Pulaski, our neighbor to the east, has fought a long and valiant battle to separate itself from its unfortunate legacy as the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan. And, on January 13, 1990, due to sheer proximity, that battle spilled over onto the Public Square of Lawrenceburg.

It began with the first-ever statewide celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. In 1989, 44 states, including Tennessee, passed laws making MLK Day a state holiday. To protest the slain civil rights leader’s new holiday, white supremacist groups attempted to organize a parade and rally at the public square of Pulaski, where the original Klan was founded in 1865.

But the hate group’s initial plans were thwarted when they found that a local group known as Giles County United had already obtained the proper permits to hold a brotherhood parade on the same day. The local group’s parade intended to celebrate diversity and honor Dr. King’s legacy.

The Klan then turned their attention to Lawrenceburg, only seventeen miles west of Pulaski. As there were no other events scheduled on the Lawrenceburg Public Square for the day requested by the Klan, city officials had their hands tied, and were forced to issue a parade permit to the group; to refuse the permit would have placed local government at risk of a lawsuit for violating the group’s First Amendment rights.

On the day of the parade, police officers clad in riot gear stood every 15 feet along the parade route as approximately 250 robed klansmen and skinheads made their way to the Square while a crowd of around 400 looked on. The image above (taken from the Florence ‘Times Daily’) is of 18-year-old Florence resident Matthew W. Mitchell confronting a group of klansmen with an American flag, shouting ‘Freedom for all!’ Mitchell and two others were arrested for violating a police order to stand down.

Other than sporadic outbursts like Mitchell’s, the rally was finished in relative peace, with the hate group’s leader vowing to hold the parade in Pulaski the following year.

The city of Lawrenceburg was not pleased at having been chosen as the location for this racist spectacle. After the rally, city officials publicly explored the possibility of taking legal action against the Klan to recoup the cost incurred by taxpayers for extra police protection during the rally. Unfortunately, it was discovered that this was not an option.

The following day, Lawrenceburg’s official Martin Luther King Day observations began as planned, with a community-wide service held in honor of Dr. King at St. John’s United Methodist Church, one of the oldest historically African-American congregations in Lawrence County.