Burden

This disturbing and enthralling book by Courtney Hargrave not only provides a gripping account of the events surrounding the opening in 1996 of the Redneck Shop and Klu Klux Klan Museum in the South Carolina town of Laurens but provides an insightful examination of the institutional and deep seated scar of racism that remains endemic and is a seemingly accepted feature of much of American society particularly more noticeable in the Southern States. Hargrave's book documents the historic background to the controversy and how the ending of slavery was replaced by the application of the iniquitous Jim Crow laws at the time of the Reconstruction period which enforced racial segregation right up to 1965. We also learn of the three phases of the Klu Klux Klan which incredibly when it peaked in the 1920's had millions of members through all strata of society and based many of its practices on director D.W. Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation which glorified the original Klan.

At the time of the transformation of the old Echo theater into a Klan centre Laurens with the loss of its textile mills was a town in decline and on top of the racially divided community was added more poverty and uncertainty. Whereas the black residents reacted to the Klan's presence with horror, fear and anger the reaction by the white community was slightly more ambiguous ranging from sympathetic to a more general view that said although they were of course against it the best policy would be to ignore it for fear of generating bad publicity that would dissuade the desperately needed foreign investment that was being attracted to other parts of the State. This "I'm sure things will get back to normal in due course" approach completely disregarded the the basic fact that normal meant that the African American community would continue to suffer casual everyday racism, geographic segregation and under representation in such institutions as the local police force and legislature. Throughout the book it is made clear that the Klu Klux Klan are not the cause of racial division and racist attitudes but a symptom of it.

But above all this a human story of how a young man like Michael Burden can be sucked into and manipulated by a hate organisation offering simplistic solutions and providing a distorted view of the past. The issue of " Southern Heritage" is also explored here and what should be the fate of those symbols intrinsically linked to the Civil War past. It is telling that an opinion poll conducted only in the South showed that 75% of Southern whites described the Confederate flag as a symbol of pride while 75% of Southern Blacks said the flag symbolized racism. The issue of statues is another minefield. I yesterday parked my car in Edinburgh in the shadow of a magnificent statue on a plinth measuring 140 foot in honour of Henry Dundas who opposed Wilberforce and delayed the abolition of the slave trade for nearly 20 years. But if you questioned most of the people in the vicinity they would exactly replicate the comments described in the book of one of Laurens white residents that "slavery was a long time ago". There is a need to confront the past but just pulling down statues will not probably achieve anything but gender yet more of a feeling of grievance that can be exploited.

Ultimately thanks to the courageous work of Reverend David Kennedy a degree of redemption is achieved by Burden but at he has to pay an enormous price for his association with the Klan boss who exploits and abuses him without mercy. Another commendable character is his eventual wife Judy who is also instrumental in freeing Burdan from the Klan.This is an important book and I will try now to view the film also. This I think will certainly make for a good choice for a book group with its many themes, although the actual story may specifically relate to the American South it has a universality that will relate to readers in other countries.