This morning I heard from several friends about a KKK rally in Charlotte, NC this past Saturday. It seems that my book White Flour had a hand in inspiring some Charlotte clowns (Charlatans?) to meet hatred with humor, just as the Coup Clutz Clowns did in Knoxville in 2007.
The Klan and Neo-Nazis came to Charlotte to protest against immigration. They were met by a joyful, boisterous group of clowns who seemed to have read my book. I got in touch with Lacey Williams, the lead organizer on the rally, to congratulate her on a great event, and she confirmed that they had based their action on White Flour and the Knoxville clown rally that inspired it.
The story ran on Charlotte TV, WCNC, then was picked up by CNN. Later in the day it hit the Huffington Post, The Raw Story and other outlets. It’s great to see the story getting out there, especially when it inspires effective actions in real life!
Kudos to the Charlotte Clowns! I love how Lacey and other protestors (including a City Councilman!) articulate why they are there.
By the way, I’ve noticed some disparaging comments regarding North Carolina in some of the comments on some of these stories. It should be noted that the supremacists came in from out of state, and the clowns were local!
Here’s to those who march on…
UPDATE (11/13/12): Top-recommended story on Daily Kos today is about this rally!