KKK Fails to Intimidate at Alabama Pride

The Ku Klux Klan made an appearance last Sunday at a Pride celebration in Florence, Alabama.

According to AL.com, this was the first Pride celebration in Northwestern Alabama, and participants were “shocked and embarrassed” when the KKK made an appearance.

“It was just crazy,” stated Benjamin Newbern, executive director of Equality Shoals, the group that set up the event, in an interview with AL. “This was a huge day for the LGBTQ community with the fact that nothing like this had happened before with members of the LGBTQ community marching in the streets here. Hate has always been here but it reared its ugly head yesterday to show that it’s still around.”

The local KKK posted a video to their social media page explaining they felt their appearance at the event was standing up for their “Christian beliefs.” While there was a heavy police presence at Pride and no violence, many Pride-goers expressed frustration with the attitude expressed by the police, reflected in an official statement that it was their “duty and honor to ensure the safety of both sides” during the event.

“That’s very odd because that group to me is based on hatred and is like a terrorist group to me,” William Cross, a member of the Equality Shoals board of directors, told AL. “I don’t think there should be an equivalence there because we paid and got permits and hired police officers, and they just kind of showed up trying to scare people.”

However, despite this horrific appearance, the historic Pride event still had a fantastic turnout, and was successful overall.

“Honestly, I’m really impressed that as many people showed up as did, especially in our small town where it’s typically really conservative,” Cross stated. “I was also really impressed that there were tons of families and small children there with signs saying things like ‘I support my gay child.’”