According to Georgia transportation officials on Tuesday, a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan was denied for their application to “adopt” a one-mile stretch of a highway in North Georgia due to safety concerns and the organization’s history. The Ku Klux Klan, formerly known as the KKK, began in 1865, after the freedom of slaves, and is a far right organization that emphasizes white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration. The KKK is largely known for their hatred and violence against African-Americans.
According to paperwork obtained by CNN, the KKK wanted to clean a stretch of Georgia State Route 515 in Union County, Georgia. The International Keystone Knights of the KKK filed the application on May 21. Commissioner for the state Department of Transportation Keith Golden wrote the chapter’s secretary that officials determined the mountain roadway, with a speed limit of 65 mph, was not a safe place for cleanup volunteers to work. “The impact of erecting a sign naming an organization which has a long-rooted history of civil disturbance would cause a significant public concern,” Golden wrote. “Impacts include safety of the traveling public, potential social unrest, driver distraction or interference with the flow of traffic.” On Monday, Chambers, part of the KKK, said, “All we want to do is adopt a highway. We’re not doing it for publicity. We’re doing it to keep the mountains beautiful. People throwing trash out on the side of the road … that ain’t right.” Chambers continued, “We’re not racists. We just want to be with white people. If that’s a crime, then I don’t know. It’s all right to be black and Latino and proud, but you can’t be white and proud. I don’t understand it.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, has the KKK listed as “the most infamous — and oldest — of American hate groups.” As of 2012, the KKK reportedly has 3,000 to 5,000 members.
