It is Halloween time again, but ghosts and ghouls might not be your only fear. The Ku Klux Klan rallies in Braddock Heights and they’re not handing out candy.
Rick Paxton said, “There’s a history of this happening in Braddock that’s almost unbelievable.”
Most long-term residents of Braddock Heights know about its previous dilemma with Ku Klux Klan. But many who found out about the most recent protest were still shocked.
The prevalence of racism in this area is hard to define. Though it was not large, a rally was still held within the neighborhood of Braddock, just outside of Middletown.
MHS students and teachers has strong feelings about the protest.
“It’s embarrassing to the United States and the human race,” said MHS social studies teacher Sean Haardt.
MHS senior Anna McClain said, “Everyone has accepted the fact that everyone’s equal; there’s no point in bringing this back.”
But on Oct. 10, the Klan rally wasn’t the only thing organized in Braddock Heights. A counter-protest was held at the same time for a candle-lit peace walk.
The leader of the counter-protest, who did not wish to give her name, said she remembered her childhood in Braddock, where open Klan rallies and crossing burnings were held in public. “I remembered my mom and neighbors putting up the shutters to it, I wasn’t going to let that happen. I felt an obligation to respond to this,” she said
And respond she did. Braddock Heights, which is usually a fairly serene and inactive neighborhood, had its sidewalks filled with counter-protestors. Considering the Rebel Knights, the Klan offshoot, can only gather at most 10 people, the counter-protest seemed to show who the people in the area side with.
The Klan enforces hate, said another counter-protest leader, who also wished to go unnamed. “It vibrates at a low level and leaves a nasty taste,” she said.
And the Rebel Knights seem to be very radical compared to normal Ku Klux Klan charters. Their website isn’t just hateful toward African Americans and those of Jewish decent, but even white people themselves.
“We don’t discriminate our hate,” said the Traditional Rebel Knights of the Ku Klux Klan on their website.
As for the counter-rally, the objective was to spread peace and love not hate.
“My concern is to no let this (KKK) get any bigger,” said the counter-protest leader.
It would seem that Braddock’s reputation has taken a toll from this rally, as well.
“I was thinking about buying a house here, but now I’m not too sure,” said an African- American counter-protestor.
Max O’Neilly a resident of Braddock Heights, said that if there’s one thing people looking at Braddock should know, it’s that the community doesn’t stand for this kind of hate. “We want good people to feel safe,” said O’Neilly.
It is hard to root out where this racism comes from, but it just might be that it’s coming from within the community.
The sad thing, O’Neilly said, is “that they wear the hoods and spread hate, but take them off and become our neighbors.”
The Ku Klux Klan’s rally doesn’t carry all negatives, “This could be used as a lesson,” said Paxton. “Kids need to see that this stuff still happens.”
The KKK’s time has passed, said one protestor. “We don’t need this in the 21st century,” he said.
