I have been to the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C., and the Holocaust Museum in Israel. I have been to Auschwitz and other concentration camps in Poland. Sometimes the memories of these places will creep up on me, but I honestly cannot describe any of them to anyone who doesn’t really understand. The only word I have to sum up my feelings for all these places is simply shoes. If you do not understand I’m sorry – I can’t help you. In any respect, I have been deeply vested in the history these monuments represent (because they are historical monuments), and that the museum in Washington D.C. was attacked by a hate-filled gunman is just horrifying.

Even more tragic, is the death of one of the security guards of the museum. 39-year-old Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns was reportedly killed by the gunman before other guards heroically returned fire. The gunman is still alive, who was identified as James Von Brunn – and guess what? He wrote a book. (now where have I heard that one before?) Sorry, I will not be posting links to his website, his book, or any other affiliations he might have like all the 24 hour news networks have been advertising (I wonder if his death was a marketing ploy…). James Von Brunn is still in the hospital in critical condition last I heard.

So who was oh, right (too soon), I mean “is” James Von Brunn? I have no idea, but apparently he was sentenced in 1983 to more than four years in prison. His non-white-supremest reason was to attempt to kidnap the Federal Reserve Board with a gun, knife and sawed-off shotgun. I guess in his old age those weapons get a little heavy (he was carrying a .22 rifle at the age of 88 when he attacked the museum today). Since then, he’s moved on from complaining about interest rates to strongly supporting his cause of white supremacy.

That’s where I lead into what I really wanted to talk about. Just to explain what I am doing, my job lately has been to preserve historical records including video/audio interviews, letters, articles and other printed documents of, to, from or about Miami University, its faculty and/or students and their involvement in the Freedom Summer of 1964. Today, I was scanning many of these documents into a computer when I came across three very disturbing, yet humbling flyers. I debated strongly whether or not I wanted to post them to my website, because out of context, I was afraid what kind of message they would send. After all, should they show up in an image search, this article might not necessarily show up along side. I have settled on posting them, but have added a watermark onto the documents stating: For Archival Purposes Only. I feel that is a better way to go that not to post them at all.

These images I came across advocate the very cause James Brunn gave his life for. The first one is a comic entitled The Worst Horror on Earth.

Racist Cartoon

I saved a much smaller version than I thought (the original scan was enormous) so I’ll put the text below.

Block 1: White mother at mixed race meeting. Why my children go to school with the negroes, I don’t think there is anything wrong with it.
Block 2: A few years later in school they get along well. They know no better.
Block 3: Leaving high school together. (very PG way to put it)
Block 4: Calling on your daughter.
Block 5: Marrying your daughter.
Block 6: Your grand children – one white – one black.
Block 7: “Hello Uncle George – Hello Aunt Mary. ( And you thought it would not happen. )”
Block 8: Hello Grandpa – Hello Grandma
Block 9: Baby sitting with your grand children
Block 10: Making A Big Stink. They do this with the money you thought went to charity, but it does not go that way. They use your money to fight you back with, to get laws made for their own benefit.
Block 11: Each after his own kind – G-d said it! Wake up for your country’s sake, City and State, for your own sake and the future generation’s sake, and the white peoples sake as well as the coloured peoples sake. Our enemies are behind the move. They have been undermining us for the last 30 or 40 years. We are so divided, that if a war started tomorrow, G-d only knows where we would land. Our enemy is organized – but we are not.

Courtesy of: Citizen’s Council of Dallas County, Inc. Dallas, Texas.

Sometimes I forget how recent history is. We think of history as being Christopher Columbus, Roman Empires, Napoleon Conquests (yeah, the French winning wars, waaayy back in history), but this was only a few decades ago, and to some degree, still going on. Bigotry, Antisemitism, Racism; if James Brunn did anything today, it was exemplify the ignorance of hate groups. The next flyer is just, I’ll be honest, as disgusting as the first.

Join the Klan

Save our land… from what? I have nothing really to say to that but just to share the ignorance. This next one though, this one really did it for me. The following is an application of membership to the Klu Klux Klan. I should have saved it in a larger size due to all the text, but I’ll quote the text below the image again as before.

Application for the KKK

I the undersigned, a native born, true and loyal citizen of the United States of America, being a white male GGentile person of temperate habits, sound in mind and a believer in the tenets of the Christian religion, the maintenance of White Supermacy and the principles of a “pure Americanism”, do most respectfully apply for membership in the United Klans of America, Knights of the Klu Klux Klan through Klan No. _, Realm of _.

I guarantee on my honor to conform strictly to all rules and requirements regulating my “naturalization” and the continuance of my membership, and at all times a strict and loyal obedience to your constitutional authroity and the comnstitution and laws of the fraternity, not in conflict with the constitution and constituional laws of the United States of America and the states thereof. If I prove untrue as aKlansman I will willingly accept as my portion whatever penalty your authority may impose.

This was an application for a locally based Klan, which is why I suppose it came across my desk. What I appreciate most about this is that you must be a “native born, true and loyal citizen of the United States of America”. I didn’t think Native American’s were allowed to join… Again, more ignorance. I could go on, but my eyes have been giving me problems lately, so I must deviate from my laptop for awhile. I will continue to post a lot about my work since it does fascinate me, I just feel the incident today has overshadowed any other message I might have wanted to pass on.

I want to close with my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Stephen Tyrone James, the security guard who was murdered at the D.C. Holocaust Memorial Museum. (Again, I believe James Brunn is still in critical condition.) I am also proud and impressed with the statements President Obama and his administration have released regarding the incident, and the words he spoke days before on the Holocaust. I admit, I did not vote for President Obama, but he is my President, and I hope he can do what is best for our nation (even those ignorant amongst us).