Integrity News

During this election season, the so-called “common” wisdom has emerged that West Virginians and other Appalachians are racist and won’t vote for Barack Obama simply because he is black. I won’t deny that there are a good number of racist people in West Virginia, but I’ll also point out that there are a good number of racists in Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Indiana, and other places I have lived and visited. No community is immune to racism.

For a while I’ve been looking to find a reference online to an event I remember from a few years ago. When I was in college, the KKK wanted to hold a rally in my hometown of Clarksburg, WV (population abt 16,000). Most people wanted to deny the permit to hold a demonstration, but in the interests of free speech, it was granted. Most, if not all, of the Klan members that showed up were from out-of-town. And many of my fellow citizens showed up to protest against the Klan. Here’s some excerpts from an article:

Jim Hunt Organizes Rally as Answer to Ku Klux Klan

City officials granted the KKK’s permit but also coordinated with emergency department heads and the West Virginia Hate Crime Task Force to formulate a response in case of violence. But even more significant, Hunt and the mayor encouraged the community to come together in a “Let’s Get Real Rally.”

More than 300 community members participated in Clarksburg’s answer to the KKK, far outnumbering the 15 Klan members who showed up for the demonstration. “I think what’s most impressive about Jim is that he and [then-mayor] Pastor Kates worked together to deal with this, by having their own rally,” says Lisa Dooley, executive director of the West Virginia Municipal League. “It meant applying just a little bit of common sense. They were thoughtful about engaging the community. [The rally] gave people a purpose — to celebrate diversity.”

To continue to open a dialogue on matters of race and inclusiveness, Hunt and Kates co-founded a civil rights organization called The Unity Project. They visited local schools and community groups, and supported a performance of a Harriet Tubman play at city hall. While the Klan controversy occurred seven years ago, and Kates has since died, Hunt’s means of addressing racial and community relations still serves as testimony to his character and as a fundamental factor in his selection as American City & County’s 2006 Municipal Leader of the Year.