JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Ku Klux Klansmen said they plan to protest Saturday over what they see as lost Southern symbolism at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, and some students plan to counter-protest the segregationist group.
Shane Tate of Tupelo, grand titan of the Mississippi White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, said members of his group are unhappy that Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones asked the band to stop playing a pep song after some fans defied Jones' request that they stop chanting "the South will rise again" at the end of the medley.
Earlier this month, Jones asked the band to stop playing "From Dixie With Love," which blends the Confederate anthem, "Dixie," with the Union Army's "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
The band has played the song for about 20 years, but the chant has started only in the past few years. Some fans yell "The South will rise again" in place of "His truth is marching on."
Jones said Nov. 10 that the chant was associated with "a segregationist movement discredited so many years ago."
Dean of Students Thomas J. "Sparky" Reardon said Friday that the Klan and the opposing student group will be allowed to protest for an hour beginning at 10 a.m., four hours before the Ole Miss-LSU football game. The protests are scheduled to occur near Fulton Chapel in the heart of the campus, near the places football fans will be having tailgate parties.
"Our students have felt the need to say that the group that's coming from outside is not who Ole Miss is," Reardon said. "Ole Miss is what's expressed in the university creed."
The creed says the university values people of all backgrounds, colors, races and beliefs.
Tate told The Commercial Appeal that Klan members will be marching for freedom of speech. He said he expects between 20 and 100 participants.
"This is not a white or black issue at all. It's freedom of speech. They've got a right to say what they want at the game," Tate told the Memphis, Tenn., newspaper.
Susan Glisson, director of the William Winter Center for Racial Reconciliation at Ole Miss, said the counter-protesters will wear shirts with the slogan, "Turn Your Back on Hate."
"We are supporting them in that effort," Glisson said.
Gov. Haley Barbour does not plan to try to stop any of the demonstrations on campus, his spokesman Dan Turner said Friday.
"They don't have any credibility," Turner said of the Klan. "As long as people don't pay that much attention to them, they'll go away."
Reardon said the Klan and the student group notified the university of their plans to demonstrate.
Asked if university officials had been worried about inviting lawsuits if they had denied permission for a march, Reardon said: "We understand our obligations to the First Amendment and we view that as serious. And, therefore, we're doing what we're doing."
University officials said campus security is not being increased because of the protests.
Ole Miss has long struggled to separate its modern image from the events of 1962, when two people were killed on campus during a violent response to the court-ordered enrollment of James Meredith as the first black student at the university.
In 1997, student leaders approved a resolution asking Ole Miss fans to stop waving Confederate flags at athletic events. University officials then banned people from bringing sticks into games — a move that dramatically curtailed the decades-long practice of fans carrying the flag.
Jones' predecessor, Robert Khayat, said the Confederate flag had been used by groups such as the Klan and it was not in the university's best interest to use it as a symbol.
Six years ago, Ole Miss officials decided not to have an on-field mascot during sporting events, getting rid of the long-standing Colonel Rebel, a white-haired old man who carries a cane. Some said he resembled a plantation owner. At the time, school officials had said they needed a more athletic-looking mascot.
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Comments » 28
gatorbaitheaven writes:
I hope they throw them out with the trash. They are no better than any other gang, cowards who hide behind a sheet. I truly feel bad for Ole Miss and the players and fans.
mbible1utk#324980 writes:
^^^^white poster here^^^^
I understand freedom of speech guarantees the right for them to say whatever they want, but if someone accidentally dropped a live grenade in the middle of these disgraceful idiots, I wouldn't be the least bit upset. They are the putrid armpit of all humanity that has white skin. I hate that I have so much as the association of my skin color with these idiots.
MTSUVOL writes:
There is no place for these hate groups like the KKK and the Black Panthers!! Although it was ok for the black panthers to intimdate voters in Philly. Hate is hate and hate is wrong.
DownTheField writes:
i feel sorry for most of them... mostly they are victims of their own context which has reenforced their false views in every conceivable way from the time of their youth
Rebelsfball2008 writes:
Amen couldn't have said it any better....
hgvol writes:
What a bunch of ignorant BA@#$rds. I would hope in the year 2009 we would be smarter, and had moved past things like this. I hope for my children, & children to come that we try harder to make this world we live in a better place. I am proud to call people of all race, colour, & creed my fellow American brother. Dont have much use for idiots who harbor hate in their heart.
Razzle writes:
Sad and disgraceful people.
WereInTrouble writes:
hgvol, how do you move past the deaths of 640,000 people by the government to stamp out the largest taxpayer revolt in the history of America? Lincoln is America's version of Stalin.
God Bless their efforts.
prideofthesouthland writes:
Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We have already forgotten why the Civil War was fought in the first place. The phrase "the South will rise again" has nothing to do with slavery.
gatorbaitheaven writes:
Amen, when I was about 6 years old I was on a trip with my aunt who is a southern white woman. We were driving thru a small town in Indiana and the kkk were out at a redlight collecting money. My aunt got so mad she sped up and said she hoped one would step out in front of her. When I asked her who they were she said scum now that I am older I agree nothing but a bunch of cowards.
DenverVol writes:
Shame on KNS for even giving this publicity. No need for it in today's society.
Skullz_VOL writes:
I see a lot of talk here, but wonder how most of you would feel if a black family moved into your neighborhood. We have a long way to go. You cant just say it, you need to feel it.
berryballer writes:
who cares.. and why do people still bring up slavery as a cop out that poop happened 150 yrs ago. if this was a black panther party nobody would say anything.you always have to be so delicate around SOME people.
The1 writes:
Freedom of speech protects all speech, not just the speech we happen to agree with.
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_K... talks about where the KKK originated and why. I thought one passage was particularly interesting: "Republicans were also targets of attacks by the clan".
What's ironic to me is that I doubt you can find one clan member now who isn't a Republican.
The Klan is an unpleasant group. I can just imagine the Ole Miss Alumni, Students, etc saying to the Klan: "Get off my side".
You know, however, if we start limiting freedom speech so that only those we agree with can speak, we would be playing right into the Klan's, and other such groups' hands - after all, don't they wish to limit the rights of non-whites?
The1 writes:
Black family lives in my neighborhood - more than one actually. My son's best friend is a black kid - he spends the night here and my son spends the night over at his friend's house.
Why do you say we have a long way to go? Where do you think we are and where do you think we are going? We have a black president. The richest woman in America is black. Most of the role model athletes are black. Not bad for 12% of the population. So, back to my question - where is it that you think we need to be?
TommyJack writes:
Any credibility the Col. Rebels have is negated by having the hood wearers on their side.
The1 writes:
There absolutely is a place for these extreme groups. They remind us how bad man can be.
The1 writes:
It seems the Klan has a pretty bad reputation - not undeserved, but, tell me, how would you rank the following groups based on 1) their moral fiber and 2) how much harm they cause around the World?
Group Moral Fiber Harm
KKK
Black Panthers
US Senate
Hillary Clinton
Rush Limbaugh
Bill Oreilly
Sara Palin
Taliban
Who is the worst and who does more harm?
RJ_Vol writes:
What?
RJ_Vol writes:
I would not let the Klan protest on campus. Time to move into the 21st century where we should all be treated w/ equality.
MTSUVOL writes:
I would replace Sara Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill Oreilly, with Barack Obama, Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton. (Three Jokers)
Madkels writes:
Not a fan of the KKK, however:
Our constitution protects us in that it allows us to assemble and speak freely, even for groups you may disagree with.
Slavery was wrong but not the single reason the Civil War was fought. States rights, consolidation of power by the fed's, and taxes/tariffs were other reasons for succession.
With that being said, I am tired of the politically correctness. So what that Atlanta has the "Braves" and Ole Miss has a colonel. The confederate battle flag did not represent slavery. It was a "battle flag"!
It's time we stop having any reference to color anywhere. No more race questions on census or college applications. We are all Americans! Stop killing traditions in order to be politically correct. No matter how hard you try, you will never make 100% of the people happy. They need to adapt.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Back to football and Vanderbushky.
FEARinSEC writes:
That can't be good for recruiting!! DOH!!!
mbible1utk#324980 writes:
A couple of thoughts...
Why not stand up and say "you aren't welcome here" to the KKK? If they want to complain, just tell them "we don't like your kind." That statement alone would really paralyze their argument, because that exact argument is the one they use against other races of people.
Second, to those saying "how would you feel if a black family moved into your community" I would say as long as they are civil, they are welcome. I don't care who moves in next to me so long as they behave. There are really wonderful black people, and really crappy white people. I'd millions of times over rather live in a wonderful black community than surrounded by crappy white people. Before you call that a bluff, the house I lived at in Knoxville had two houses for sale right by our house. In one house, a black family moved in. In the one across the street, these redneck meth-head white people moved in. The black family would occasionally have parties, but the woman would come over and ask us if we would be okay with it, and told us that if it got too loud, to call and let her know and she would quiet things down. The redneck methheads across the street would blast country music, stumble in drunk, have loud public arguments, didn't keep their property up... guess which one we had problems with? Here's a hint: We were fine with the ones who liked rap music even though we aren't fans.
steamboatticket#484773 writes:
I agree. But I also think it a shame that the battle flag of American Southerners in our Civil War is no longer remembered for what it was. The people who fought under it to defend their homes are no longer remembered for who they were. That flag is coopted by lower, meaner folk who abuse it as a symbol of their own vile racism. Ole Miss is probably right to let go of the Civil War for its symbol and mascot. It should create a museum for such thngs. I wish that the University or someone could legally stop racist and Hitler loving nazis groups from abusing the Confederate Battle Flag. That might be impossible, but someone should at least try. It does not represent racism; it represents the courage of those who served under it in battle. Human slavery was a reality of that time; so yes, let's put that in our past and put the battle flag in a proper museum where it belongs.
steamboatticket#484773 writes:
Those with the least power are the worst. But those with the most power do the most harm.
tuscavol writes:
It does not matter what the unerlying meaning of the phrase "the south will rise again" is, the surface implications are racist. PERIOD. The very fact that the KKK felt compelled to come to the defense of its continued use says a lot about the real meaning of the words and proves that it use should be stopped. No matter what the original intentions were for this phrase or the Confederate flag, BECAUSE of the Klan, they now represent hate. Thank them for their negative images. The Egyptions used the swastika first but who or what do you think about when you see it now? Hitler and hate. A lot of Germans died for THAT flag but you dont see their ancestors waving it around proudly.
People should also keep in mind that the KKK is not a representative of Ole Miss, the students, or the community.
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