A prominent country music festival says it will no longer allow Confederate flags.
The Country Music Association now lists “Confederate flag imagery of any kind” alongside prohibited items such as large bags, weapons and hammocks at its Nashville event.
The festival is returning from a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. It will run from June 9 to 12 and feature big names such as Alan Jackson, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood.
“This year’s CMA Fest is our first major fan-facing event in nearly three years. We have always had policies in place that protect the safety of our fans and ban discrimination, but we felt it was important to further refine our language to explicitly outline what will and will not be tolerated,” the CMA said in a statement to The Tennessean. “In line with our first CMA Fest lineup announcement in early April, our event policy was published on our website, which states any behavior that causes one of our attendees to fear for their personal safety will not be tolerated, and that is inclusive of any displays of the Confederate flag.”
The decision is part of a broader push to remove statues and other symbols that idealize the Confederacy, given its role in defending slavery.
Florida-based NASCAR banned Confederate flags at all of its stock car racing events in 2020.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.