I'm sure that many of you have heard the story of the KKK and the Adopt-a-Highway program in Missouri! But even being a Missouri resident myself I had not heard of it until I was looking through some things on Snopes a few months back and read the story! I just went to Snopes a few minutes ago to check out an email I got this morning and remembered reading this and decided to share it with all of you! Aren't you lucky!?
So it all started in 1994 when a KKK memeber applied to adopt a stretch of I-55 in Missouri and MODOT denied that application claiming that under the Federal Civil Rights Act they could refuse the use of federal money to "Further or Subsidize Racial Discrimination." GO Missouri DOT is what I say!!! But some idiotic U.S. District court judge ruled that denying the KKK the opportunity to participate in the Adopt-a-Highway program was unconstitutional, and when that ruling was confirmed by the 8th District court of appeals in March 2000, the state had to put up signs announcing the KKK's participation in the program on a portion of I-55! HOWEVER...the Missouri Legislature then voted to name this particular stretch of the Highway "Rosa Parks Highway" in honor of the Civil Rights Hero who refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in 1955 which led to her arrest and the boycott of the Montgomery bus system!
Needless to say, the Klan never did clean up thier portion of the Highway! Hmmm...I wonder why!!! After a couple of ultimatums and the KKK not holding up thier end of the bargain, they were officially dropped from the program!!! I think Missouri did an AWESOME thing here!
Thomas Robb, the national director of the KKK in Harrison, Arkansas claimed that the KKK had already planned on abandoning the program because the "person who filed for the original application is no longer taking part in the program"...YEAH RIGHT!!! I don't believe that.....I would bet that, Missouri got the best of them!!! ROFLMAO!!!!!;););););)
Based on another application filed by yet another KKK member in March 1999, they are looking at adopting another stretch of Highway in Missouri. Didn't they learn the first time around not to mess with Missourians?! Guess not! As of the last update on this story, the stretch of Highway 21 that the KKK was applying for was unnamed...I wonder how long it will stay that way! LoL!
If you want to view this story yourself you can here!
4 comments:
That's sick how the KKK tries to get attention to further their cause, like there's not enough sick people on the planet!
I hope they name that stretch of road after Malcolm X or MLK; serves the KKK right. We should probably honor more black leaders than we already do anyway.
What a shame :(
~Lisa
Yeah there is no tellin what name they would come up with the new stretch...as far as I know the KKK didn't end up following through with the request...I know the people in the towns along the new stretch had said they would tear down the signs themselves...they were NOT at all willing to have thier home in any way associated with the KKK or what it stands for!
The "publicity" was obviously the ONLY reason they ever chose to do it in the first place! And from what I've heard thier signs didn't stay up long anyway...people actually stopped and tore down the signs along HWY I-55 soon after the state was forced to put them up!
Okay so there are some things I like about living in Missouri!;)
~Jenn;0)
C just got back from working in Harrison. It was so funny...the guys from El Acapulco looked at me like I was crazy when I started speaking to em in Spanish. Then they all starting saying.
"Mandy porque no nos visto ninguno moreno aqui en esta pueblo?"
I had to explain it to em along with the fact that every other person they will meet in Harrison is tied in with the FBI (they like to keep dibs on the KKK clan)
They were like amazed and astonished. They just kept saying oh now it makes sense...I've been wondering but been afraid to ask....
not to long ago I saw the adopt a highway sign somewhere in AR. I can't remember if it was in Marshall or Harrison or one of the tiny towns in between - but I remember seeing the road sign.
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