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KKK planning
literature drive in Yellow Springs, Village says
Members of the Ku Klux Klan have notified the Village
that they intend to organize a public activity here later this month,
officials said in recent days.
The Klansmen have told the Village that they want
to distribute literature in downtown Yellow Springs on Saturday, April 17,
Council president Tony Arnett told a roomful of people during Council’s
meeting Monday.
Arnett said that the activity could involve an “undetermined
number” of Klansmen handing out “fliers and other literature.”
Village Manager Rob Hillard said that the Klansmen have told the Village
they would distribute the material from 1 to 3 p.m.
As of Monday, Arnett said, the Klan does not intend
to conduct a rally or demonstration here. But Village officials stressed
that the Klan has not filed a formal notice of its intentions, and, therefore,
the group’s plans could change. If there is a change, Arnett said,
the KKK would not necessarily have to notify the Village.
On Tuesday, Police Chief Carl Bush said that the
Klansmen belong to the Aryan Knights of the Confederacy of the Ku Klux Klan,
which, he said, is located in Ohio.
Village officials said that the Klansmen first notified
them last Tuesday of their interest to come to town.
The Klansmen would be permitted to distribute fliers
and information on downtown sidewalks, but they cannot congregate to obstruct
the sidewalks, Arnett said. He also said that the Klansmen would “not
be allowed to harass or intimidate people” or conduct a spontaneous
parade or demonstration. Klansmen could also wear costumes, he said.
Klan members would be prohibited from private property
unless they had the owner’s permission.
Bush said that the Village has developed a “measured
plan” to handle the Klan’s presence here, and that the Village’s
“main concern is public safety.” Bush declined to further elaborate
on the Village’s preparations, though he did say that there “will
be additional resources available to the Village on that day.”
Over the weekend of March 27 and 28, “The
Flame,” a six-page newsletter published by the Mystic Knights of the
Ku Klux Klan, which is based in Dayton, was distributed to parts of Yellow
Springs and the Antioch campus. The Aryan Knights and the Mystic Knights
do not appear to be affiliated, Bush said. He also said that the Aryan Knights
told him they had nothing to do with distributing the newsletter.
The leafleting took place after POC [People of Color]
Takeover Week during the week of March 22 at Antioch.
Bush said that the Aryan Knights have told him that
they want to come to Yellow Springs to respond to racial graffiti that was
displayed at Antioch.
Antioch College President Joan Straumanis said that
the POC Takeover Week was an “educational activity” organized
by student groups to stimulate dialogue on campus. She said that such activities
are not unusual at Antioch.
But “certain signs and certain banners”
that were posted on campus, she said, and some of the displays were “over
the top” and “did disturb some people” and attracted media
attention. Straumanis said that after the signs went up, she issued a message
on campus instructing students not to post displays that are violent or
target individuals. The offending images were taken down, she said.
“We are very proud of our racial peacefulness
and our diversity,” she said.
People say ignore Klan
On Monday, Council approved three ordinances in
response to the Klan’s plans that, Council said, would protect the
public’s safety and individuals’ freedom of expression.
The Council meeting also provided a forum for the
approximately 50 Yellow Springers in attendance to discuss ways to address
the KKK when it arrives here. Council spent 90 minutes deliberating the
ordinances and discussing the Klan’s plans. Arnett called the situation
“as important an issue as I can imagine Council dealing with.”
Many of the people at the meeting said that the
community should not give the Klan an audience on April 17. Several people
also encouraged Yellow Springs churches or other organizations to put together
a community event to counter the Klan’s presence. Council member Jocelyn
Hardman said that she would like to see churches and schools organize a
“unity event,” similar to the way Kettering responded when the
Klan held a rally there in March 1999.
Steven Roe said that the “greatest thing we
can do” is to “redefine” the situation. “Let’s
take power away from those individuals,” he said of the Klansmen.
Arnett said “the best response for the community”
would be to ignore the Klan. “The best reaction is for the community
to unanimously show opposition to what these groups are about and not give
them an audience,” Arnett said after the meeting.
Bob Baldwin said that the Klan will be looking for
a confrontation that can be shown on the television news. Ignoring the Klansmen
will “deny them that publicity,” he said. Jamie Sharp said that
the more people who congregate around the Klan’s activity and the
bigger the scene that occurs, “the worse it will be.”
Joan Chappelle, a member of the Village Human Relations
Commission, said that the situation is “an opportunity to recommit”
to the values Yellow Springs upholds, and “to remind children of who
the Klan is.” She said that the community should organize a day to
remember that “everyone counts here” and that “every person
is welcome here in Yellow Springs.”
Arnett said that organizations planning events should
notify the Village manager’s office for safety reasons. Village Manager
Rob Hillard can be reached at 767-1279. He also said that the Village is
encouraging organizations to not hold community events near downtown.
Laws address KKK plans
In response to the news that the Klan intends to
come to Yellow Springs, Council at its meeting Monday unanimously approved
three ordinances strengthening Village regulations for parades, congregating
on sidewalks and open burning practices. The goal of the legislation is
“securing the rights of individuals to have that freedom of expression
and securing public safety of all of us,” Arnett said.
Indeed, while Arnett said that he is “appalled
by everything” the Klan stands for, he noted that minority groups
have certain rights that are protected by the Constitution.
On Tuesday, Bush said that he hopes Yellow Springers
understand the role the Police Department must play on April 17. “We
have to do our job to protect the safety of all parties involved,”
he said.
He said he hopes that local residents will counter
the Klan’s activity here by “ignoring them and not coming downtown
during that timeframe and confront them.”
The legislation Council approved are emergency ordinances,
which means Council adopted them after one reading, instead of two, and
they took effect immediately upon passage.
One ordinance now mandates that organizers receive
a permit from the Village to hold a parade in Yellow Springs. Previously,
the Village had an informal process to approve parades in which parade organizers
were required to submit a letter to Council or the Village manager. An informal
process neither protects the public nor parade participants, Arnett said.
Under the new process, an application for a parade
permit must be made with the chief of police at least five days prior to
the event. The application must include such information as the name, address
and telephone number of the parade’s organizers; the streets on which
the parade would travel; time of the parade; and approximate number of participants.
The ordinance states that the Village finds it necessary to regulate the
use of public streets and sidewalks to avoid conflict between competing
uses of such areas.
The ordinance does not prohibit “single file
pedestrian use of public sidewalks” that do not “unreasonably
prevent” others from using the sidewalks. It also restricts “any
spontaneous marches that might arise” during the Klan’s activity
here, Arnett said.
The legislation adds a new chapter, 418, to the
Village code book.
Before Monday’s meeting, John Chambers, the
Village solicitor, said that the ordinance would allow the Village to better
regulate the time, place and manner of an assembly. The law does not seek
to regulate or limit the content of a parade or assembly, Chambers added.
A second ordinance prohibits people from obstructing
public sidewalks or other rights of way. It also prohibits people from carrying
signs or banners on a public sidewalk over 12 square feet or from carrying
signs attached to poles greater than eight feet tall. The ordinance amends
section 660.10 of the Village code book.
The ordinance requires law enforcement officials
to first warn people who are blocking the sidewalks to disperse before making
any arrests, Chamber said.
But it is clear that the Klansmen will have a right
to distribute literature on downtown’s sidewalks. The courts have
said that the “right to use sidewalks to express an opinion is a fundamental
right” that the Village “will be hard-pressed to restrict,”
Chamber said.
The third ordinance — which amended section
660.08 — prohibits opening burning on Village-owned property and public
streets, sidewalks and rights of way. It also bans open burning after dark.
The ordinance states that a permit from the Village
is not needed if open burning is for recreational fires, barbecues and fire-training
exercises. Other types of open burning are only permitted with a permit
from the Village.
The Village withdrew a fourth ordinance for the
meeting that would have banned people from wearing masks or hoods that concealed
their identity in public. Though a number of communities around the U.S.
have approved such laws, some have been overturned by the courts. After
the meeting, Arnett said that the ordinance was unworkable. He noted that
people wear masks for a variety of reasons, including medical needs or religious
customs.
—Robert Mihalek |
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