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Commission on Human Rights
Kentucky Human Rights Commission statement regarding white supremacist rally
The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights urges the people of Kentucky to speak out against Ku Klux Klan activities in the state and against the group’s backward doctrines of hatred and violence.
WHAS Television in Louisville, Ky., last week, reported that the Imperial Klans of America, the second largest branch in the nation of the white supremacist group, was to hold an annual “Viking” rally at its Dawson Springs, Ky. headquarters over Memorial Day Weekend.
“People are aghast that an insidious group like this has a headquarters within the boundaries of Kentucky,” said John J. Johnson, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights.
Johnson said, “The Ku Klux Klan and all hate groups seek only to divide Kentucky. They seek to intimidate whole communities on the bases of personal and immutable characteristics, and they are damaging to the very fabric of our society.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center and others claim the KKK is losing members. But, IKA “Imperial Wizard” Ron Edwards told WHAS that despite losing a multi-million dollar civil suit this year brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center, his organization is growing since the election of African American U.S. President Barrack Obama and the downward spiral of the economy. The court case found Edwards liable for teaching violent doctrines that resulted in the brutal beating of a young Panamanian teen in 2006.
Anyone who is a victim of fear and intimidation should contact local law authorities immediately for protection. Possible victims of illegal discrimination because of race, color, sex, age, disability, national origin or religion should contact the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights for help. The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights is the state government agency that enforces the Kentucky Civil Rights Act and federal civil rights laws, all of which make discrimination illegal.
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