LSU’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored people hosted a “Confederate Barbeque” on the LSU Golf Course today after hearing that the United Daughters of the Confederacy would be celebrating their 10^th Annual Founder’s Day at the Lod Cook Hotel on campus.
When asked what inspired this protest, President of LSU’s NAACP Cimajie Best explained that the barbecue wasn’t so much a protest as it was a statement.
“They’re [the Daughters of the Confederacy] across campus, celebrating their life, their legacy, the things they believe in, and me and my group of people are going to be at the Golf Course celebrating our black lives and how they matter,” Best expounds.
This comes after rumors that the group planned to actually burn a confederate flag at this barbecue.
“We wanted to have a confederate flag burning,” says Wille Jones, the organization’s event coordinator, “But, unfortunately, we are not allowed to burn things on campus unless it’s over a grill.”
So what was meant to be a political statement turned into a support group for the African American community, but that was not the end of the controversy.
After announcing their “Confederate Barbecue,” David Duke, a former Klu Klux Klan leader, announced to The Advocate that he would attend the event.
While the students were willing to offer him a hot dog, Duke did not attend the barbecue, but he did go to the Daughters of the Confederacy meeting where he was escorted out by the LSU Police.
WBRZ reporter that he was not invited to the event according to a member of the Daughters of the Confederacy who wished to remain unnamed.