MUSKEGON, Mich. — A West Michigan branch of the NAACP is not allowed to participate in a Memorial Day Parade this year.
The Greater Muskegon Memorial Day Committee, a volunteer group, decided the Muskegon branch of the NAACP is a political organization which branch President and Ward 1 City Commissioner, Eric Hood, strongly denies.
The branch participated in the parade last year and multiple times in years past.
But this year, the committee, made up of ten volunteers, eight veterans and two non-veterans, decided unanimously to bar the branch from attending.
"I'm heated because I'm not understanding what is the bottom reason behind this?" said Hood.
In a written statement, the Greater Muskegon Memorial Day Committee decided during its meeting on April 10 to limit the participation of: 'political figures, candidates, parties and action groups.'
The reason being was they reviewed the conduct of past parades and they decided there were some in those parades who were forwarding their own agendas rather than honoring the veterans.
Steve Allen, the chairperson of the committee, who preferred not to do an on-camera interview Tuesday, said when he searched the NAACP online, he found that the non-profit organization was political.
Hood claims the NAACP is non-political and non-partisan.
"We have several veterans who are in the branch," said Hood. "We represent veterans in terms of their rights. We're a civil rights organization and we fight for the civil rights for all."
According to their About page on their website, the NAACP states: 'We are the home of grassroots activism for civil rights and social justice. We advocate, agitate, and litigate for the civil rights due to Black America. In our cities, schools, companies, and courtrooms, we are the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Thurgood Marshall, and many other giants.'
In a statement Allen said, "We were trying to make it non-political and everyone else is trying to make it political. It's not what we're about. We just want to honor our veterans."
"We'd like to know who's on that committee," said Hood. "What's the makeup of that committee? We'd like to know if it's a reflection of the county. It's a Memorial Day parade but it's also licensed by the city."
Hood plans to meet with his own committee to see where the branch can go from here, and whether or not they will continue to effort attending the parade in the future.
The Greater Muskegon Memorial Day Parade is scheduled for May 29 between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. in Twin Lake.
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