Martin Luther King Jr’s dream is slowly manifesting in to reality. Representatives of the Wyoming chapter of the NAACP and the KKK met this past Saturday (August 31st) to discuss race relations and allegations of racist literature from the KKK being distributed.
Jimmy Simmons, president of the Casper NAACP, and John Abarr, a KKK organizer addressed claims that the KKK have been attacking Black men and disseminating racist literature in the state of Wyoming. Abarr appeared oblivious to these claims and Gillette police Lt. Chuck Deaton stated that no racially charged attacks on Black men have been reported in the last five years.
While the meeting was historic in the precedent it set, critics and Abarr himself question the effectiveness of the meeting to the Associated Press:
I don’t know if we accomplished too much. We’re not about violence. We’re about being proud to be white.
Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center told the Associated Press the meeting was “outrageous and counterproductive” as he believes it “gives legitimacy to the Klan as an organization you can talk to.”
The meeting may not have been entirely successful but an interesting twist appeared as KKK organizer Abarr paid $50 to apply for membership at the NAACP. However, do not expect any of the NAACP to be joining the KKK anytime soon according to Abarr, You have to be white to join the Klan.
Source: Allhiphop.com