The Ku Klux Klan is rebranding to allow blacks, Jews and gays to join their ranks. In other news, elephants can now fly
by Shimbo
And it worked so well for Coke.
The infamously legendary white supremacist organization Ku Klux Klan, notorious for homophobic and racist violence, including the lynchings of black folks across the US is doing an about face and attempting to increase membership by inviting minorities, including Jews, black people, gays and those of Hispanic origin to join their ranks.
Of course, everyone with an interest in joining the extreme right-wing group will still have to wear the white robes, masks and conical hats and take part in rituals, such as cross-burning and calling people “nigger” (OK, that’s a bit of an embellishment, but come on…)
United Klans of America founder John Abarr, who got the bright idea to reach out to minorities after creating a “civil rights summit”, claims that he is now a former white supremacist, saying, “The KKK is for a strong America. White supremacy is the old Klan. This is the new Klan.”
Surprisingly, some black folks are actually interested.
Jimmy Simmons, a president of the Montana NAACP chapter, said that while he questioned the use of the letters KKK, if the peace summit took place, he would “take a strong look” at joining the organization, which would be known as the “Rocky Mountain Knights”.
While some are applauding Abarr’s decision to reach out to minority groups, some are still a bit skeptical, despite the fact that he went so far as to filling out a membership card to NAACP, not only paying the $30 enrollment fee but also adding a $20 donation, saying at the time, “I thought it was a really good organization. I don’t feel we need to be separate.”
“If John Abarr was actually reformed, he could drop the label of the KKK,” Rachel Carroll-Rivas from the Montana Human Rights Network said to the International Business Times. “They know that their beliefs aren’t popular, so they try to appear moderate. I think it’s just a farce.”
Not surprisingly, Carroll-Rivas’ sentiment is shared by other, more traditional Klan members.
Bradley Jenkins, Imperial Wizard of the KKK, said to the Daily Mail: “That man’s going against everything the bylaws of the constitution of the KKK say. He’s trying to hide behind the KKK to further his political career.”
Once upon a time, the Klan was one of the most powerful organizations in the country, boasting tens of thousands of members. Their power and influence was so great, they managed to elect a governor in the state of Indiana. Today, the Klan is a shadow of its former self, with national membership reaching somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000 members spread out through numerous separate organizations, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
On one hand, the fact that a Klan member is claiming to be reformed, and backing it up by reaching out to minority groups like the NAACP is one thing, but continuing to adhere to the rituals and traditions that once divided a nation by being used as a mark of domestic terrorism seems disingenuous at best, and nefarious at worst. Regardless of what any whackjob racist might like to believe, the Klan will never rise again, so if people like John Abarr want to truly build something new, the only reasonable way to do it is to leave the symbols of hate in the past where they belong.
Then again, he might just want to see what a black man looks like in a white hood. Clayton Bigsby, notwithstanding.
Hashim R. Hathaway (Uncle Shimbo) is the host of the Never Daunted Radio Network, and proud father to NeverDaunted.Net. You can reach him on Twitter @NeverDauntedNet