KKK says it wants to clean roads
State representative says program for civic-minded groups
ATLANTA — A Ku Klux Klan chapter wants to spruce up a stretch of roadway in northern Georgia, creating a legal quandary for transportation officials as they consider the white supremacist group’s “adopt a highway” application.
In 1997, Missouri rejected a similar request from a Klan chapter, saying the group’s membership rules were racially discriminatory. But a federal appeals court ruled in favour of the Klan.
If Georgia denies the Klan’s new application, the group will consider legal action, said Harley Hanson, who is known by his title as the Exalted Cyclops of the Union County Klan.
“We’re not going to be deterred,” Hanson said.
Under adopt-a-highway programs in Georgia and many other states, groups volunteer to pick up trash and plant trees along the highway. Road signs are typically installed to recognize the organizations’ efforts.
Georgia Department of Transportation spokesman Jill Goldberg on Monday declined to comment on the Klan application “until a resolution is determined.”
State Rep. Tyrone Brooks, a black legislator from Atlanta, said the program limits participation to “civic-minded” groups.
“My God, when you say that the Ku Klux Klan is now being considered in that category, it stretches the imagination,” Brooks said.
Hanson said his group just wants to help the community by picking up trash. “Our intentions are to keep the road clean,” he said. “We love our race. We don’t promote violence.”