York Tech speaks loud to this community, and our group is in protest to combat their message with our message of peace, awareness and our stance against anything that divides our community,” the release states.

This story was originally published March 11, 2017 at 1:23 PM with the headline "York County NAACP plans ‘peaceful’ protest of Confederacy group at York Tech."