(en) The Clan in Ann Arbor
Dale Pfeiffer
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Here is a report on the kkk rally in Ann Arbor. I was
there but i didn t dare venture too close because i
had my children with me. (Though my 8 year old
wanted to protest against the clan because, they
don t like my friends. )
This is from Fred Chase, in reply to my, and other,
inquiries.
Dale
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Dear Fred,
So what happened in Ann Arbor with the KKK
and the anti-KKK folks? I read a story in our local
paper, but you know you can't trust the capitalist
media. The gist of it was that the anti's violently
attacked the Klan and the "peacekeepers." A
women's group in particular was quoted as not
wanting to make peace with the Klan but to get
of them.
Hi Melinda,
Well, the anti's didn't get anywhere near the klan.
They were under an overhang at city hall, fronted
with plexiglass and steel fencing. The cops had pens
for observers in front of them which very few folks
entered. The rest of us were on the street, some
50 yards away behind another fence. Because of
the negative publicity the cops received for overreacting
in '96, they generally stayed back, letting the c.100
peace keepers work on keeping the crowd, c.400,
in hand. I have tremendous respect for the courage
demonstrated by many of the peace keepers, but
couldn't bring myself to join them because as some
of them guiltily admitted, they were protecting the klan.
But they did manage to de-fuse some very volatile
situations and stood up to the NWROC types.
There always seems to be one nut group in ascendancy
on the left. PL in the '60s, Sparts in the '70s. For us here
and now it's NWROC. I'm told that National Women's
Rights Organizing Committee started out as an abortion
facility defense committee which was taken over by the
Revolutionary Workers League. So it's an RWL front.
Hard to tell what their politics are other than promoting
controntations with cops. When light sentences came
down against the cops who killed Malice Green in Detroit
a few years back, NWROC went into the Black community
attempting to encourage rebellion. They got their asses
kicked by the local residents. During the newspaper strike
confrontations in '95 they threw rocks and bottles over
the heads of strikers at cops and goons who then
attacked the strikers. The strikers kicked them off their
picket lines and out of their committees permanently. Many
of the locked out newspaper workers participated with
the peace keepers on Saturday. They had been invited
because of their experience in handling NWROC. NWROC
recruits among young angry macho kids who then are
the ones to get arrested for throwing rocks and bottles,
never the NWROC leaders who incite under the slogan
of "by any means necessary."
There were lots of rocks and bottles thrown. I got a
knot in my stomach every time I saw one go over the
fence. I wish I could blame it all on NWROC, but I
suspect some of my friends in Anti Racist Action were
involved too. I do not understand the logic. Just venting
I guess. There was no way any of the missiles were
going to hit the klan. Hitting the cops only invites
retaliation. Hitting the peacemakers seemed unjustified.
When the klan was done ranting, the crowd moved to
an area where they were likely to be police escorted
out in vehicles. Some of the demonstrators broke through
the fence and got up on a lightly guarded promenade
above the first floor of city hall. They threw rocks at
the cops and through a few city hall windows, the
obvious way to start the revolution I guess. Cops
launched tear gas. I was quite a way back from the
bru-ha-ha with my daughter corey. We got hit good.
It was her first experience with gas or such a confrontation.
She's never shown any interest before. When we recovered
we went back. The police were sweeping the street to
secure it for the removal of the Klan. NWROC and
ARA had declared a victory and marched away. So
there were only about 100 people left. Easily more
cops than that. We began walking away in front of
the sweep. I turned at one point about 50 ft away
from the cops and discovered my darling daughter
was standing firm 20 feet away from them. She
finally joined me when I gestured for her. Asked her
later if she'd go back next time. Enthusiastic yes.
Seems to have been a radicalizing experience, to
my delight.
Because of the police riot in '96, city big shots had
called for the community to come out this time. At
first it was to be same time same place with the Klan.
Then the police urged a separate rally 6 blocks away.
Some groups said they would not attend at city hall
for fear of violence. Those liberals who wanted same
time same place capitulated, although they did at least
send the peace keepers. About 600 were at the peace
rally. I was supposed to speak there. That only
happened because a good friend, Larry Fox, former
SNCCer who is always trying to build coalitions
between liberals and radicals and who is well
respected in both camps insisted. I told them I
would only be there before or after the Klan
gathering because I was going to be at city hall
during. They scheduled me for before. Then they
asked for the topic of my speech. I said it would be
urging the people at the rally to go to city hall, figuring
the more cool headed people present, the less
likelihood of violence. So they moved me to the
end of the rally. The klan didn't leave in time for
me to get there, but they did read my speech. I hear
some people in the audience didn't like it; so it at
least accomplished making some of them squirm.
Meanwhile because I was on the peace rally speaker
list, NWROC was claiming the IWW had sold out.
Then because we had endorsed the ARA call for
a same time, same place confrontation with the Klan;
and ARA had negotiated for a joint march with
NWROC to city hall, NWROC claimed we had
joined with them. We never endorsed their "by any
means necessary" position. So it was a week of
taking heat from the liberals for being too radical
and from some radicals for being too liberal. Glad
it's over.
One Wob was working with the peace keepers. A
skinhead couple got attacked by some of the
demonstrators. I do not understand how anyone
can get satisfaction out of causing someone else
to bleed, especially when they're outnumbered in
a mob situation. Both were hit over the head with
bottles. A black bystander intervened. He was
quoted as saying he couldn't just stand by and see
someone die. The Wob and other peacekeepers
escorted the couple out of the area. He was quoted
in the paper as saying "You're being escorted to
safety by a black, a gay, and a Jew. (He's the Jew).
We'll expect the same consideration when we're
in your neighborhood." The skinhead guy didn't say
anything. The woman said "We all bleed the same
color." , maybe a little progress.
Some high-school Wobs took a creative approach
to the event. Having their own parade of bikes,
skateboards, a chinese dragon, drums, etc. rather
than either throw rocks or listen to boring speeches.
They had a pinata made to look like a klansman and
took out their aggression beating on that.
IWW Webpage
http://iww.org/
Songs of the March Hare
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/5309
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