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Ku Klux Klan protesting at Antietam National Battlefield (Subscription site?)
Ku Klux Klan protesting at Antietam National Battlefield
SHARPSBURG -- A Ku Klux Klan demonstration planned at the historic Antietam National Battlefield this Saturday happened by accident.
Gordon Young, who is in charge of the demonstration by the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, initially wanted to have the gathering in Boonsboro, but regulations bogged him down. Then he wanted to have it in Sharpsburg, but again ran into some snags.
"It worked out better, in the end," Mr. Young said of his plan to stage the 2 p.m. demonstration at Antietam.
It will be at the Mumma Farm, which was surrounded by conflict during the bloody 1862 Civil War battle, in which 23,
000 soldiers were killed or wounded.
Mr. Young said his group believes in many of the ideals of the Confederacy, so the battlefield where Union troops fought the Confederacy is an appropriate spot for the demonstration.
The Mumma farm was leveled by the Confederates and the pacifist family had to pay to rebuild its home and outbuildings after the war.
Klan rights
John Howard, park superintendent of Antietam, said Mr. Young's application for a demonstration met the requirements for a demonstration on federal property.
"According to the Supreme Court, we cannot deny a First Amendment request," he said.
Still, no other group has ever applied to demonstrate at the battlefield.
"I think the closest we ever had to a First Amendment request was a voter registration drive at our July 4 concert," he said. "We issue hundreds of permits a year but the difference between them and a First Amendment permit is dramatic."
The Klan, a white supremacist group that
has its roots in the Reconstruction-era South, had a demonstration a few years ago at Colonial National Historical Park in Yorktown, Va.
"I've talked to the staff at Colonial," Mr. Howard said. "They have helped us put a plan together for the event."
As long as the demonstration is peaceful and abides by all laws, the park cannot deny the permit.
"They're there to speak their minds," he said. "But it does not void other laws. We will not tolerate any instigation."
A large police presence will be at Antietam on Saturday, he said. The U.S. Park Police, along with state and local law enforcement, will be patrolling the area. The Park Police patrol most of the demonstrations in Washington because they usually take place on National Park Service grounds.
"We're not going this alone by any means," he said.
The Klan won't be the only group at Antietam on Saturday. There will be artillery and medical demonstrations, as well as a 5-kilometer run on park roads to raise mon
ey for vocational education.
"It will be a typical weekend," Mr. Howard said. "We're doing a living history weekend."
A small portion of the battlefield near the Mumma Farm will be closed to vehicle traffic for security reasons, Mr. Howard said.
Mr. Young, the grand wizard of the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, said the group does not plan to burn a cross, an activity the Klan is known for. He said his group does not burn crosses, but rather ceremonially lights a small cross.
"Burning is terroristic," he said. "We just light them. I believe violence is the last resort."
Mr. Young planned a demonstration in the center of Sharpsburg two years ago. He expected dozens of Klansmen from several surrounding states, but only nine showed up. He said there was a mix-up about bus transportation from Hagerstown to the demonstration site.
This time, he's expecting about 100 people, again from a several hundred mile radius. He said this time the group will assemble in Sharpsb
urg and ride a bus to the demonstration site.
Some may wear traditional white robes, he said, but he expects most will wear a gray and black military style uniform. He plans to wear a suit and a Nazi stormtrooper pin from World War II.
Mr. Young, who joined the Klan at age 15, said his group plans to protest the federal government, the direction the country is going and diversity. He said he and his followers believe immigration is threatening the livelihood of Americans.
He grew up in Prince George's County but moved to Washington County, he said, to get away from urban crime. Mr. Young, 40, lives in a secluded area near Sharpsburg. His group, which includes people from several states, meets once a month in Sharpsburg.
Regional reaction
Local people plan to distance themselves from the Klan demonstration. Rather than protest the Klan, they want to celebrate diverse cultures with other activities. Before a 2004 Klan demonstration in Sharpsburg, nearby residents form
ed a group called Love Not Hate in Washington County. They passed out T-shirts and signs, and many people in the area posted the signs in their yards.
This year's activities will be a little more low key, but the message of peace and cultural diversity will remain the same, said the Rev. Malcolm Stranathan, pastor of Salem United Methodist Church in Keedysville.
"The churches provide the means to bring people together," he said.
He sought advice from the U.S. Department of Justice before the 2004 demonstration. Representatives advised him then to draw the community away from the Klan rather than plan a counter demonstration.
He said people from throughout the area plan to attend the interfaith service, including Jews, Muslims and Christians, as they did in 2004.
"This gives us a chance to connect with our feelings of frustration," he said. "To be silent is an unstated complicity to the Klan. We have to provide a positive response."
About 45 people from Keedysville,
Sharpsburg, Boonsboro and Hagerstown are planning Saturday's events. He said people in the area have indicated they want to support the alternative event and are embarrassed by the Klan event nearby.
"There are Confederate flags that fly in our community," Rev. Stranathan said. "There are people of diverse viewpoints. What we're dealing with is a group that is not tolerant."
Mr. Young said he came to the area because of its homogeneity. The Rev. Stranathan said the population of southern Washington County is growing and becoming more diverse.
Media dilemma
"I've always had mixed feeling about how much publicity one should give a Klan event from a journalistic point of view, and yet, it's hard not to cover it," said Donna Bertazzoni, journalism professor at Hood College.
She said in her days as an editor in the early 1980s, there were a spate of Klan demonstrations in the Frederick County area. At first, her newspaper covered the demonstrations. Then the policy cha
nged.
"We just sent a reporter there in case something went wrong," she said.
Klan demonstrations quieted down in the area until Mr. Young emerged a couple of years ago.
"It's a legitimate question. Do you provide them with coverage only if something bad happens? Do you feed into it?" she said.
Ku Klux Klan protesting at Antietam National Battlefield
SHARPSBURG -- A Ku Klux Klan demonstration planned at the historic Antietam National Battlefield this Saturday happened by accident.
Gordon Young, who is in charge of the demonstration by the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, initially wanted to have the gathering in Boonsboro, but regulations bogged him down. Then he wanted to have it in Sharpsburg, but again ran into some snags.
"It worked out better, in the end," Mr. Young said of his plan to stage the 2 p.m. demonstration at Antietam.
It will be at the Mumma Farm, which was surrounded by conflict during the bloody 1862 Civil War battle, in which 23,
000 soldiers were killed or wounded.
Mr. Young said his group believes in many of the ideals of the Confederacy, so the battlefield where Union troops fought the Confederacy is an appropriate spot for the demonstration.
The Mumma farm was leveled by the Confederates and the pacifist family had to pay to rebuild its home and outbuildings after the war.
Klan rights
John Howard, park superintendent of Antietam, said Mr. Young's application for a demonstration met the requirements for a demonstration on federal property.
"According to the Supreme Court, we cannot deny a First Amendment request," he said.
Still, no other group has ever applied to demonstrate at the battlefield.
"I think the closest we ever had to a First Amendment request was a voter registration drive at our July 4 concert," he said. "We issue hundreds of permits a year but the difference between them and a First Amendment permit is dramatic."
The Klan, a white supremacist group that
has its roots in the Reconstruction-era South, had a demonstration a few years ago at Colonial National Historical Park in Yorktown, Va.
"I've talked to the staff at Colonial," Mr. Howard said. "They have helped us put a plan together for the event."
As long as the demonstration is peaceful and abides by all laws, the park cannot deny the permit.
"They're there to speak their minds," he said. "But it does not void other laws. We will not tolerate any instigation."
A large police presence will be at Antietam on Saturday, he said. The U.S. Park Police, along with state and local law enforcement, will be patrolling the area. The Park Police patrol most of the demonstrations in Washington because they usually take place on National Park Service grounds.
"We're not going this alone by any means," he said.
The Klan won't be the only group at Antietam on Saturday. There will be artillery and medical demonstrations, as well as a 5-kilometer run on park roads to raise mon
ey for vocational education.
"It will be a typical weekend," Mr. Howard said. "We're doing a living history weekend."
A small portion of the battlefield near the Mumma Farm will be closed to vehicle traffic for security reasons, Mr. Howard said.
Mr. Young, the grand wizard of the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, said the group does not plan to burn a cross, an activity the Klan is known for. He said his group does not burn crosses, but rather ceremonially lights a small cross.
"Burning is terroristic," he said. "We just light them. I believe violence is the last resort."
Mr. Young planned a demonstration in the center of Sharpsburg two years ago. He expected dozens of Klansmen from several surrounding states, but only nine showed up. He said there was a mix-up about bus transportation from Hagerstown to the demonstration site.
This time, he's expecting about 100 people, again from a several hundred mile radius. He said this time the group will assemble in Sharpsb
urg and ride a bus to the demonstration site.
Some may wear traditional white robes, he said, but he expects most will wear a gray and black military style uniform. He plans to wear a suit and a Nazi stormtrooper pin from World War II.
Mr. Young, who joined the Klan at age 15, said his group plans to protest the federal government, the direction the country is going and diversity. He said he and his followers believe immigration is threatening the livelihood of Americans.
He grew up in Prince George's County but moved to Washington County, he said, to get away from urban crime. Mr. Young, 40, lives in a secluded area near Sharpsburg. His group, which includes people from several states, meets once a month in Sharpsburg.
Regional reaction
Local people plan to distance themselves from the Klan demonstration. Rather than protest the Klan, they want to celebrate diverse cultures with other activities. Before a 2004 Klan demonstration in Sharpsburg, nearby residents form
ed a group called Love Not Hate in Washington County. They passed out T-shirts and signs, and many people in the area posted the signs in their yards.
This year's activities will be a little more low key, but the message of peace and cultural diversity will remain the same, said the Rev. Malcolm Stranathan, pastor of Salem United Methodist Church in Keedysville.
"The churches provide the means to bring people together," he said.
He sought advice from the U.S. Department of Justice before the 2004 demonstration. Representatives advised him then to draw the community away from the Klan rather than plan a counter demonstration.
He said people from throughout the area plan to attend the interfaith service, including Jews, Muslims and Christians, as they did in 2004.
"This gives us a chance to connect with our feelings of frustration," he said. "To be silent is an unstated complicity to the Klan. We have to provide a positive response."
About 45 people from Keedysville,
Sharpsburg, Boonsboro and Hagerstown are planning Saturday's events. He said people in the area have indicated they want to support the alternative event and are embarrassed by the Klan event nearby.
"There are Confederate flags that fly in our community," Rev. Stranathan said. "There are people of diverse viewpoints. What we're dealing with is a group that is not tolerant."
Mr. Young said he came to the area because of its homogeneity. The Rev. Stranathan said the population of southern Washington County is growing and becoming more diverse.
Media dilemma
"I've always had mixed feeling about how much publicity one should give a Klan event from a journalistic point of view, and yet, it's hard not to cover it," said Donna Bertazzoni, journalism professor at Hood College.
She said in her days as an editor in the early 1980s, there were a spate of Klan demonstrations in the Frederick County area. At first, her newspaper covered the demonstrations. Then the policy cha
nged.
"We just sent a reporter there in case something went wrong," she said.
Klan demonstrations quieted down in the area until Mr. Young emerged a couple of years ago.
"It's a legitimate question. Do you provide them with coverage only if something bad happens? Do you feed into it?" she said.
