Hundreds protest Klan in Tomball

June 11, 2005, 11:18PM



Melissa Phillip / Chronicle
Demonstrators were restricted to a designated area
across the street from the Tomball Community Center,
where the Ku Klux Klan held an exhibit on Saturday.

Hundreds protest Klan in Tomball
Heavy turnout of police keeps groups separated
By SALATHEIA BRYANT
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle


........Jordan and a few hundred protesters participated in a demonstration Saturday outside the Tomball Community Center, the site of a lecture and exhibit sponsored by the White Camelia Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. They were held back by a line of police officers — some in SWAT gear — and a water cannon trained in their direction.
(snip)

David Michael Smith, a protest organizer with United Concerned Neighbors, said he was pleased with the turnout and hoped it sent a message that the organization is unwanted.
(snip)

A handwritten sign was posted near the entrance of the community center, prohibiting the media from entering. Some blacks who tried to enter were also turned back by uniformed Klan members at the door.

More than 70 law enforcement officers, including canine units, from various agencies kept the groups separated. One officer was stationed on the roof of a nearby building, taking pictures of protesters.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3221629
(Free registration is required)

and your link has pictures and first accounts.

Good news for those of us who have no idea what's going on in Texas outside the nightmares like Mr. Byrd's murder at the hands of Klansmen in that hideous torture and murder several years ago.

Some one should be observing these events and getting the names of these Klan pukes. When the revolution comes, then we can round them up and try them for treason.

in Texas that remember the KKK for their rides through neighborhoods that were not WASP neighborhoods.

My mother told me stories of how her family had to hide under the table and stay away from windows when the Klan road through their Houston neighborhood, tormenting and harassing the Polish catholics. (Catlikers :mad:) Many are still alive that were harassed by the Klan and that know what the Klan really stands for and have personally experienced their hate.

Thank you citizens of Tomball! :yourock:

the Klan hung my g-g-grandpa for "horse stealing." Never mind he was a physician. My theory is that he helped the wrong person. The tale continues that his widow called all her relatives over from Lousiana to the town in Texas and ran the Klan out of town. And for those wondering, that branch of the family is tall and blond.

family ran the evil out! What a wonderful accomplishment.

I have heard they are not considered terrorists, whereas environmental groups who release animals are. Does anyone know what the truth is about this?

is an indication that the KKK is not considered a terrorist organization by the government. :grr:

the Klan came to hold a rally.

There were about five Klansmen, about 40 police and about 1000 people across the park rallying against the Klan.

the KKK in such large numbers.

The Klan now realizes that they will be OK with the WH.

Several posters at DU were seen passing out rifles and recruiting KKK members as Minutemen....

Now THAT'S action!

By the way, Klansmen are so shy, they will try to run off if you catch one by himself. Bashful guys.

i am very happy that Tomballs residents are standing up.

What a bunch of ugly mofos!

I don't agree with a single thing they do, a single thought they think or a single belief they hold, but I like the Klan.

I like the Klan because they're up-front with their racism. No one ever joined the Klan because the local grand wizard makes great barbecue, they joined because they hate non-white people.

Guys like Catkiller, Bugman and Dubya can hate all day long and they can deflect criticism of their hate by claiming they're "compassionate Christian conservatives." They're closeted bigots, and that's a pain in the ass because all the freepers and bushbots can sit there and go "Bush is a gentle, loving man who loves puppies and hates mean things." And you can't convince them otherwise.

Ain't no way to whitewash the fact that a Klansman is a bigot, since bigotry is the raison d'etre of that organization.

I'll take a Klansman over Bush any day of the week. The Klansman's not ashamed to say he hates everyone who doesn't look like him.

Having said all that, I would much prefer the Klan cease to exist. I would very much enjoy a new age of enlightenment that obliterates the need for organizations like the KKK and the Republican Party...but that's not going to happen.

Now, there is a good use for the KKK. What I want to do is to require all racist Repugs like DeLay and Bush to join the Klan. This will solve the racist-Repug problem. The only people who would vote for a Klansman are other Klansmen; stick Bush and his minions in the KKK, and the racism problem inherent in the GOP will disappear within five years. This is because the Republicans in Congress will disappear within five years.

Now would someone hand me that crowbar over there?

to end! Good ol' boy from Carolina who always wore his bigotry and hatred out loud and proud. What's worse is, he was always re-elected, people just LOVE their leaders of hate! Look at the Bush lovers, they LOVE when he starts talking about how christians are better then everyone else and they should force their views on everyone or kill them.

What y'all don't seem to realize is that Jesse never did win huge majorities here--he always pulled it out by just a few percent. And to do it, he always had to play dirty.

In 1980, they ran Harvey Gantt against Jesse. Now, Harvey was gonna whup Jesse but good...until Jesse ran his "hands" ad. You saw a guy's white hands crumpling a job rejection letter. The voiceover said, "You really wanted that job but they had to give it to a minority." Jesse won by two or three percent--all thanks to this ad. (Harvey Gantt was the mayor of Charlotte, and is a black man.)

There's some weird-ass thing Gantt did when he was mayor of Charlotte that, when mentioned, always causes him to lose. Jesse pulled it out in 1986, and Harvey Gantt lost again. (We have this strange habit in North Carolina of running losers over and over and over again. Both Democrats and Republicans do it. There's a Repug woman in Cumberland County whose name escapes me at the moment...they ran this woman against Alex Warner for a NC House seat ten times, and Alex Warner stomped her ass ten times. They would have run her last time except that she moved to a different state.)

officers taking pictures of the protesters. Sounds like the sixties to me.

And if so, what was the Klan doing there, turning away blacks?

Inquiring minds want to know.

I heard some Tomball citizens talking about it. Apparently the contract for the community center did not have the appropriate wording to be able to legally prevent the KKK from renting it. I was told that a legal change was in the process, so they they will be able to keep them out in the future.

Yes, blacks were turned away. The contract for the use of the community center specifies that the renter has the right to restict admittance to their event.