Most people reading this are probably familiar with Harrison, Ark., being home of the infamous "Anti-Racist is a Code Word for Anti-White" sign, which was taken down in November of 2014, only to be followed up by a sign that directed people to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan website.
Now, if that weren't bad enough, it seems the League of the South, a neo-Confederate and pro-secession organization,has put up a sign of their own in the town, which has tried to live down its reputation as a bastion for psychotic racists in recent years.
In its own words the League of the South is:
not a “neo-Confederate” or “Southern heritage” organization, although we certainly do honor our ancestors and our largely Christian historic inheritance as Southerners. The League is a present- and future-oriented Southern Nationalist organization that seeks the survival, well being, and independence of the Southern people. We stand for our Faith, Family, and Folk living in freedom and prosperity on the lands of our forefathers.
The League of the South's description of itself honestly doesn't sound too different from the Ku Klux Klan. Just replace "Christian" and "Southern(er)" with "white" and they're pretty much the same.
To be fair to Harrison, the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan only uses a post office box there. The actual organization headquarters are located in Zinc, Ark., which is probably too small to have its own post office.
When the Baxter Bulletin, located in near-by Mountain Home ran an editorial about the sign put up by the Ku Klux Klan actually being racist, they were met by many angry comments on not only the article itself, but also Facebook. If you were to believe what the commentators said, white Americans are being oppressed throughout the rural areas of the country -- which are largely white.
Now, the League of the South claims it's not racist. But when your group's purpose is to follow the footsteps of secession by a rebel government whose primarily owed its existence to the fear that slavery might be abolished -- you might need to rethink the "we're not racist" part.
Now was this sign a reaction to the Martin Luther King/Robert E. Lee Day bill that came up last week? Possibly, but I'm not exactly sure how long it takes to get a billboard erected .. but I guess probably not long.
Could the owner of the sign have said "no?" Probably, but remember the two other signs that had been put up.
Harrison might want to change its reputation, but it seems that a couple of individuals -- including a guy who owns a few billboards -- wants it to stay the same.
But honestly, as a Southerner myself, I'd just like those who are supposed to take pride in being Southern find something to be proud of aside from a five-year span of our 200-plus year history as a region.
J. Robert Hall is a journalist from Arkansas. He welcomes readers to friend him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.