The Ku Klux Klan is recognized as the oldest hate group in the United States. The KKK has a disturbing history with minority groups such as Blacks, Jews, Homosexuals, and Catholics, however, a member of the Montana Klan has declared that he is determined to add more diversity into the Ku Klux Klan.
John Abarr, of Great Falls, told the Great Fall Tribune , “The Ku Klux Klan is for a strong America.”
“White supremacy is the old Klan. This is the new Klan.”
The modern Ku Klux Klan is not one organization , but rather a composition of many small chapters across the United States. Abarr’s vision of the Ku Klux Klan is that nationalism is a superior ideology to rally around than racism.
According to the Washington Times , The new Klan will not focus on race , but rather on reining in the federal government and keeping Capitol Hill from establishing a “new world order” under a unified force.
According to USA Today , Jimmy Simmons, one of the NAACP representatives who met with Abarr last year, believes he probably is trying to reform. If Abarr holds a peace summit next summer, Simmons said he would “take a strong look” at joining.
“The use of the letters Ku Klux Klan instills fear in people,” said Simmons.
John Abarr claims to have members from around the state joining the Rocky Mountain Knights. If anyone wants to join his organization, they just need to be 18 and live in the Pacific Northwest.
Abarr’s plan has attracted a host of skeptics.
The co-director of the Montana Human Rights Network said Abarr doesn’t need to use the KKK to form a more inclusive organization.
Rachel Carroll-Rivas said, “If John Abarr was actually reformed, he could drop the label of the KKK.”
It is not the first time a Klansman has vowed to change the image of the Ku Klux Klan. In 1974, David Duke founded the Louisiana-based Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKKK), a Louisiana Ku Klux Klan organization.
Duke reformed the organization, promoting nonviolence and legality, and for the first time in the Klan’s history, women were accepted as equal members. Catholics were even encouraged to apply for membership. However, Duke left the Klan and formed the National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP).
Do you believe that John Abarr’s vision of a racially diverse Ku Klux Klan is genuine?
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