Fair for All Allies

New York State Attorney General, Letitia James, stands against racism at our county fairs. In her July 2018 statement, James said: “Confederate flags are a tribute to a dark, hateful, and painful past and have no place in our society beyond the history books. State-funded fairs and events should not be peddlers and profiters of this, or any other hateful paraphernalia. All state-funded fairs should act immediately to ban the sale of these flags.”

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The commissioner of the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, Richard Ball, sent a letter to all 52 of New York's county fairs on August 9, 2018, urging them to stop selling or displaying "items that run counter to our great state's long history of inclusion for all. New York State stands firm against bias and intolerance of all kinds and our fairs, which are a critical component of our agricultural economy and social fabric of our communities, should represent the very best of New York.”  Read Commissioner Ball's full statement here.

"As stated in the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) mission, 'we strongly support inclusiveness in the farming profession, and believe that diversity among farmers is critical to maintaining a strong and vibrant agricultural sector to provide for a diversity of consumers.' NYFC is committed to making agricultural spaces open and welcoming to all people. In a time when farmers retire faster than new ones enter the business, this mission is more important than ever. As some of our profession’s newest members, and as some of the newest agricultural business owners in our county, we believe unequivocally that the confederate flag in agricultural spaces hinders these efforts."

Cornell University is a vital contributor to county fairs throughout New York State, through its Cornell Cooperative Extension offices. In June of 2020, Cornell University President Martha Pollack urged Delaware County Fair Board president Ed Rossley to rid the fair of racist symbols: "I want to encourage you to do whatever you can to discourage the sale or display of these symbols at the Delaware County Fair," Pollack said in the letter. "The Confederate flag is a toxic symbol of the country’s racial history that sends a message that only certain people are welcomed and accepted at the fair." Read more here.

In August of 2021, the board of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County unanimously stated: "To be true to our pledge to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that our time, energy, and financial resources are committed equitably to all people, the Board of Directors of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County would like to clearly oppose the display and/or sale of symbols of racial hatred at the Delaware County fair, including the Confederate flag." Read their full statement here. 

Adam Khatib, Cornell Student Resolution Co-Presenter: “White supremacy isn’t an aberration, and it isn’t something that simply lingers in hateful peoples’ hearts. It is a system being driven and strengthened by institutional actors who ought to be held to account! And as neo-Confederate hate escalates in New York, we can no longer ignore the elephant in the room: the wealthy Ivy League university that refuses to take action at best, and enables ongoing hatred at worse.” The full resolution, which passed in April 2019, is here.

"As a Christian, and as a minister of the Gospel of Christ, I urge us to think carefully about the values we aspire to as a community, the values we want to see in others, live up to in ourselves, and raise our children to embrace...What we speak through words or symbols matters because speech comes out of the abundance of our hearts; the words and symbols we might use or deem appropriate reveal what we truly value, what we truly prioritize. Determining whether a form of expression at a public, family event is either appropriate or profane has the very power to guide the direction of the morality of our community. The tongue is like a rudder; it may be a small instrument but it can still turn the whole ship..." Read Pastor Outterson-Murphy's full statement here.