BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Skateboards, bicycles and political signs are just a few items not allowed at the Wood County Fair. But the Confederate flag is not on that list, despite an outcry from Wood County residents.
"I am requesting that a policy of banning Confederate flags at the Wood County fair be considered," said Wood County resident Carol Kinsey.
Kinsey sent a letter to the Wood County Fair board in July 2020 expressing her concerns about the issue. After not receiving a reply for weeks, she checked back in.
"I said to them, you know, it's been several weeks since I sent this, I haven't received a reply so I'm just checking to see if you got it. And I got a one word reply back that said 'yes,'" she said.
Kinsey isn't the only resident taking action.
Emily Dunipace is the co-chair of Not in Our Town, a group in Bowling Green working to stop hate and discrimination. She says many people have come to them expressing similar concerns.
"This is actually not new on our radar screen. The fair board needs to be aware this is part of living in 2020. If we see injustice, we've got to do something! To not do something is being complicit," said Dunipace.
This past summer, the Ohio House rejected a measure, which would have banned the flag from all county fairs. Instead, they left the decision up to local fair boards.
Over the past few months, the Wood County Commissioners sent multiple letters to the Wood County Fair board stating until they took action on the matter, requests for funding would be ignored.
Wood County Commissioner Doris Herringshaw told WTOL things are somewhat at a standstill right now. Fair board members agreed to meet with commissioners about the matter, but a time has yet to be worked out.
WTOL reached out to the Wood County Fair board but reporters have not heard back yet.
The president of the Toledo Branch of the NAACP has expressed his support to those wanting to ban the Confederate flag from the fair.
Reverend Willie Perryman said the following:
"Recent history has shown us that people who support the visibility of the confederate flag are people who are disruptive and who don't believe in the principles of democracy.
I fully support the movement to ban the confederate flag at the Wood County Fair. Our nation needs to heal."