A parade with the usual trimmings, including political signs and committees

by Luke Macannuco · Friday, July 12, 2024

The League of Women Voters of Harvard and the Republican and Democratic town committees displayed political signage as they marched in Thursday’s Fourth of July parade. The actions follow last year’s controversy regarding the Fourth of July Committee’s attempted censorship of League of Women Voters signs in the 2023 parade.

In 2023, the Fourth of July Committee implemented a code of conduct, where it was stated that participants in the parade must “refrain from using the parade as a platform to promote any specific agenda,” which included signs used by the League of Women Voters. Harvard Town Counsel Mark Lanza advised the Fourth of July Committee to remove the stipulation against political speech, agreeing with the League that it was in violation of the First Amendment. The dispute was not fully resolved until this May, when the Fourth of July Committee amended their conduct policy to no longer regulate speech at the parade.

The League’s approach to this year’s parade “was to go back to the Fourth of July Committee and get them to amend and drop their code of conduct,” said Stephanie Opalka, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Harvard, “so that our First Amendment rights are protected, and they didn’t have any standing to say ‘no, you can’t carry those signs.’”

The marchers with the League were holding the signs they have held in previous years, with phrases such as “Gender rights are human rights,” “Housing rights are human rights,” and “Roe is gone… what is next?” In addition, the League held a new sign with the phrase “Absolute immunity = return to monarchy,” in reference to the Supreme Court’s recent decision that broadened presidential immunity, a landmark ruling made amid Donald Trump’s extensive legal battles.

John Knowles, chair of the Harvard Republican Town Committee, felt that the League of Women Voters had unnecessarily politicized the Fourth of July parade with their free speech dispute. The Republican Town Committee’s entry in the parade included a truck with an inflatable GOP elephant on top of it, as well as a first responders thin line flag draped over the nose of the car and a sign on the rear driver window reading, “Free the Israeli hostages.”

The Democratic Town Committee marched with state Rep. Dan Sena and state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, along with supporters. Members of the contingent held signs featuring their names.

The League of Women Voters received a mostly warm response of applause and cheers from parade onlookers, although one member of the crowd shouted “Get rid of the Department of Education, they’re useless!” as they marched by, according to Paul Green, who was in the League’s parade ensemble.

Knowles said that the Republican Town Committee received a more positive response from the parade crowd this year, while in the past they had received boos.