An Open Letter & Open Report



From: HK Edgerton (hk.edgerton@gmail.com)
Date: Fri, Sep 30, 2016
Subject: An Open Letter & Open Report
To: siegels1 (siegels1@mindspring.com)

Dear MS. Lunelle,

First of all, I would like to apologize to Dr. Lyons, the Professor at Ole Miss. of whom I wrongly identified as Dr. Johnson in my last Open Report. And I certainly want to thank the students
and members of the public who showed a tremendous amount of love and support to us when we visited their campus in an effort to return the Mississippi State Flag there.

Five years ago, the Principal of Ellenboro High School would not only deny the Sons of Confederate Veterans Rutherfordton Rifle Camp a booth at the Ellenboro Community Fair, but also vow that
the Confederate Battle Flag would never be posted on the grounds of the old school while the community Fair was in secession.

The Honorable Attorney Kirk D. Lyons of the Southern Legal Resource Center would challenge and put a stop to that charge and, alongside members of the Camp, we would post the Colors and man a
table at the event.

Last year, the Principal would have Sons of Confederate Commander Ken Plum’s man who carried a musket for three years running at the Fair escorted from the grounds, arguing that the rifle and
guns had no place on the grounds in the presence of the kids and public. Commander Kennedy would argue that the rifle was just a visual display of what the Confederate soldier carried, not loaded
and having no capability of firing. However, the Principal won the argument saying that no weapons should be displayed at the Fair.

This year as Commander Kennedy and myself don in the uniform of the Southern soldier made our way through the school gymnasium where many displays were being showcased, lo and behold, there was
a display that contained not one but several antique rifles, one of which mirrored the one carried the previous year by Commander Kennedy’s man.

Commander Kennedy would confront the Principal about the display, arguing that this was a classic case of content discrimination and that the display should be removed based on what happened
the year before. The Principal would reply; “I gave permission for the display, and if you don’t like it, get the hell out of here,” and stormed away.

Before Commander Kennedy could respond, we would be asked by several groups of attendees of the Fair to pose for a picture as we had been asked many, many times before this night would end.

The question is now, where do we go from here? To a legal system that supports this kind of behavior – another challenge perhaps for attorney Lyons. God bless you!

Your brother,

HK
Chairman of the Board of Advisors Emeritus of the Southern Legal Resource Center