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Description
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I made friends with a hitchhiking Klan member whom I picked up one night between my lectures. As with a great deal of my later Klan friends, I soon realized that he had been molested as a child and needed counseling. After talking with him for days in my car, he insisted that I came with him to a Klan meeting when he saw that I only
had pictures of blacks in my book. He took me to a Klan meeting in the woods and even helped hide my film from the other Klan members. It was my first “cross lightening” and it was mind-blowing for me since he had during our dinner just before called his mother, who told him that his uncle had just been shot to death. When I saw his angry face, I realized he was in double pain – partly from his childhood scars and partly now from the loss of a dear family friend. Therefore, I was afraid that he would now betray me to the Klansmen as a “nigger lover.” I called my family in Denmark and told them that if I had not called back before midnight, they should alert the police. Well, he ended up not betraying me and by showing him trust and love I realized once again that such deeply hurt people have a great need for our love and help.
Gadsden, AL August 1978 (us-00567)
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