Strange Bedfellows Snuggle Under White Sheets
Check out the story of the Klansmen and the Crip.
听
A Ku Klux Klan imperial wizard in Alabama and an African-American Crips street gang member in Memphis, Tenn., say they are teaming up to organize a counter-protest against the Klansman鈥檚 fellow hooded haters, who vow to hold 鈥� on March 30 in the Mississippi River city where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
听
听
The Klan rally is a protest of an earlier decision by the city council to rename three Memphis parks that honored the Confederacy, including one named after Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first national leader of the Ku Klux Klan. The North Carolina-based Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is organizing the rally and says Klansmen from across the country are expected to attend.
听
听
听
听
Bradley Jenkins, the imperial wizard of the Alabama-based United Klans of America, told
听
听
听
听
听
鈥淭he Ku Klux Klan stands for not self but others,鈥� Jenkins told the station in a blatant display of self-serving revisionist history. 鈥淗ow can that be for others arguing over the name of a park inside a city that made the decision to rename it? That is the community鈥檚 prerogative.鈥�
听
听
Dajuan Horton of the Grape Street Crips agreed.
听
听
鈥淚f you鈥檙e coming from out of town, excuse my French, I don鈥檛 give a f--- what your opinion is,鈥� Horton said in a YouTube video denouncing the Klan rally. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to rename our parks, blacks and whites of Memphis, Tenn.鈥�
听
听
It was Horton鈥檚 poorly lit video that led to the partnership of the Klansman and the Crips. Jenkins saw it and reached out.
听
听
鈥淲e will stand resolute with the citizens of Memphis and this young man and anyone in town, no matter what color they be, because hate and racism has no place,鈥欌�� Jenkins told the station.
听
听
It鈥檚 unclear whether the reporter reminded the imperial wizard that he belongs to an organization that has done nothing but preach racism and hate and spread terror for more than a century.
听
听
In a telephone interview with Hatewatch late today, Jenkins said he was not 鈥渁llying himself with gang members,鈥欌�� but 鈥渟tanding up with the community.鈥�
听
听
鈥淲e want to make sure our country ain鈥檛 torn apart over racial lines,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how its been done for 50 years. It has come time for it to stop.鈥�
听
听
Jenkins said since he announced his plans to protest the Memphis Klan rally he鈥檚 been roundly criticized on white nationalist web forums. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e saying we ain鈥檛 Klanish, that we鈥檙e committing treason,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not a very popular person right now.鈥�
听
听
He insisted that the Klan, at least his Klan, is a 鈥渇raternal organization.鈥� He didn鈥檛 laugh as he said it.
听
听
鈥淭here are things that happened in America鈥檚 past the country ain鈥檛 too proud of either,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淎merica still doesn鈥檛 want to think what it did to the Indians.鈥欌��
听
听
Horton said some of his fellow gang members questioned the wisdom of joining forces with the KKK, but that he met with the Klan and felt comfortable with the alliance.
听
听
How much Horton knows about the history of the Klan is uncertain. In the video, he said he was upset that the Klan was coming to Memphis in the middle of Black History Month. He was a month off.
听
听
Still, this could be a teachable moment for Horton and his street comrades. As he says in the video, 鈥淜KK people are known for hurting black people.鈥欌�� So are street gangs.
听
