6A
NEWS/The Charlene Post
Thursday, January 23,1997
Supporting The College Fund
PHOTO/PAUL WILLIAMS III
David Lawrence of Columbia Records, Nate Quick of WPEG and recording artists Kay-Cee Grogan and Kino Watson cele
brate another successful Lou Rawls Parade of Stars viewing party at Renaissance Place in CharloHe.
Klan birthplace not for sale
Building a tourist attraction
By Martha Waldrich
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PULASKI, Tenn. - The tidy
brick building stands as a
reluctant tourist attraction in
a town that’s done its best to
rid the Ku Klux Klan from its
landscape.
But history records the edi
fice just off the town square as
the place where a group of
Confederate Army veterans
first formed the secret social
club that came to be known
more for its hooded masks,
burning crosses and mani
festos of hate.
A law office in its early days,
the building also served as a
barbershop and a public
defenders' office. Today, two
attorneys run their private
practices from the Madison
Street building, freshly paint
ed in a cheerful cream with
black shutters and burnt red
trim.
In the 1920s, the Daughters
of the Confederacy raised
money to purchase a bronze
plaque identifying the build
ing as the birthplace of the
KKK. The group reportedly
was indignant that the town
of Pulaski was left out of the
classic silent film “The Birth
of a Nation,” which portrayed
the KKK positively.
The building became the site
of several Klan rallies in the
late 1980s when marchers
paid homage to the plaque
with shouts of ‘Heil!’
But around 1990, local busi
nessman Don Massey bought
the structure and decided it
was time for Pulaski to offi
cially turn its back on the
KKK. So, he literally turned
the sign around and bolted it
into the bricks, hiding the
words from passersby.
“That sign had hung there
for years and years, but it just
never set well with me. I
didn’t think it was anything
necessarily to be proud of,”
said Massey, who is white.
“It would have been easier to
just take it down, but that
wouldn’t have said anything.
So we thought we’d just make
a statement about the indig
nant and repulsive feelings we
had oyer the hate mongers
and their spewing from the
steps of Pulaski's courthouse.”
After turning the sign
around, Massey received
many grateful comments, but
also some threats from anony
mous callers. He lost some
business, too. “But it was
nothing we couldn’t handle,”
he said.
Today, Massey gets occasion
al offers to buy the building
from out-of-state investors.
They don’t identify themselves
as part of the Klan, but he has
suspicions.
Massey has no plans to sell.
“I didn’t really buy the build
ing to make a statement about
racism. It was strictly a busi
ness decision,” he said.
But for Pulaski Mayor Dan
Speer, Massey’s actions
couldn’t provide a more appro
priate reflection of the town’s
perspective.
“We’re not ignoring our her
itage as the birthplace of the
Klan; we’re just ignoring the
Klan's message,” Speer said.
“It’s an historic fact. We have
to deal with it.... But we’re
turning our back on the Klan
and its message, without turn
ing our back on our heritage.”
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Where To Find
Afro American Cultural Center
401 N. Myers St
374- 1565
Batts & Associates
2212 Beatties Fd. Rd
392-6016
Belmont Regional Ctr
700 Parkwood Ave
336-2632
Bethlehem Ctr
2705 Baltimore Ave
375- 1417
Chambers, Dr. Kenneth
700 E. Stonewall Street
377-0711
Char. Meek Urban League 915 E.
4th St
376- 9834
Char. Housing Auth.
1301 South Blvd
336-5183
First Ward Grocery
818 E. 7th St
332-2905
Floyd’s Restaurant
3326 Tuckaseegee Rd
391-2329
Government House Hotel 201 S.
McDowell St
372-7550
Greenville Ctr
1330 Spring St
336-3367
Kings Funeral Home
4000 Beatties Fd. Rd
394-2722
Liberty Food Mart
638 W. Sugar Crk. Rd
596-1906
McCrorey YMCA
3801 Beatties Fd. Rd
394-2356
Mechanics & Farmers
101 Beatties Fd. Rd
332-2121
Soul Shack
3418 Tuckaseegee Rd
391-9636
Williams, Dr. Kirk
922 E. Blvd
377-7088
Woodlawn Holiday Inn
212 Woodlawn Rd
525-8350
Finn, Dr. Melvin
4601 Park Rd., Ste. 550
679-3000
Orr, Jr., Atty. Leon
1315 Harding PI
339-0271
Adams Metropolitan
5520 Nations Fd. Rd
527-5138
Antioch Baptist Church
232 Skyland Ave
3324951
Ben Salem Presby.
2414 N. Sharon Amity
5684790
Blessed Assurance Faith
4911 Cricklcwood Ln.
537-3550
Faith CME
458 Wellingford St
597-8249
Faith Memorial Baptist
211 Lakewood Ave
391-2361
Faith Soldiers Word Ministries
1115 Hawthorne Ln
343-9588
First Baptist West
1801 OaklawnAve
372-1075
First Mt. Calvary
209 W. 28th Street
333-3741
First United Pres.
406 N. College St
376-8014
Friendship Baptist
3301 Beatties Ford Rd
392-0392
Galilean Baptist
1220 E. 10th Street
334-8900
Greater Bethel AME
201 Grandin Rd
3764345
Greater Mt. Sanai Bapt.
1243 West Boulevard
332-2163
Haven of Rest Baptist
2435 Toomey Ave
332-5762
Middle Street AME
301 Greystone Rd
523-2727
Moore’s Sanctuary AME
4100 Morrisfield Dr
392-3037
Mt. Hebron Baptist
262 Neely Store Rd
324-3820
Mt. Pilgrim Baptist
4100 Mockingbird/Rock Hill
328-1131
Muhammad Mosque
3300 Tuckaseegee Rd
3944123
Nations Ford Baptist
7410 Nations Fd. Rd
522-6480
New Emmanuel
3546 Beatties Fd. Rd
399-1249
New Mt. Olivet AME
527 Dave Lyle/Rock Hill
328-2983
New Pleasant Valley
500 Ingle Street
399-0219
New Shiloh Baptist
2600 Elmin Street
398-0184
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& INTERIORS 9517 E. liKleiienilence Blurt.
(At the comer of Sharon Amity)
Mon & Thiir 9-8, Tue, Wed & Fri 9-6, Sat 10-6
GUIDE
Parkwood CME Church
1021 Parkwood Ave
375- 0158
Pleasant Hill Baptist
517 Baldwin Ave
376- 1201
Prince of Peace Lutheran
3001 Beatties Fd. Rd
392-6098
Torrence Grove
1200 Torrence Grove Church R
567-0291
Rosehill Baptist Ch
216 Rice Street/
376-1494
Shepherd’s Fold AME
824 West Blvd
525-9200
Faith Liberation Ctr.
2300 McClintock Rd
334-5483
Charlotte Mortuary
3431 rozzelles Ferry Rd
399-7610
Transamerica
100 N. Tryon St., Ste. 2700
344-2739
City of Charlotte
Neighborhood Dev.
600 East Trade Street
336-2688
West Boulevard Public
Library 2157 West Blvd
336-6802
Downtown Branch Public Library
310 N. Tryon St
336-2074
Charlotte Convention Center
501 S. College St
339-6100
Metrolina AIDS Project
227 East Blvd.
333-1435
Women’s Commission
700 N. Tryon St, Second Floor
336-3784
Boulevard Homes Recreation Ctr
1620 Brooksvale St
399-8166
Legal Services of Southern
Piedmont
1431 Elizabeth Ave
376-1600
Area Mental Health
429 Billingsley Rd
336-2320
J J. Hair Design
1011 Beatties Fd. Rd
376-1880
Gethsemane Baptist
Dr. Carver Rd
376-4797
Grace Memorial Baptist
4001 Nevin Rd
597-8572
Greater Galilee
501 W. Park Ave
376-8600