The White Patriot Party Proudly Presents...

A White Man Speaks Out

The former leader of the largest active
White Rights Group in the United States,
Speaks out for White America.

...by F.Glenn Miller

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Chapter 4:
Starting My Own Group
The Carolina Knights Of The Ku Klux Klan

On December 20, 1980, I founded the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and signed up it's first three members, Joe Cobb of Johnston County, James Lawson of Harnett County, and myself.

James, along with his wife Betsy had, like me, been members of the Nazi Party, and had both been hard-working activists for many years.

Joe was a bull of a man in his mid-thirties and was highly popular with the local rednecks.

I will say here at the onset that I never wanted to be the leader of any organization. I served under Harold Covington in the Nazi Party and under Ed Fields in the National States Rights Party for six years. However, it was the utter failure of those two groups and the failure of others familiar to me to attract the White masses, which forced me to reach the decision to either quit all together out of frustration and futility, or to try my own group.

Personal reasons played a big part in my reluctance to assume leadership of any White organization.

(1) I had previously been married to a non-White (Hawaiian), and had fathered a child by her. Being a brainwashed social liberal during my 20's in the Army, I had openly engaged in social integration with non-Whites, including non-Whites of the opposite sex. I feared the media would use that seeming hypocrisy to discredit me and the group thereby dooming both to failure from the beginning.

(2) I had a lengthy police record, though all were misdemeanor offenses, which I felt the media would also use against me.

(3) I doubted my leadership capabilities. Being shy and somewhat of an introvert, I had always been terrified of public speaking and felt inadequate in that regard. Also, I felt I lacked the intelligence and know-how necessary to build a successful organization or even one that would be an improvement upon existing ones.

None of the national White groups had shown me any promise of being able to attract the masses, with the sole exception of David Duke's National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, based in Louisiana. But, he was far away.

There were many highly intelligent and articulate writers who published White oriented newspapers, magazines, and books, but they all seemed content with writing, and weren't making any serious attempts to organize the masses.

From the very beginning of my involvement in the White Movement in 1974, my vision of a successful organization very much resembled Adolph Hitler's German National Socialist Party. My organization however, would be without socialism and without the swastika, and would present an American image in general, and a Southern image in particular.

Regardless of what one might say about Hitler, no one can say he failed in his attempt to unite, organize, and educate the White masses. Hitler was a White racist and so was I. And, like him, I wanted to unite, organize, and educate the White masses.

In many ways, I would try to emulate Hitler's methods of attracting members and supporters. In the years to come, for example, I placed great emphasis on staging marches and rallies. It had been successful with Hitler, and I felt it would be successful with me.

My racist and anti-Semitic thoughts consumed me every day of my life. And, I was therefore, compelled to do everything possible to awaken White people, to organize them, and to try to save the White Race and Western civilization from those whom I believed were working to destroy both.

I knew that by going public with a White racist organization, I would be placing myself in danger, and not only from militant Blacks, Jews, and Communists. I also feared assassination and entrapment by federal officials. One need only consider the federal government's attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro and Moamar Kadafi to believe the possibility. If the U.S. Government would attempt to murder the presidents of sovereign nations because of differences in political ideologies, and going to great lengths and risks in the process, how could I ever doubt the possibility of them assassinating me for the same or other reason?

FBI documents opened to the public under the Freedom of Information Act in the early 70's revealed many examples of blatant FBI entrapment and frame-ups of Klan leaders in the 1950's and 60's.

During all my years in the White Movement, I feared the Federal Government far more than all other adversaries combined. Assassination was my biggest fear.

It would be my fear of assassination, among other things, that would drive me underground in March of 1987.

But, all things considered, I tossed all my fears and doubts aside on December 20, 1980 and threw myself into the task of building the CKKKK. And, being retired from the U.S. Army and financially independent, thanks to my retirement pay, I could devote my full time and attention to the task.

I had already installed a telephone message unit in my home while I was in the Nazi Party, and I immediately purchased another message machine and installed it in the home of a supporter in nearby Smithfield to broadcast two minute recruiting messages, giving my name, address and phone number at the end of each message for those wanting to contact the CKKKK. The messages were changed weekly.

To publicize the phone numbers of these units, I purchased thousands of copies of The Thunderbolt Newspaper and wrote the following notice in pen at the top of each before rolling them in rubber bands and throwing them on lawns and in driveways all over Johnston, Harnett and Wake counties: "FREE WHITE POWER MESSAGE, CALL 894-5230 OR 934-4493."

From those two message machines, 10,000 people learned of the CKKKK and how to contact us that first month alone. And, at the peak of our success in July 1986, I had a total of 28 of those message machines located in five Southern states, each of which was receiving an average of around 5,000 calls per month.

The Southern Bell Telephone Company did a survey on our message unit in Smithfield due to complaints they'd received from callers saying they had difficulty getting through because the line was always busy. And, as a result of that survey, the phone company sent me a letter advising me to install two more units in Smithfield to handle all the calls. That's an example of how popular my messages were and continued to be.

That first month, the CKKKK grew to about 25 members, mostly local friends of Joe Cobb, whom Joe brought to my house and had them fill out an application form and pay their $20 annual dues.

The application form contained among other things, a statement, stating that the member understood that the CKKKK was not a traditional Klan organization. That is to say, it was not my intention to achieve our goals through violence or intimidation, though some of our members did commit acts of both, but against my stated wishes, and unbeknown to me.

Though the courts would disagree, I felt then and still do, that I should not be held accountable for that which I had no control over.

I could not legally order any member to do anything, and prior to my Declaration of War in 1987, I never did. If I had, I'd have been subject to prosecution for violating their civil rights. If I had even ordered a member to simply attend a meeting, I'd have been guilty of kidnapping. So, the idea of my issuing orders to Klan members was ridiculous.

My goals and therefore the goal of the CKKKK was simply to unite, organize, and educate White people. Then together, we would right the wrongs I felt were so destructive to America and to White people.

I wanted the great masses of White people to join together. I did not want to lead a small group of men in burning crosses and assaulting interracial couples or committing other illegal acts generally associated with "The Klan." I must admit, however, that I never objected when other groups did, and was pleased when hearing they had. But, I didn't want the CKKKK to engage in any illegal acts, because it was counter productive to our attracting the masses.

How does one convince the White masses to join a White racist organization? That, of course, was by biggest problem and challenge. In spite of the efforts of literally hundreds of White groups, it has not been done in America since the 1920's when around five million people joined a national Klan organization.

Even in the 1960's during the height of the violent Black Civil Rights Movement, White groups only managed to sign up around 200,000 members, all tolled. And by 1980, that number reduced to less than 10,000, according to national studies.

My plan to attract the masses into my organization was to use my message units, the newspaper I published ( The White Carolinian, later named The Confederate Leader ), the national and local media, political elections, and marches and rallies in an ever increasing degree, until the White masses finally awoke and seeing that Glenn Miller was right, would flood into the CKKKK.

Though my tactics for that end were flexible, my plan to win the minds and bodies of the White masses was unchangeable.

Money, I felt was really the only big obstacle. With enough money, I could purchase time on TV and radio, print my newspaper in millions of copies, run a formidable campaign for Governor of N.C., (I did run for that office in 1984), buy uniforms for thousands of marching and protesting activists, purchase and install hundreds of telephone message units all over the country, pay the salaries of full time employees, and do hundreds of other things to get my message of White supremacy and anti-Semitism to the masses.

That was my plan from the beginning and continued to be until July 25, 1986, when I was convicted of operating a paramilitary organization and ordered by a federal court to dissociate myself completely from the American White Movement.

By the Spring of 1981, the CKKKK had grown to about 150 members, so I held our first Klan rally on my farm, and advertised it through our message machines and through thousands of leaflets distributed around a 20-mile radius, for White folks to come out and join with the CKKKK. I offered a free pig-pickin', to boot (I supplied the pig and Joe Cobb cooked him).

Hoping my 25 acres would be big enough to hold the large crowd I naively expected, I organized early arriving members into parking attendants. But, I quietly disorganized them a little later when the speeches started and less than 40 cars and trucks had materialized.

Dr. Ed Fields of the National States Rights Party in Marietta, Georgia was nice enough to come and be our special guest speaker. Dr. Fields and I both got embarrassed when in the middle of his long fire and brimstone speech, all nine of my cows lined up at the pasture fence next to the rally field, and tried to compete with him for the attention of the spectators, as they mooed, mooed, and kept on mooing until I sent several Klansmen to run them back to the barn and lock them in.

About forty CKKKK members showed up for the rally, plus about twenty others, four or five of whom joined our Klan that night.

We held a cross lighting ceremony, and while "The Old Rugged Cross" played over our loud speaker, about thirty of us paraded around it with lighted torches, wearing our Klan robes.

A young couple had just moved into a new mobile home across the road a few days earlier, and the fellow told one of my neighbors the next day, "Damn, I knew I was in Klan country, but nobody told me the Grand Dragon lived right across the road."

However, neither he nor any of my neighbors ever complained during the seven years I lived there. Though, but for two exceptions, none of them ever joined the CKKKK either.

I made my first speech that night, and though it wasn't a great one, what I lacked in elegance and experience, I made up in heartfelt sincerity, and everyone seemed pleased with it.

My obsessive racial and political beliefs gave me the courage and the determination to speak publicly, and to do so every chance I got. Gradually, I overcame my fear of speaking to large audiences, and I was never afraid again, even when I appeared on national television programs, or when sharing a podium with state politicians like Jim Martin who later became governor of North Carolina.

I'd run my mouth with the best of them, and was never in awe of anybody. On the contrary, I thought I was better than they, because as I saw it, I was working toward the solutions to the nation's problems and they were causing the problems.

And I was confident in my knowledge of most subject matters, and in my ability to field questions with articulate and persuasive answers.

My first TV appearance was as a guest on the thirty minute program "Pro and Con" at a WRAL TV studio in Raleigh, where I debated with an attorney by the name of Wade Smith, who later became Chairman of the N.C. Democratic Party.

The subject of the debate was "Does North Carolina need a White Political Party?" And, it was broadcast in March of 1981.

A few weeks prior, the show had featured a Black lady who debated, "Does North Carolina need a Black Political Party?", so I called Joel Lawhorn of WRAL asking for equal time, and got it.

I thought I made a good impression, and it resulted in new members and supporters, one of whom was David Wallace, who after watching the show phoned WRAL and got my phone number, and after coming to my house, joined the CKKKK.

David would be murdered on November 20, 1983, following a Klan rally outside Siler City, N.C.

Within a year, the CKKKK had established seven or eight subunits, which I referred to as Klan Dens. Each den had from five to about forty adult members, the Den of David Wallace in Chatham County being the largest.

These Dens were located around Eastern and Central North Carolina. And, each held their own meetings, usually on a monthly basis.

Stephen S. Miller, soon to become Chaplain of the CKKKK and number two man behind me, first visited me in April 1981, and after several hours of feeling me out and satisfying himself that our political and racial views were compatible, he joined the CKKKK.

Steve would represent the CKKKK as a Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor of N.C. in the 1984 primary elections, gaining over 30,000 votes, which was 25,000 more than I received in my bid that same year for Governor, and proving (in my view anyway), that the more voters who know you're in the Klan, the less votes you get, me being more widely known than Steve. But, then again, what do I know about why people vote the way they do? The voters not only rejected me overwhelmingly in 1984, but they did the same in 1982 and 1986.

I was getting so few votes by the 1986 election that I told a precinct official when I went to vote, that if I didn't get at least two votes from that precinct, I was going to burn a cross in my wife's yard. And he though I was serious.

Steve is ten years younger than I and though we are both tall and slim, we are not related, as many who read about us thought. Intelligent, knowledgeable, a good speaker and organizer, and totally dedicated to his cause, Steve was a welcome addition to the CKKKK, and he and I became the best of friends, though we differed slightly in our views regarding how best to run the CKKKK.

Steve was also a veteran of the U.S. Army Special Forces, and a licensed pilot.

During the following five years, Steve and I would participate in hundreds of White racist activities. In 1987, he would be convicted in federal court and sentence to ten years imprisonment.

The crime for which he was convicted was "conspiracy to rob a Pizza Hut for the purpose of obtaining money to purchase weapons with which to murder Civil Rights Attorney Morris S. Dees, of Montgomery Alabama."

At the time of his conviction in April 1987, I was on the run from the law.

In the summer of 1982, with about 300 members and supporters on the CKKKK rolls, I decided we were ready for our first public march and demonstration, though I feared we'd be physically attacked by Blacks, Jews, or Communists or a combination thereof.

Small Klan groups were often attacked when they tried to stage demonstrations in public. That's why so many preferred cow pastures.

The Benson Town Council turned down my written request for a parade permit, but changed their minds after myself and another Klansman attended their weekly meeting and assured them we weren't looking for trouble, and just wanted to protest Black violence against White people.

So, with our loud speaker blaring Dixie and martial music, 72 of us (that was the newspaper count), marched about twelve blocks through downtown Benson in the hundred-degree heat, about half carrying large confederate flags mounted of 11 foot flag poles.

The TV and newspaper coverage brought the CKKKK several more members and supporters, and the respect of many people who didn't think we had the courage to come out in public.

There was no violence or trouble of any sort, and we all returned safely to my farm for a pig-picking and celebration, nine miles away.

By that time, I had instituted a new uniform policy. Members could wear either Klan robes or camouflage fatigues. The fatigues would bear a Confederate flag patch on the left shoulder, and another patch worn over the left pocket which read "CKKKK." Combat boots and pistol belts were also worn with the uniform.

I remember that as we once marched through downtown Stone Mountain Georgia, a fat Black lady spectator cried out, "Laws haf mercy, der come de Ku Kluck Klan, and dey got de Army marching wif ‘em."

During that first year, Steve and I traveled all over the state, meeting and speaking with small groups wanting to start their own Den, as we continued to do in subsequent years. We also installed three or four more telephone message units. And, I began a newsletter, which I called The White Carolinian. The first edition was dated January 1981, and like following editions, contained, in addition to my political and racial editorials, and newspaper reprints of our growing activities, notices of upcoming CKKKK meetings, rallies, marches or other activities and giving their dates, times, and locations, etc. That monthly newsletter was an essential tool for communicating with our members and supporters. The CKKKK also purchased bulk copies of "The Thunderbolt" newspaper from Dr. Fields on a monthly basis, for distribution to the public, and he gave us thousands of extra copies, free of charge.

I made The Thunderbolt the official political and racial newspaper of the CKKKK, selecting it from a dozen or so other national publications.

Though the CKKKK continued to improve in attracting financial contributions, over half of the cost of running the organization came out of my own pocket, that first year, but I didn't mind. The CKKKK was growing, and I felt I was awakening the masses who would soon come flocking into our ranks. I'd have mortgaged my house and farm to keep things going and growing.

Jerry Joseph, a former Nazi, moved in with me and helped me quite a bit, distributing literature and preparing for rallies and meetings, after the NSPA had folded. And he was a fiery tempered fanatical little rascal, but a talented worker. After about six months of conflicting personalities, I finally had to punch him out. Though I apologized, things were never the same again and finally I ran him off after he pulled a pistol on me due to his girlfriend, Charlotte, flirting with me every time she thought he was looking the other way. He left, moved back to Kansas taking her with him, later joined the Army, and they had several children.

After making two unsuccessful trips to Chicago in 1982, trying to talk Marge into coming home, I brought her and my three little boys back on the third, after much begging and promising. Our daughter, Anna was born eleven months after Marge's return. Another daughter, Macy, would follow in 1992.

For my second Chicago attempt, I had decided to kidnap my boys while Marge was out of the house, but that plot failed when Marge's babysitter, Libby, alerted that I might try something sinister, pulled a pistol on me after I'd burst into the house. And she ran me off. So I returned empty handed to North Carolina, sulking like a whipped dog with his tail between his legs, but determined to try again.

I treated Marge particularly good the first few months after her return, and kept my political views low key as much as possible, thus easing her back into the Klan lifestyle. Making good friends with the wives of several Klansmen while preparing food at meetings or rolling newspapers, Marge's objections to the CKKKK gradually eroded, and she became my indispensable helper again.

For the next four years, Marge would take on increasing duties as the CKKKK grew in membership, typing, rolling newspapers, cooking, stuffing envelopes, answering the telephone, and doing a hundred other chores. By 1986, her Klan work alone required five or six hours per day, and she did complain, but did the work anyway.

No man ever had a more devoted, dependable, or faithful wife, nor a better mother for his children, I can say that, without any reservation whatsoever. And, I would, without hesitation, bet my life itself that all my children are mine, which few men can do this day and time.

Marge came from a strict Catholic family in Chicago, but converted to Baptist after our marriage and was baptized. And, though there was no connection, her sister and brother did the same.

Also, during those four years, Marge went with me to dozens of meetings and rallies, and with three boys in tow, she marched in Klan uniform through the streets of many towns and cities.

She really amazed me during the Beulaville, NC parade in 1985. Thinking her man was threatened and in danger from a Black marine whom I had confronted, Marge, screaming and with all ten of her claws slashing, tried her best to get at him. Myself and two or three others had a tough time pulling her away. Seeing that the Black was younger and much bigger than myself, Marge acted with pure shameless love and animal instinct, which made a big impression on me. She would fight for her man.

Steve and I were allowed to address the North Carolina Judiciary Committee at the state legislature in Raleigh in late 1981. Senator Hinson Barnes of Goldsboro had introduced a bill, written by the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, designed to outlaw so-called paramilitary organizations. Steve and I pleaded our case for five minutes each against the bill, but it passed by a vote of 16 to zero and later became law.

I wrote a letter to the then State Attorney General, Rufus Edminson, asking for a detailed list of the do's and don'ts relative to a Klan group, and he wrote me back saying to the effect, "Get a lawyer."

I met Mr. Edminson later during a "Meet the Candidates" forum at the Radisson Hotel in Raleigh, during the 1984 Democratic Primary for Governor. After the seven or eight candidates, including myself and Mr. Edminson, had each given ten minute speeches to members of the North Carolina Savings and Loan Association, Edminson confronted me, shook my hand, and said, "I admire you. You've got guts."

I also met and shook hands with then U.S. Congressman Jim Martin, who ended up winning that election and became governor.

I remember thinking, as Martin gave his speech, he'd never win, and that I'd probably beat him myself, showing once again how little I know about winning elections.

I did however, raise some eyebrows and frowns that night, due to my radical speech and my three uniformed bodyguards who sat, arms folded, at a table in the middle of the crowd of about 300 bankers.

In 1982, I started the CKKKK Special Forces, and allowed those who met my prerequisites to wear a green beret bearing a red background with a white cross sewn on the background. This military appearance really raised the media's attention and outrage. They then portrayed us as an elite, highly trained, radical militant group bent on building an army to fight a race war.

I didn't do much to discourage the media's exaggerations because it not only helped us grow in number and financial contributions as more and more people learned of our existence, but more important, it terrified much of the Black population of North Carolina. And, I didn't have to worry so much about being attacked by them on the streets when we held our public marches and demonstrations, which encouraged me even more.

Blacks were even afraid to drive by my house. Weeks would pass without my seeing one pass by.

Thanks to the media, the Blacks thought we were a bunch of highly armed and crazy White racist bigots, who wouldn't hesitate to kill any Black who tried to get in our way.

I've seen Black adult males cross the street to avoid having to pass by me, and virtually every Black person within 10 miles of my house knew me on sight, and not once in those six years did a single one of them ever speak to me in an unpleasant voice. And, I was recognized everywhere I went.

Black fear was a result of media sensationalism and intentional distortions.

The CKKKK or White Patriot Party marched through dozens of North Carolina cities and towns, and not one of us was ever assaulted by Blacks.

The media, of course, tried to turn people against us and to discredit my claim of being just a civil rights group for White people.

What the media didn't know or understand when branding us as an armed and lawless group of White bigots, was that there are thousands of rednecks who want to join just such a group. And, when some of them joined the CKKKK, I couldn't convince them that we weren't. Some of them actually thought that by joining "The Klan," they received a legal license to commit violent crimes, along with their membership cards.

No matter how much Steve and I preached about staying legal, most of these men never believed us, and some would grin or wink as we spoke.

They thought the CKKKK was like the Klan group their grandfathers belonged to back in the 1920's or 30's, when members could get by with just about anything.

That ignorance about the CKKKK extended to the masses of people as well.

I received hundreds of phone calls from people wanting me to go out and assault this or that person, for wrongs perceived by the callers.

One 65 year old White man called, and after informing me his wife of 67 had left him and moved in with a younger man, demanded that I get some men together and, as the caller put it, "Go Klux 'em," meaning to commit some violent act upon them.

A Black girl from Angier called once, saying her boyfriend was dating a White girl, and asked me, "Whut you gone do bout it?"

Another elderly White lady called and said that her Black maid was stealing her jewelry, as if that was a classic crime for which the CKKKK should render traditional and just "Klan punishment."

It's really incredible.

I must admit however, that I did succumb once to perpetuating the myth, but against my better judgment.

A financial supporter who sold beer and wine illegally from his country grocery store was being blackmailed by an unknown individual. He found a note in his store saying, "We will tell the law about you selling beer and wine if you don't give us $1000 in cash." And the note went on to tell him to put the money into a sack and drop it off a creek bridge, down a dirt road a few miles from his store.

The store owner asked me to find out who was blackmailing him, and I did.

On the date prescribed by the blackmailer, myself and another Klansman Joe Cobb waited in the woods 25 or 30 feet from where the money was to be dropped, wearing ski masks, and armed with shotguns. The store owner came by and dropped off a sack containing newspaper clippings, as planned.

A short while later we heard voices coming from two men walking toward the creek bridge. "There it is. I see it. Hot damn, we got us a thousand dollars," the young White man yelled and then both giggled and ran to pick up the sack, as we watched.

As one of them reached down to pick up the sack, my companion fired his shotgun into the creek and yelled, "Get your hands up or we'll shoot," and after they'd dropped their rifles on the ground, we ordered them to get on the bridge, and they did.

After we'd taken their picture with my Polaroid camera, standing on the bridge with their arms in the air, we let them go and they ran up the dirt road in the direction from which they'd come. One was about seventeen, the other about nineteen.

We gave the store owner the picture and he was pleased with our success. We all had a good laugh.

The two boys were well known in the community, but the store owner never confronted them about the attempted blackmail as far as I know. He was content to forget the whole thing, and continued to sell all the beer and wine he could.

The prerequisite for being a member of the CKKKK Special Forces was (1) To be a member for at least 90 days, (2) Have a good attendance record at meetings, (3) Be in good physical condition, (4) Pass out literature at least once per month, (5) Be proficient with firearms, and (6) Buy their own Green Beret. And, I took their word about everything except their attendance record.

The so called "Klan Para-Military Training Camps" the media ranted and raved about, for the most part amounted to little more than a bunch of us lining up and shooting 22 rifles at bull's-eye targets, while competing for a prize, which I'd later present to the winners.

When scenes like that were shown on television with the accompanying misleading and ambiguous narration, it became an Army of White racists training for race war, to TV viewers.

It is true however, that small groups of CKKKK members got together and trained more extensively in subjects such as map reading, first aid, firearms assembly and safety, self-defense, etc., but I was never made aware of training in anything illegal. The Boy Scouts are trained in those same subjects, so I saw nothing improper or illegal about it.

Unit leaders reported their training activities to me in their monthly reports, and I reported them in the CKKKK's monthly newspaper.

I instigated the idea of members getting together at training sessions for one simple reason, and that reason was to relieve boredom.

A traditional Klan rally or meeting is one of the world's most boring events, once you've been to more than one.

I started the training to give members something enjoyable, entertaining, and useful to do at meetings, and as a reason to get together.

Training was one of the keys to the success of our group in comparison to the six or seven other White groups in North Carolina.

Our meetings and rallies were much more enjoyable, and that's why most people stayed in once they'd joined, rather than quite out of boredom or lost interest.

In 1982, I had a run-in with Claude Sitton, Editor of the Raleigh News and Observer. Claude just wouldn't print my letters in the frequency I thought they deserved. After he declined to print four or five in a row, I mailed him a letter on Klan stationary and told him I'd be happy to discuss the issue with him either at his office or his home. And, I included his address to let him know I knew where he lived.

On receiving my letter, Claude called me on the phone, and blessed me out, adding that no Klansman could ever scare him.

After assuring him that I had no such aim and wouldn't dream of using intimidation to get my letters printed, (I fibbed), I asked if he'd grant me a short meeting in his office, and he said, "Come on up." And, I did.

Claude explained that he found some of my letters a little too inflammatory or as he put it "in bad taste," and that's why he didn't print them. And, he went on to advise me to "tone them down a little."

As always, he was polite and accommodating, and I spoke with him several more times over the years, when I dropped off letters or press releases.

Claude was generous in printing my letters after that, though he by no means printed them all. And his editorials about me and the CKKKK were downright insulting.

He once referred to my newspaper as getting "slicker and thicker," which I took as a big compliment.

I used a similar tactic on the Johnston County Education superintendent in 1982. Although I lived on the edge of Johnston County, I wanted my son, Frazier, to go to school in Coats, just over the line in Harnett County, because there were fewer Blacks going to that school. So, I went to the Johnston County superintendent's office in Smithfield and filled out a form requesting that an exception to the rule be made that would allow my boy to go to school in Coats. I only had one child in school at that time.

The superintendent denied my request in a long page-and-a-half letter that rambled on with bureaucratic rationale, stating why my boy must go to school in the county in which he lived.

So, I wrote him a return letter on Klan stationery, wherein I informed him that if anything happened to my boy in that Black-infested school in Johnston County, I was holding him personally responsible, and I signed my signature over the words "Grand Dragon, Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan," adding the P.S. "I request you reconsider."

I received his second letter in record time, and it had only two words in it: "Request granted."

My boy went to school in Harnett County for the next six years, and I never heard another word from Johnston County officials about it.

The CKKKK, from the beginning, attracted young people, unlike other North Carolina White groups. The average age of our membership was around 25, while the average for other groups was probably 45 or 50.

I attributed that to our training, the pageantry of our public marches, our camouflage fatigue uniforms and my open appeal to young people. Also, females comprised 20 - 25 percent of our membership, and they wore camouflage uniforms and marched alongside the men. Though most were wives of male members, many were single and good looking, which added even more to the CKKKK's appeal for new members and for good attendance records.

My frequent comment to Den leaders was "We've got to entertain them to keep them coming back to meetings."

I also demanded that everything be done with class and in a professional manner. And to the extent of our capabilities, things usually were done well.

For example, I made frequent uniform inspections of members, especially before public demonstrations, and I personally supervised the making of the crosses and torches, insuring that burlap was used instead of rags, that the pole was long and straight, that it was assembled properly and securely, that plenty of number two fuel oil and kerosene was on hand, that there was plenty of room, well away from any wooded area as a safeguard against spreading fire, placing someone dependable in charge of playing prerecorded music in correct timing to the cross lighting ceremony; placing military veterans at the front of our marching formations; and taking care of other details to insure well-executed operations.

The experiences of my 20 years in the Army were very helpful to me in running the CKKKK, not only in organizing activities, but also in the administrative aspect. (I can type 90 wpm, incidentally).

Membership cards were of a high quality, containing the member's full name, expiration date, and an assigned number, which provided a source of pride as many liked to show them off to friends and acquaintances. The cards were also laminated as an added professional touch.

I had CKKKK stationery with large letterhead, with which I wrote and answered letters, and I used preprinted form letters, also bearing the large, red CKKKK letterhead.

And, I kept financial records reflecting the name of the contributor, the amount, and the date of the contribution, with the stated policy of allowing inspection of the records by any member at any time. I was somewhat fanatical about insuring members that all money was properly accounted for.

Of course, I received no salary, though I did use small amounts of CKKKK money for travel expenses when the income allowed it, but I duly recorded the withdrawals in my financial debit records.

We attended a Klan rally near Louisburg in 1982, sponsored by Virgil Griffin, and the Christian Knights of the KKK, and I was embarrassed by the whole affair.

The cross they burned was only about 12 feet tall, very crooked, and was wrapped in rags of assorted clothing and blankets, and their dozen or so torches were made of small crooked tree limbs with used baby diapers wrapped around the ends. Equally embarrassing was the dirty, wrinkled robes worn by several, including their Grand Dragon, Virgil Griffin.

I heard Griffin speak at many gatherings over the years, and I don't think I ever heard one that didn't include, "And, if the governor don't like it, we'll hang him too." I've heard him make that idiotic statement at least a half dozen times.

Harold Covington once told me that while appearing on a radio talk show Griffin was asked what he thought about anti-Semitism and he didn't even know the meaning of the word. And, according to national newspaper accounts, Virgil appointed a Jewish fellow by the name of Gollub as his Grand Dragon for the state of Mississippi, but later fired him because of complaints by members.

Harold also told me another amusing story about Virgil. It seems that in the early 70's, Virgil's Klan group had a rival group led by Joe Grady of Winston-Salem. Those two groups competed for members and for publicity in North Carolina.

As the story goes, Virgil owned an old Cadillac which he thought the world of, and drove to meetings and rallies all over the state, keeping it in a high state of shine at all times.

Late one night, several of Grady's men stole Virgil's Cadillac and ran it through a car mashing machine, reducing it to about one-fifth its original size. Somehow, Virgil tracked his Cadillac down, and he and Grady became even bigger rivals. Virgil never did forgive him.

I met Joe Grady in 1977 while I was in the Nazi Party, and I took an instant like for him. He had been in the Klan for around 30 years even then, and he impressed me as being one tough White man, and always in the presence of a half dozen big burly armed body guards.

Joe and I always got along well together over the years, even when one of my biggest Dens quit en masse in 1985 and joined his because I had changed the name CKKKK to the White Patriot Party. My position was that I'd rather those men and women join with Joe Grady than quit the White Movement entirely.

Joe would sometimes bring 30 or 40 of his members to my rallies, and I'd return the favor by bringing a large group to his.

In 1985, Joe and a dozen or so of his men tried to bail a Black man out of jail who had been arrested for raping a White girl, in Statesville, North Carolina, and although it was just a publicity stunt (the Black flatly refused to be bailed out), charges were filed and Joe found himself in court several times on account of the incident. Though as I recall, neither he nor any of his men went to jail for it.

Virgil served six months in a county jail in 1983 for burning a cross in some White man's yard late one night, in an attempt to punish the man for some infraction of Virgil's sense of community decency. But Virgil was confused about the address and picked the wrong yard.

The judge took that inefficiency into consideration, but gave him six months anyhow, though he allowed Virgil out on work release each day. I heard that Virgil worked double shifts at a gas station during those six months to cut down on jail time, and time spent with Black inmates.

Joe and Virgil's Klan groups were somewhat secretive, in the old Klan tradition. At least both tried to give that impression. But many of Joe's men openly wore jackets bearing large bright letters, "Secret Knights of the Ku Klux Klan," which tended to contradict claims of secrecy, and reduce its effectiveness and credibility.

Frankly, I don't think there ever was much successful secrecy in any Klan group, after the 1940's. The State Bureau of Investigation had agents who did little during the 1980's except keep an eye on White racist groups. In fairness, they also monitored Black and Communist groups. Joe Momier, one of those agents visited my home several times, and I not only gave him an open invitation to attend all our meetings and rallies, but I also put him on the mailing list to receive my newspaper each month containing the dates, times, and locations of each. Joe paid the subscription price eagerly and promptly each time it became due, needless to say.

Also, every group in North Carolina, including ours, had informants who attended meetings, and who were paid by government officials. Though I cannot prove it, nor, except for Eddie Dawson of Greensboro fame, can I name any, but I am convinced that such was the case.

According to federal documents revealed by the Freedom of Information Act and reported by various newspapers, the government had enough paid informants in the largest North Carolina group during the 60's, to elect the state's Grand Dragon. And in one Mecklinberg county Klan den, six of the seven members were on the government payroll. I always admired that lone Klansman. He must have been a dedicated fellow.

I always felt that attempts at secrecy by White racist groups, were acts in futility, because of informants, government surveillance, modern technology, and the persuasive powers of prosecutors to turn White activists into government witnesses.

And, I repeatedly told prospective CKKKK members that if they wished to commit acts of violence, the worse thing they could do was to join a White organization, because by doing so they would greatly increase their chances of getting caught.

Government law enforcement officials routinely took pictures and license plate numbers during meetings of all White groups, but I would remind CKKKK members that since we were a legal organization, we had nothing to fear. And, we would jokingly take pictures and license numbers of those who were taking ours.

I haven't the slightest notion how so called secret Klan groups consoled their members when cops were all around taking their pictures and writing down their license plate numbers.

A typical CKKKK rally in those days consisted of speeches, a cross lighting ceremony, followed by a big supper (usually a pig pickin), accompanied by Country music playing over our loud speaker, and plenty of assorted beverages. And, usually just prior to the official rally, we'd conduct firearms competition with.22 rifles, and I'd present prizes (usually a new shotgun or rifle) to winners.

The cross was a minimum of 30 feet tall, and once we put one up 51 feet requiring a large dump truck with a hydraulic lift. And they were wrapped with two or three layers of burlap and soaked good with fuel oil and kerosene. The kerosene insured instant burning when fire was applied to it. And the torches were made from tobacco sticks wrapped with oil soaked burlap. We'd usually make between 100 and 150 torches, and during many rallies, over 100 men, women and young people carried burning torches around the cross during the ceremony, as "The Old Rugged Cross" played in the background

The CKKKK staged the most professional and enjoyable Klan rallies in the entire country, according to my good eyesight, and other Klan leaders, a fact for which I was intensely proud, and never hesitated to brag about. We did things right.

Various anti-Klan groups confirmed our successes by their constant condemnations of us in their publications and during their press conferences. I subscribed to some of those publications, under an assumed name, and they provided me with a continuing source of amusement and pride, as did their press releases when reported in the newspapers and on TV.

In mid 1984, an anti-Klan group by the name of North Carolinians Against Racist and Religious Violence (NCARRV), held a press conference in downtown Raleigh, demanding that the governor do something about it. After reading that in the Raleigh News & Observer, I held my own press conference in response to theirs, and issued the following challenge to the NCARRV: "I, too, am against racist violence, but I believe we ought to be concerned about Black violence against White people, as well as White on Black. And, if it's not a fact, that in North Carolina there are ten times more Black on White violence than White on Black, I'll disband the Klan and go work for the NCARRV, free of charge, for the next twelve months."

Previously, I had obtained a crime report from the North Carolina Police Information Network in Raleigh, showing statistically and clearly that I was right, and further as regards the violent crime of rape, that a White woman in North Carolina was 35 times more likely to be raped by a Black, that a Black woman was likely to be raped by a White.

I had that crime report stapled to my press release, and gave each of the six or seven TV and newspaper reporters present, a copy of both, after I'd run my mouth in front of the TV cameras for a while.

I also mailed copies to the governor, along with my letter encouraging him to comply with the NCARRV's demand to do something about racist violence in North Carolina.

The NCARRV declined to respond to my challenge and the governor declined to answer my letter, but my press conference was highly reported by both TV and newspapers, so I was satisfied with my exposure of NCARRV's hypocrisy.

Years later, just following my arrest and incarceration, for declaring war on the government, an NCARRV spokeswoman yelled during her TV press conference, "The only marching Glenn Miller will do now is around his jail cell," which was the only true statement I ever heard coming from that group.

I watched that TV news broadcast through cell bars at the Wilson County jail with squinting eyes, and much loathing for that woman.

I ran for the State Senate in 1982 in the district of Johnston and Sampson counties. Of course, I knew I had no chance of winning, but like other activities, it gained publicity for the CKKKK, and it presented a forum from which I spread my racist and anti-Semitic views.

I had one hundred 3' x 2' campaign posters printed, and Joe Cobb and I posted them on telephone poles and barns over both counties. The posters read "VOTE WHITE," among other things, and had a big picture of marching Klansmen, along with an appeal to not only vote for Glenn Miller for the Senate, but to join the CKKKK as well, and listed my address and phone number.

I went around to all the newspaper offices in both counties, and they were obliged to do an article on me, along with listing my stance on the issues, I thought most important.

Several special interest groups invited me, along with my opponent, to address their groups to answer questions and present speeches, and I spoke over local radio stations, as well.

I lost the election, but wound up with 26% of the vote in a two-man race, after spending less that $400 on the entire campaign, including the cost of filing. But, I estimate that 75% of that 26% didn't realize they were voting for a Klansman, and wouldn't if they had.

James Holder, a tall skinny country boy of about 30, from nearby Harnett County, joined the CKKKK that year. James, married and with two children, though with little education like most members, had a grinning and vivacious personality, along with a gift of gab that brought in dozens of new CKKKK members. And he and I became the best of friends. He and his family visited my home on many occasions over the next couple of years, and his wife Brenda and Marge became close friends as well.

James had that country redneck good ole boy way of life and demeanor I've always found appealing and enjoyed being around. And he was a very talented and dedicated worker, starting his own Den in Sanford after having moved from Harnett County, and in no time had several dozen members meeting each month at the home of one of his Den members.

Little did we know then, that in less than two years, James would be in prison for murder. I'll get to that story later.

Also joining the CKKKK that year were several dozen active duty Marines from Camp LeJeune, though virtually all of them as well as several who joined in later years, would either be kicked out of the Marine Corps for their racist views and activities, or would quit the CKKKK out of fear of being kicked out.

Among the exceptions, was Cecil Cox who was kicked out of the Marine Corps, but refused to quit the CKKKK, and he was chosen by me as leader of the White Patriot Party, immediately following my conviction in 1986 for operating a paramilitary organization, and exile from the White Movement.

We staged two outdoor Klan rallies near Camp LeJeune in 1982 and 1983, and we had three active Dens in that area, which resulted in much harassment against Marine Klansmen from Camp LeJeune officials.

Those Marine Klansmen, for the most part, were young beer drinking fellows who came to our meetings, rallies, and marches for the enjoyment of it and for the macho image, though five or six became genuine ideological adherents.

I placed Marines in the front of our marching formations during public marches, for the obvious reason they were trained in dismounted drill, had military bearing, and looked great in camouflage uniforms. Most looked like young Tarzans.

The U.S. Department of Defense instituted a service wide directive barring members of the military from joining White racist groups, and it was a direct result of Marines having joined my organization.

Attorney Morris Dees of the Civil Rights group called the Southern Poverty Law Center spear-headed the nationwide demand for that anti-Klan directive, following several court cases involving stolen military firearms and explosives, and following a barrage of media exaggerations and distortions which orchestrated national outrage against White racist groups.

The average citizen was led to believe that thousands of White servicemen were training masses of racist civilians, arming them with stolen military weapons, and were on the verge of starting a nationwide race war. That was the inferred scenario created by the national media, and it not only achieved their desired effect of barring servicemen from joining White groups, but also prodded the federal government into conducting more formal investigations into the activities of White groups all over the country, with mine at the top of the list.

The annual Farmer's Day Parade for 1982 staged in a small town in central North Carolina found 40 or 50 uniformed CKKKK members carrying Confederate battle flags, marching right along with the mules and buggies. We didn't ask permission, nor were we denied it, though the sight of robed Klansmen did raise some eyebrows and frowns, as well as quite a few smiles, waves, and shouts of "White Power" from the racially mixed crowd of more than 20,000 spectators.

We installed more telephone message units, and by the end of 1982 we had about eight scattered around the state, each receiving it's average 5,000 calls per month. Though I changed the messages each week and selected from a wide range of racial and anti-Semitic subjects, a typical message might include the following:

"Folks, this is Glenn Miller of the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. There are thousands of Nigger organizations all over the country working for the rights of Black people. Why don't you join an organization that is trying to work for the rights of White people?

Nigger crime is out of control. Thousands of White girls and women are raped by Niggers in our country each year, and hundred of thousands of our people are savagely beaten by Niggers, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans or other mud colored mongrels.

Our schools have become crime ridden jungles where our children are beaten, molested or intimidated, and where they cannot get a decent education.

It is time for White people to organize, and in order to organize, you must join a White organization.

I am asking you to join the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan now, before it's too late. No Klan member will ever ask you to break any law, and you can quit anytime you want to.

For more information, please call or write. Our phone number is 894-5230 and our address is Route 1, Box 386, Angier, North Carolina 27530.

This is Glenn Miller... for White Power... the only way."

I sometimes used racial slurs in those messages, as well as racial jokes to entice people into calling and spreading the phone numbers around to their friends. And it worked. Those numbers spread like wildfire.

I would install a message machine in a new area, then write the number to call at the top of 200 or 300 Thunderbolt newspapers, spread them around the area, and in less than three days, the machine would be going full blast. I could prove that it was, by calling the number myself and see that it was virtually always busy.

At first, I thought the machines were out of order, or that some disgruntled caller was intentionally preventing others from calling, and I went to great lengths checking with phone companies, and inspecting the machines, before concluding they were in fact, working perfectly.

Much pressure was put on various phone companies to disconnect service for those phone message units, but citing the first amendment of free speech, the phone companies refused.

And, predictably, the messages resulted in many death threats, many coming from as far away as New York and California as the phone numbers spread by word of mouth all over the country.

At first the threats bothered me a great deal, so I slept with my shotgun laying with me in bed, but then as time went by, and nothing happened, I lost my fear and even began joking with the threatening callers. Some months, I'd receive a death threat per day, on average, and by 1986, Marge and I had received literally hundreds, all tolled.

I spent a lot of time on the typewriter writing letters to editors of newspapers, to voice my views or in response to anti-Klan editorials or news articles, as well as holding press conferences and issuing press statements to TV and newspaper reporters. We always managed to get a great deal of media coverage.

At first, many newspapers were reluctant to print my letters, and some downright refused to. So, I devoted considerable attention convincing them otherwise, by writing or calling editors or owners, and pleading the first amendment. In rare cases, I'd threaten them with a Klan protest demonstration in front of their offices. I also visited several and spoke with them eyeball to eyeball to achieve a more convincing effect.

The Sanford Harold at that time, allowed a local Black activist a large space in their paper once a week, in which to write lengthy articles under the heading "The Black Perspective." So, I drove to Sanford, met an elderly White gentleman in the Sanford Herald newspaper office, whom I assumed was the owner, and demanded that he allow me weekly space in which to write a "White Perspective" in the interest of equality. He refused, saying the paper was from a White perspective already because it was White owned. I asked him if that was an admission of racial bias in his paper, and he got hot and changed the subject without answering the question.

Seeing that I wasn't going to get my way, I stormed out of his office after informing him of my intention to stage a protest demonstration in front of his newspaper office, and lead a White boycott against some of his advertisers. But after a few days to cool off, I decided that the demonstration and boycott idea would require too much effort and probably wouldn't work anyhow, so I forgot the whole thing. I did however, continue sending that paper frequent letters to the editor, usually contradicting "The Black Perspective," and they were routinely printed, giving me some satisfaction anyway.

I always felt I'd succeeded in intimidating that paper.

On many occasions, I xeroxed copies of my letters and mailed them to 25 or 30 newspapers around the state. Many were printed, though most were not. However, I felt even three or four out of 30 was a good average, so I continued.

Another tactic to gain publicity, and therefore new members and supporters, was to issue threats.

Once I threatened to bring 500 armed men to Clayton, North Carolina to "put down that Black insurrection."

There had been racial violence involving several dozen Blacks and Whites in that town, resulting in some minor injuries, and seeing that it had received a great deal of media attention, I decided to get some of it spread to the CKKKK. So, I wrote a formal letter to the Johnston County Sheriff offering the services of our group, and requested that we be deputized. Hand delivering the letter, then driving on over to Clayton, I held a prearranged press conference in front of the public school there, and read the letter for the benefit of several reporters gathered around.

I added that I had the 500 men already armed, mobilized, and standing by waiting for a call from the sheriff to swear us in.

That story not only made the local TV news over much of the state, and published next day in all the state's large newspapers, it went out via Associated Press and United Press International all over the country.

Two men who read the story in Oklahoma, packed up their wives and children and moved to North Carolina to join with the CKKKK. In fact, they moved in with Steve Miller in Fayetteville while looking for jobs and another place to live.

The Sheriff, of course, informed the media that he had absolutely no intention of deputizing any Klansmen, anytime, anyplace, or for any reason, a fact which I knew all along and was much thankful for, because I couldn't have raised 500 armed men, if my life had depended on it.

But, I had achieved my objective of media attention, and as usual it resulted in new members and supporters.

On another occasion, I threatened to declare war on the state government, unless North Carolina legislators agreed to read some literature I'd hand delivered to them and to fill out attached questionnaires.

The literature was about the shrinking White population, and the questionnaires asked questions about where the legislators stood on the subject.

After giving it to the legislators, with written instruction to mail the questionnaire to the address indicated, I held a press conference outside in front of the legislature building, and told reporters that if the legislatures didn't mail in the completed questionnaires, I was going to declare war on the state government, because the government had proven they didn't care about White people by their refusal to fill out the questionnaires.

That story was transmitted substantially by the media as expected, and since I was not arrested, obviously the police as well as the state government had a sense of humor and declined to take my threat to declare war seriously.

Beginning in 1982, we built a sizeable CKKKK Den in Siler City, North Carolina, led by a giant of a man by the name of Tommy Teague, who was in his early thirties, and who established his Den headquarters on his father's farm in a huge garage which he converted for the purpose of holding CKKKK meetings.

Between 1982 and 1985, we held four or five large CKKKK rallies there, and marched through downtown Siler City on three separate occasions. That was one of our largest and most successful Dens with 60 or 70 members and supporters.

A young Black male was giving two White high school girls a hard time, intimidating them and was arrested for punching one in the face in front of a convenience store in Siler City.

The story I got was that the girls knew him from school where they'd been friendly with him, but wanted nothing to do with him after school, a rebuff which the Black would not accept. So, the Black fellow would call them repeatedly over the phone, and even go to their house several times in attempts to get dates with them.

The girls and their mother seemed terrified of the Black, and afraid to testify against him in court, so they contacted some of our Siler City members who called me.

After speaking with the girls and their mother, I concluded they were genuinely afraid of the Black fellow and in fact were considering dropping the assault charge against him out of that fear.

I assured the mother that I would escort her to court and take several Klansmen with us, and she agreed.

On the day of the trial, seven or eight local CKKKK members, one of whom arrived in a car with a huge sign affixed to the outside that said (in large letters), "WHITE POWER — KU KLUX KLAN," met me in the courthouse parking lot in downtown Siler City.

Several other Klansmen had picked up the mother and two daughters, and we all went into the courtroom which contained 200 or so people, about equally divided between Blacks and Whites.

That being a small town and the CKKKK well known there, word had gotten out that we'd be in court that day, so just about everybody there knew who we were, even though we were all in civilian clothes as we walked in and sat down.

The Black defendant was found guilty of assault and we were pleased with that and the sentence. He was given a jail sentence, but the judge suspended it, further ordering him to stay away from the two girls, their mother, and their house, and to not bother them in any way.

I believe our presence had an effect on the outcome of that trial.

I also used another intimidation tactic to get my way.

When members or other Whites called me about problems their children were having with Blacks in their schools, I would personally call school principals, and after informing them who and what I was, I would politely ask them to look into the problems. Or, in some cases, I'd write them on Klan stationery.

Most of the time, both myself and the White parents would be satisfied with the results of those calls or letters.

There was, however, nothing illegal about the tactic, as I saw it, since I made no overt threats. I just simply used my name, and that of the CKKKK to get school principals to look into certain problems.

I'm sure they would have responded in a like manner, had the NAACP or other Black group called or written.

The main reason I engaged in these intimidation tactics, was to keep CKKKK members contented. And, though media coverage in some cases benefited our growth, I wouldn't have done them otherwise.

I wanted to unite, organize, and educate the masses. I didn't want to intimidate individuals, or go to court to protect White persons. I repeatedly made the statement at meetings that I didn't want to make Blacks behave themselves, because if Blacks became more civilized they would become even more attractive to Whites and there would be far more racial integration, which is an accurate appraisal. I stated further, that Black violence against Whites was a good thing, in that it would result in more and more Whites joining the CKKKK.

But, I never did manage to convince the majority of our members of that.

One of our Jacksonville Den leaders died in 1983, following an operation to remove excess fat from his body. That fellow weighed over 400 pounds and was a former Hell's Angel, who managed a tavern outside Camp LeJeune. He died while in the hospital recovery room, from heart failure.

Steve Miller, James Holder, Robert Austin and myself traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina and attended the funeral in our Klan robes, and Steve said a prayer over the grave.

Herbert (Chub) Sewell ran for governor of North Carolina in the fifties and received more votes than any previous Republican in the history of the state since reconstruction. He was also one of the youngest attorneys to ever present a case before the United States Supreme Court. When I met him in 1983, he was a retired judge, and practicing attorney in Carthage, though semi-retired.

I met him through a local CKKKK member who lived in the Carthage area, and who had made an appointment with him regarding some minor court case. I accompanied the Klansmen and after being introduced, and after discussing the fellow's case, I asked Mr. Sewell if he'd be kind enough to be a guest speaker at one of our Klan rallies.

He said that he would.

Chub Sewell was a living legend to many thousands of North Carolinians. I found him very much like U.S. Senator Sam Erwin, both elderly Southern gentleman lawyers, and both having been highly critical of racial integration of public schools and of other social changes in the South.

I attended Mr. Sewell's funeral in 1983, along with hundreds of prominent citizens of North Carolina and elsewhere, including U.S. Senator Jesse Helms, whom I took the liberty of shaking hands with at the grave site. As might be expected, I was not welcomed with open arms at the funeral, as evidenced by many frowns, but no one made any unpleasant comments to me, nor asked me to leave.

Mr. Sewell also gave me permission to use his name in advertising the Klan rally, which I did, and which brought Mr. Sewell criticism from his admirers as well as his critics around the state. But, his response was to say he had addressed all sorts of groups in the past, and since he was a firm believer in the constitution, he saw nothing wrong or improper with addressing Klan members or Black Panthers or anybody else, if and when he felt like it.

Before the rally, Steve and I, after calling for an appointment, met with Mr. Sewell at his home and had a lengthy conversation concerning the CKKKK in particular, and other racial, political, and social subjects in general.

Of course, Mr. Sewell never joined the CKKKK, and in fact disagreed with me not only concerning Jews, but in other areas as well.

But, he was against forced racial integration and the liberals, and I was content with that. I just wanted to use the name Chub Sewell to give the CKKKK much needed respectability.

Later, during a conversation in his van, awaiting the rain to subside on the rally field outside Sanford, Mr. Sewell stated that in his opinion the United States had already gone Communist, and that most liberals were working to further Communism, but didn't even know it. That, I concluded, was his general opinion concerning the federal government, and most politicians.

Steve Miller was also in the van at that time, and heard the comment.

That particular Klan rally in Sanford was rained out, but we held it on the same spot the following month, and Mr. Sewell gave a long and much enjoyed speech to the 300 or so Klanspeople and other spectators.

We had around 200 camouflage-uniformed men on the field that day, and I got the distinct impression that Mr. Sewell was pleased with the sight of all those young southern men standing together for a cause.

It was about that time that James Holder got fired from his job as maintenance foreman at a Sanford motel, after he had given a Klan calling card to an interracial couple he'd confronted in the motel parking lot.

And so, taking about fifty uniformed Klansmen, I staged a protest demonstration in front of that motel in downtown Sanford, carrying protest signs and confederate flags. That was after I'd issued an ultimatum to the motel manager, giving him the choice of rehiring James or face the demonstration and a boycott of his motel, and he had refused.

According to subsequent reports from James and other local members, the boycott was successful to a brief and modest degree. Some Sanford Whites found another motel for liaisons with their girlfriends, and one big trucking company canceled their contract with the motel.

In any case, we made a big fuss with our two Sanford message machines, with leaflets calling for the boycott which we distributed around Sanford, and much TV and newspaper coverage.

We continued to gain more and more members and supporters from Sanford and the surrounding communities, and by my 1986 campaign for the U.S. Senate we'd have around 100. When the votes for that election were counted, I found that out of that 100, and the other 50,000 citizens of that county, I had received a grand total of ten votes.

I'll leave it to the reader to figure that one out, but it proved one thing to me, and that is "The rednecks don't vote," even those in the Klan.

Let me say something here about my use of the word "Red neck." I do not use the word out of contempt or facetiousness. In fact, I refer to myself as a redneck, and do so proudly.

To me, the word redneck describes a lower income, White working class man from the South, who is proud of the Southern tradition, history, and way of life. And, therefore, the word describes me perfectly.

Others, of course, use the word with contempt and disrespect, meaning to the effect, an ignorant and unreasonable racist bigot idiot.

The word "redneck," therefore is like the work "beauty" and comes from the eye of the beholder.

The media, of course, popularized the word redneck, along with the term WASP, meaning White Anglo Saxon Protestant. And the media uses both with contempt or facetiousness, to discredit this or that person or this or that idea. As a result, few people want to be associated with either, which is the intent of the media to begin with.

The CKKKK was highly active and visible throughout 1982 and 1983, staging rallies, demonstrations, distributing hundreds of thousands of newspapers and pamphlets, holding meetings and starting new Dens, recruiting new members, marching through a dozen or so towns and cities, and I increasingly appeared on television programs and radio talk shows to voice my views.

Prior to September, 1984, I confined the CKKKK to the Carolinas. I thought that one of the main problems with national groups was that they spread themselves too thin, trying to operate in too wide a geographical area. I felt our group should try something new and concentrate in North and South Carolina, although we never did make much progress in South Carolina, even after holding a big CKKKK rally in Columbia, after installing a couple of message units, and after saturating parts of that state with literature.

For whatever reason, South Carolinians were not as receptive to us as their northern cousins. One reason (and the one I prefer believing) is that I lived in North Carolina, and therefore able to devote much more of my time there, though I have always felt there is a big difference between the two populations of White people, but I won't get into that here.

 

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