KKK distributed “recruitment flyers” in advance of Selma march 50th anniversary
Civil rights supporters were not the only people observing the 50th anniversary of the march on Selma. The KKK also left about 4,000 flyers throughout Montgomery and Selma to mark “Bloody Sunday.” Robert Jones, grand dragon of the Loyal White Knights of the KKK, told reporters that the group had been distributing flyers for about two weeks before the event held Sunday, March 8. “We pretty much put out fliers, some against King and some against immigration,” Jones told Emily Hill of AL.com. “It’s time for the American people to wake up to these falsehoods that they preach about MLK.” KKK members drove by random homes, tossing bags with a flier and a rock onto doorsteps. Jones said the rocks were like “paperweights.” The KKK was not “upset” about the Selma gathering, Jones said. “Everybody has a right to gather in this country, freedom of speech,” he added, although he did admit “frustration” over support for Martin Luther King, Jr. People are “supporting a man they don’t know about,” he said. The purpose of the flyers was to way attract new members by reminding the community that the Klan is still out there,” Jones told AL.com. “The Klan is still out there and we are watching,” CBS 8 Montgomery reported that Selma Avenue residents notified the news station about the KKK fliers after calling police. Several municipalities nationwide have recently reported finding Klan recruitment flyers, including Hamilton, Ohio; Alexandria, Louisiana; and Spokane Valley, Washington. Many of flyers encouraged residents to report neighborhood troubles to a 24-hour “Klanline.” Louisiana’s The Town Talk website says that one flyer gives a number with a recording saying the KKK is “unapologetically committed to the interests and values of the white race.” Callers can also leave messages; ask for information, media inquiries or check on Klan applications. Thousands gathered on March 8 to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge as Selma celebrated the 50th anniversary of the conflict between police and civil rights activists. The protests led directly to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed by President Lyndon Johnson.
