MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Several hundred people in Alabama marched in Confederate Army uniforms and hoop skirts to re-enact the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
The group paraded up Montgomery's main street past Martin Luther King's church to the Capitol, where Davis took the oath of office on Jan. 18, 1861.
One of the organizers, Chuck McMichael, said the event was to celebrate ancestors who fought in the war. He said he considers an attack on Confederate heritage to be a personal attack on him.
Shopper Shirley Williams, who is black, walked by the parade and shook her head. She said she was offended that the parade occurred during Black History Month.
State and city officials gave the group permits for the event, but did not attend.
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