The United States Coast Guard escorted a historic ship from New York Harbor Saturday morning, after it appeared for the July 4 Parade of Ships bearing political messages.
The historic sloop Clearwater which had to leave the parade Saturday had appeared in a similar pageant for the country's bicentennial in 1976 and has a history of being tied to activism.
The Clearwater had two banners attached to its main sail. On one side, it read “Save the Clean Water Act,” while the other said, “Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions," per photos shared on social media.
“The owner of the sloop Clearwater was contacted and requested to remove the message being displayed or be removed from the parade of sail," they told the outlet. "They declined to remove it. So, the Coast Guard enforced the agreement on behalf of Sail4th removing the vessel from the parade.”
Those on the sloop said that no such communication had taken place. Toman told The Current he understood there was only a ban on promotional materials hanging from the boats taking part.
The Clearwater is a 106-foot replica of a traditional Hudson River sloop, built to resemble the cargo vessels that once dominated the river in the 18th and 19th centuries. The idea emerged during a period when the Hudson was heavily polluted by industrial waste and sewage.
American folk singer Pete Seeger believed that if people could experience the river firsthand, they would be more motivated to protect it. The slogan was essentially to "build a boat to save the river."
Clearwater played an important role in the modern environmental movement in New York. The organization became a leading advocate for cleaning up the Hudson River...
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