Community organizes to counter KKK rally

In response to a Ku Klux Klan rally planned for 1 p.m. Saturday in front of the Ann Arbor City Hall, community members and University students are organizing demonstrations and protests to counter the Klan's racist message.

Two years ago, the KKK held a rally in Ann Arbor and was met by violent opposition from anti-Klan protesters. Members of the community "threw rocks, lugnuts and bottles at both officers and Klan members," said Larry Jarue, deputy chief of the Ann Arbor Police Department.

This year, the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice has organized a "Rally for CommUNITY and Justice," designed to peacefully draw attention away from the Klan's presence in Ann Arbor.

The rally will include musical entertainment and "speakers ... from a variety of groups that are targeted by the Klan's hate," said Tobi Hannah-Davies, director of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice and an Ann Arbor City Council member.

"Our goal is to take the spotlight from the Klan and to focus on respect for all human beings and a united stand against hatred - using non-violence to work for the social change our society needs," said Hannah-Davies. "We want to encourage people not to get caught up in the violence that might occur outside of City Hall."

The National Women's Rights Organizing Coalition is also organizing a rally against the Klan. NWROC has covered Ann Arbor with flyers boasting the slogan "Smash the KKK!"

"We will do whatever we can and whatever it takes to shut the rally down, hopefully, before it starts," said Jessica Curtin, an LSA senior and member of NWROC.

Curtin said NWROC was discouraging people from attending the ICPJ rally, calling the city-endorsed event a tactic to "split the people who are against the Klan."

Other students defend the KKK's right to free speech with some reservation.

Though she objects to the message of the KKK, LSA sophomore Kristi Wright said, "I still think they have a right to be here."

05-05-98