Fair Board bans sale of Ku Klux Klan items, post-WWII swastika gear

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The Kentucky State Fair Board has banned vendors from selling or giving away items that “clearly represent racist ideology,” a move that targets Ku Klux Klan and Nazi materials at its two Louisville facilities.

By a unanimous voice vote, the board approved a policy introduced by chairman Dr. Mark Lynn that would prohibit the sale of all KKK items and those with the Nazi swastika made since the end of World War II.

The board operates the Kentucky Exposition Center and the downtown Kentucky International Convention Center under the Kentucky Venues brand.

“It’s time for us to say, ‘Enough is enough,’” Lynn told reporters after the vote. “Let’s take care of each other. Let’s be kind to each other and let’s move forward. We want people to feel welcomed. We want them to feel at home in Louisville. We want them to feel at home at Kentucky Venues – and we’ve got to take a stand to do that.”

The action came weeks after Nazi and Klan items were documented by Courier Journal columnist Joe Gerth at a National Gun Day show at the expo center.

While fully outlawing Klan merchandise, the policy approved Thursday makes an exception for historical Nazi items. Lynn cited the example of an authentic German armband that was brought back to the U.S. after the war.

“I can’t reach back in time and make some of the atrocities that happened go away. And that’s a history we need to be sure we never repeat, and one of the ways to do that is to be sure we know it was there,” Lynn said.

But he said the fair board is drawing the line at modern items that were manufactured possibly to spread a hateful ideology.

“If you’re reproducing it just to make money and to carry that message – we don’t want you here,” he said.

Lynn said the vast majority of people who have contacted him have supported the policy, which he floated publicly several weeks ago.

The new rules take effect immediately and will be included in all contracts with vendors. Lynn said fair board staff will review each booth and rely on aid from the Ohio Valley Military Society, which has similar guidelines that allow original items but require them not to be glorified.

The fair board’s rules also will help the military society restrict some items it has wanted to ban, said Bill Combs, the society’s business manager.

“Now that we have the backing of the Kentucky expo center we can eliminate some things we have wanted to eliminate for some time,” such as modern Nazi flags, he said.

Lynn said he believes the fair board’s rules can withstand any legal challenges.

“We are not saying you can’t have it,” he said. “If you wear it in on your shirt, you want to make it your personal approach, that’s fine. And by going to the non-historical saleable items that walks around outlawing what is true history, which is the real First Amendment."