counter protest

I started my Tennessee sabbatical with a story about three peace activists who recently shut down the Y12 bomb plant here in Oak Ridge with a stunning protest, armed only with a bible and flowers. 

I figure I’ll end my sabbatical with another great story of East Tennessee mischief.

This is the story of one of my favorite flash-mob actions, which happened right here in Knoxville. And this year marks its five-year anniversary.

It all happened on May 26, 2007. 

Word had begun to spread that a group of white supremacists — including members of the KKK — were converging here in Knoxville, Tenn., for a rally in a park downtown. It was on the news and in the papers.

Many locals were pretty upset by the public display of racism and hatred. Even though many of the folks connected to the hate-group were coming from other states, they had obtained a permit to gather and publicly proclaim their hate-filled message of White Power.

 But they had no idea what was coming.

A group of locals had decided neither to cower away in fear nor to fight fire with fire....Instead they decided to meet hatred with humor.