Senate hopeful urged to drop out
Ex-classmates cite KKK outfit
Former classmates of state Senate candidate Charles Beckham III bought a full-page ad in the Magnolia Banner-News on Wednesday opposing his candidacy as they continued to speak out over an incident in high school in which Beckham dressed in Ku Klux Klan regalia.
Also Wednesday, a number of local and statewide advocacy groups spoke out against Beckham and asked him to drop out of his race against state Sen. Bruce Maloch, D-Magnolia.
“Who is Charles Beckham?” read the former students’ ad, which was overlaid on a black-and-white picture of the Republican candidate for Senate District 12.
Underneath the picture, the ad makes claims about Beckham’s treatment of others and says his decision to wear a Klan outfit “terrorized Black students.”
The ad continues, “We are former classmates and witnesses who have come forward independently to confirm and alert the public about Charles Beckham. … The Charles Beckham that we all knew is not the kind of person who should hold any authority over important decisions and legislation that could affect the lives of thousands of people.”
The ad is signed by six former classmates at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.
Beckham was dismissed from the school in 2000 after he and two friends dressed up as Klansmen during a school-sponsored Halloween event, according to court records obtained last week by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The Arkansas Times earlier published an account based on recollections of the incident from five of Beckham’s former classmates, who said they felt “petrified” and intimidated by Beckham’s actions.
When asked by the Democrat-Gazette about the allegations, Beckham initially denied them before admitting to “mistakes” when confronted with court records that corroborated
his former classmates’ recollections.
“I do sincerely apologize for any angst or grievances that I have caused anyone as a minor, as that is not the man that I am today,” Beckham said in an emailed statement last week. “I continue to unequivocally denounce the KKK and any like minded hate groups and the rumors that I am or have ever been part of the KKK are absolutely ridiculous.”
Beckham did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Eric Seymour, one of Beckham’s former classmates who has spoken out in interviews and attached his name to the ad in the Banner-News,
said Thursday that he and his classmates “want to make sure this story is heard.”
Conversations about running