As a reminder that white nationalist activity remains a problem in the Northwest, last week Idaho’s only black lawmaker received a hand-addressed application to join the Ku Klux Klan.
Rep. Cherie Buckner-Webb, told the Associated Press that childhood memories of a cross burning on her lawn on Boise’s north end were rekindled when she opened the hand-addressed application form to join the Harrison, Arkansas-based Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. “It conjured up a lot of things for me that weren’t very comfortable – not fear, but sometimes we get to thinking things are settled,” she said. Responding to why she may have received the mailing, she added, “My first inclination was someone wants me to know the Klan is still around.” Buckner-Webb posted a copy of the mailing to her Facebook page last week. The application asked for $35 in yearly dues, a photo and for applicants to swear that “I am a White Christian .man or woman. I am not married to a nonwhite. I do not date non-whites nor do I have nonwhite dependents. I practice my belief in racial integrity. I believe in the ideals of Western Christian Civilization and profess my belief in jesus Christ as the Son of God.” It also included a newsletter introducing the Klan faction’s national director, Thom Robb.
She also noted that legislative battles this past session over gay rights, contraception and restrictions on abortion reminded her that the fight against bigotry in Idaho isn’t over. “I would be a fool not to take note and govern myself accordingly,” she said. “It was a sign for me to remain vigilant, to remain careful and to remain thoughtful.”
