I was wondering. Did you ever get any negative reaction to what you were doing?
Some. Not violent, but a bit worrisome.
Tell me.
Well, one time we had a group meeting with a guest speaker. A black activist. He talked to us about the civil rights movement. And afterward, as I was cleaning up, I found a note on one of the chairs.
Saying?
Saying “You have been visited by the Ku Klux Klan.”
No, there was nobody in a robe. And no burning cross out front. But, still, it makes you think.
I guess.
Another time, I suppose I was taking a chance. I learned of a local meeting of the John Birch Society.
They were against the idea of the civil rights movement. Against the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Anyway, I learned of a local JBS meeting. I went into the meeting room and took a seat. Pretty soon a member came op to me and motioned to me to come talk to him.
What about?
Apparently he had recognized me and thought maybe I was there to stir up trouble. I assured him I was just there to learn, so he let me sit back down. And I stayed for the meeting. No trouble from the Birchers, but you never know.
That’s right.
There was another time. And this was kind of peculiar. Somehow I wound up on a white supremacy mailing list.
What?
Yeah. A guy on Maryland’s Eastern Shore was the head of a white supremacy group.
One day I received in the mail an invitation to a meeting of this group in my area. I was puzzled but thought — what the heck — I would attend.
What happened?
Well, when I got there — invitation in hand — the guy recognized me and came to the back to see why I was at this invitation-only event.
And?
And I showed him the letter. And he was as puzzled as I was. And he slowly started to tear up the invitation. Looking at me the whole time. Don’t know. Maybe he thought I was going to react somehow.
But you didn’t?
Naw. I just said goodbye and left. Didn’t bother to stay for the meeting.
Maybe just as well.
Could be.
The last thing that comes to mind I learned about some time after the fact. I was talking to my wife about one thing or another. And I happened to ask if she had ever gotten any threatening phone calls because of what I was doing in the community.
And?
And she said yes.
What did the caller say?
She wouldn’t tell me. Maybe she hadn’t wanted to upset me. And still didn’t want to.
Understandable, I suppose..
Yeah. Oh, well. I guess it goes with the territory.