Politics & Government
Town Probes Exclusion of Groups from Flowertown Festival
Councilman Walter Bailey asks for investigation into Summerville Family YMCA's records to ensure federal laws not violated in wake of Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry's initial exclusion from the festival.
The Town of Summerville's attorney will probe records of a local nonprofit to examine if federal laws were violated in excluding certain groups from the annual Flowertown Festival over the last five year, the Post and Courier reported.
The Summerville Family YMCA hosts Flowertown Festival, and initially turned away a atheistic community group called Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry this year. However, after SHL's national organization sent a letter to YMCA claiming discrimination, the group was allowed to join the festival as a vendor.
Councilman Walter Bailey, a former solicitor, requested the probe Wednesday night during a regular meeting of council. Town Council unanimously voted to request five years of records of YMCA booth denials and booths rented to religious organizations, according to the Post and Courier.
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