KTOK quotes KKK leader on Jackson protest of Allen execution

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		KTOK quotes KKK leader on Jackson protest of Allen execution

(Posted 1-12-01)

   KTOK quotes Ku Klux Klan Leader
            Thursday, January 11, 2001
            Nathaniel Batchelder, Oklahoma City, OK USA

    For a response to Rev. Jesse Jackson's leadership of an interfaith prayer vigil and nonviolent protest against capital punishment in Oklahoma, Oklahoma City-based talk-radio station KTOK turned to the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, "a Tulsa businessman who prefers to remain anonymous," according to KTOK's story.

    In their news broadcast repeated every hour Thursday morning, KTOK played their "story" about Wednesday evening's vigil and protest, including the comment from the KKK Grand Dragon, "Jesse Jackson's coming to Oklahoma to protest the execution of a black person proves that he is racist."

    (In fact, Jackson was in Oklahoma to decry the execution in 24 days of 8 inmates, of whom 5 are white. A Belgian television crew is in Oklahoma for a month producing a documentary about this horrendous waste of life for French-speaking nations around the world. Governor Keating received a letter from the European Union, whose member nations have all abolished capital punishment, expressing concern about the numbers of executions in Oklahoma. The letter was signed by the Ambassador from Sweden and the Ambassador from Belgium. Perhaps KTOK should call back the Grand Dragon for his opinion about the European Union.)

    KTOK might have sought a comment from one of the many religious bishops in Oklahoma who have published statements against capital punishment. KTOK might have used a comment from a university professor, police chief, or district attorney. KTOK could even have sought comment from leaders in the Republican Party, who would surely have criticised what Jackson said and did in Oklahoma.

    But no, KTOK sought comment from a Grand Dragon of the KKK, and participated in honoring "his preference to remain anonymous." They replayed the story over and over again, in every morning news broadcast.

    Jesse Jackson understands the risks of public stands.

    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated by a rifle bullet just a few feet from where Jesse Jackson stood. Jackson has placed his body in harm's way thousands of times, in his political campaigns and in his crusades for human rights around the world. The record is clear that Jackson has "gone to bat" for white people and for people of color, and for people threatened regardless of their religion. Never has he sought anonymity - on the contrary, he has continued to take courageous public stands even when to do so is to invite the criticism and abuse which predictably emerges from reactionary conservatives with little understanding of the justice issues involved.

    KTOK reached into the toilet for a response to Jackson's work in Oklahoma (he was invited here by leaders in the African-American and justice movements). They repeatedly aired the crap they came up with in public broadcast over the Oklahoma airwaves.

    What a smell.
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YOU CAN REPLY TO KTOK AS FOLLOWS:
    KTOK Radio
    P.O. Box 1000, Oklahoma City, OK 73101 USA
    (50 Penn Place, Oklahoma City, OK 73118)
    phone: 405-840-5271
    Gen. Mgr. John Moen
    Owner: Clear Channel Broadcasting, Inc.
    Network: ABC, ONN (OK News Network)
    News Contact: Jerry Bohnen, News Dir.
    Fax: 405-858-1435
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