The organizers of the Cookeville Christmas Parade announced on Sunday that it would exclude two organizations, the Putnam County Young Republicans and the LGBT organization, Upper Cumberland Pride, would be excluded from its parade, “to minimize distraction” from the birth of Jesus Christ.
“Our goal from the beginning has been to point others to the reason for the holiday that we are celebrating. We wanted to make much of the person of Jesus born in Bethlehem. In efforts to minimize distraction from Him, we planned this event with stated prohibitions of special interest groups,” the organizers wrote in a post to social media. “Although we agree there is a time and an important role played by special interest groups, we didn’t think this is it.”
In their social media post, the organizers attached identical letters sent to the LGBT and Republican organizations, confirming their requests to participate were both denied.
Upper Cumberland Pride wrote in a post to social media, “We’re saddened that the parade organizers went the route they went with.”
As the Putnam County Young Republicans appear explicitly Christian in their social media, having recently shared posts containing a prayer and celebrating the beginning of the Advent season, The Tennessee Star contacted the parade organizers seeking clarity on how the group could have generated a distraction. The organizers did not respond prior to press time.
The Republican club was recently sworn-in and recognized by the Tennessee Republican Party in Nashville in what the Putnam County Republicans said began, “an exciting new chapter of civic engagement, leadership development, and service in our community.”
President Donald Trump visited Putnam County in the aftermath of a 2020 tornado, prompting a local business owner to install a total of 17 billboards expressing gratitude to the president for visiting Tennessee after the natural disaster.
Putnam County became the first in Tennessee to enter into a 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after Trump reentered the White House.
– – –
Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Cookeville Christmas” by City of Cookeville.
PC in action. Could not exclude the perverts of the “pride” group without sacrificing a Christian group. No guts, no glory, Cookeville.
Nashville can have a pride parade but not a Christmas parade? Something wrong here. Hope my comment isn’t deleted like the last one.
No Christmas parade in Nashville
No Christmas parade in Nashville for several years, but we can afford a “pride” parade? I want our Christmas parade back and racing at the fairgrounds.