Isn't The Equality State the proper place for civil rights activists and racists to meet?

The weekend's summit meeting in Casper between the NAACP and the KKK is kicking up a fuss.

The Independent in the UK gave it big play as did a slew of my fellow bloggers (go here and here).

Adding to the drama is the fact that NAACP higher-ups apparently did not approve of the meeting, which seems silly to me. My colleagues at the NAACP Casper branch came off looking cordial and knowledgeable in Jeremy Fugleberg's excellent Casper Star-Tribune article. KKK Kleagle John Abarr seemed a bit cluelesss, but redeemed himself by joining the NAACP and even kicking in an additional $20 donation. This is a good thing for an organization that has a tough time recruiting members and raising funds in a place that's subtitled "The Equality State" and often falls short of living up to that vaunted title.

The CST's Fugleberg is following the continuing drama on Twitter. You can too.

Lest you think that the KKK is the quaint little Christian social organization portrayed by Abarr, read deeper into the many media articles.

Not quite sure about the KKK's history in Wyoming (little help here, Phil Roberts!). But I do know a bit about the Klan in Colorado. It was a powerful organization in Denver during the 1920s. Unable to find enough blacks to torment, the KKK picked on Irish and Italians and Chicanos -- all Catholics targeted by the Nativist "100% American" elements in the KKK. Hooded Klansmen burned crosses in my Irish grandfather's South Denver neighborhood, in Italian Pueblo and throughout the state. Hipsters in Denver's pricey Wash Park may not know this, but people who once occupied their renovated houses used to avoid walking around their own neighborhood. My mom and her brother and sister were chased home from their Catholic school by protestant kids from South High. They threw rocks at them and called them "rednecks" because the Irish tended to have sunburned necks from working out in the sun all day. They labored on the railroad and on construction projects and on farms east of town.

The Klan elected a Governor and had the Denver mayor and a passel of Republican legislators in their pocket. But their power waned as people grew tired of their hateful, regressive agenda.

Hard to imagine solidly Democratic Denver as a Klan bastion. It's hard to believe that the Klan still exists in 2013. Let's hope the dialogue that started in Casper continues.

Hope.

NAACP and KKK reps meet in Casper

As a human, a writer and a card-carrying member of the NAACP, I find this story fascinating: John Abarr of the Ku Klux Klan (Klans of America) and Jimmy Simmons of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People meet in Casper. Result: Simmons schools Abarr on the history of the KKK, and Abarr joins the NAACP. Casper Star-Tribune reporter Jeremy Fugleberg has an eye for detail and an ear for dialogue which makes this piece rise above the usual daily newspaper fare. I read the version reprinted in the Billings Gazette. Go here.

One fascinating fact: Did you know that the Klan wants the northwest states of Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon to secede from the union? The states are predominately white so the Klan apparently figures that WyWaMtIdOr will make an ideal Caucasian country. Abarr says that African-Americans and other people of color will be allowed to stay but others will not be admitted. How would that work, exactly? No non-white inventors, artists, CEOs, pilots, poets, soldiers, athletes, legislators, moms, dads or kids allowed in Whitelandia? What a bland place this would be.

Cheyenne NAACP banquet includes awards and presention about "Big Medicine" of the Lewis & Clark expedition

Attended the Cheyenne NAACP (Unit 4108) Freedom Fund Banquet last night for the first time. My wife Chris has been a number of times, as she's actively involved with the local NAACP in planning the annual Juneteenth Celebration in Martin Luther King Jr. Park. It's the longest-running Juneteenth event in Wyoming and, until recently, the only one. Chris and I were given a gift membership to NAACP last year. This year, we renewed the membership.

Also attending were about a dozen members of the Laramie County Democrats and the the Laramie County Democratic Grassroots Coalition. Love & Charity hosted a big table of youth, giving them an opportunity to see the NAACP in action. A number of Colorado NAACP members were present, including the Wyoming/Nebraska/Colorado region chair.

Cheyenne NAACP President Elder Rodney McDowell presented a number of awards to sponsors and volunteers. Chris was surprised when she received a "President's Choice" plaque, so surprised that she burst into tears. She does most of her work behind the scenes and isn't used to blatant public presentations of awards. She got as standing ovation, to boot, and a big hug from Elder McDowell. The wording on the plaque: "In appreciation of your commitment and dedication to Civil Rights and Social Justice in Cheyenne and throughout Wyoming." Those words mean so much in Wyoming, a place that doesn't always lived up to its motto of "The Equality State." So proud of you, Chris!

Guest speaker was Dr. Robert Bartlett, actor and professor of Africana Studies at Eastern Washington University in Cheyenne, Wash. He performed a one-man presentation, "Manservant York." York was the manservant/slave that William Clark brought with him on the famous "Voyage of Discovery." The two has grown up together on the Clark Kentucky plantation. Clark taught York outdoor survival skills as the two hunted and fished the wilderness. When Jefferson appointed Lewis and Clark to make their trek, Clark felt that York's skills would come in handy. They did. York became known as "Big Medicine" to the Indians encountered along the way. On more than one occasion, his presence dissuaded the Indians from killing the voyagers. One Nez Perce chief thought so much of Big Medicine that he had him bed all four of his wives.

During the expedition, York became a free man in the wilderness. On his return to St. Louis, he once again became Master William's slave. He was even beaten after he'd asked for his freedom once too often. York's end is a mystery, although Bartlett opines that he lit out for Indian country, spending the latter part of his life with the Crow Nation in northern Wyoming. York urged the audience to look for him in the history books, "although you'll have to look awfully hard."

Look for York; see if you can find him. 

Aug. 18 Cheyenne NAACP banquet features chautauqua performance, "Manservant York"

From http://www.lewisandclarktrail.com: Explorer William Clark inherited York from his father and York accompanied Clark on the Lewis and Clark Trail journey.