A Ku Klux Klan group held a meeting Friday in a county building in Elkton, much to the dismay of many in government and business.
The News Journal reported about 50 attended the meeting that focused on impeaching President Barack Obama, immigration and other hot button issues. The News Journal put the story on its front page on Friday and Saturday, with the Associated Press sending the story to its members. CecilDaily.com the website of the Elkton-based Cecil Whig also carried a story and interview with a Klan leader. Cecil Daily later reported that many in attendance opposed the Klan recruiting effort and its Facebook posts showed similar views.
The Klan group made no attempt to hide its heritage, donning hoods and robes at the meeting, according to a News Journal video. The group claimed it has nothing against minorities, but the garb was a reminder of its history of racial hatred, murders and intimidation that includes the burning cross.
The coverage was bad news in long-running efforts to draw business to the county. Cecil County has a full-time economic development director and staff.
Cecil also changed to a county council and executive form of government with broader powers. The previous system of county commissioners and no county executive was widely viewed as hampering progress in the county.
The News Journal coverage was particularly painful, since the northern Delaware economy is the source of many jobs for residents of the county. At the same time, the county struggles with an Appalachian image image that has led to the term “Ceciltucky.”
Cecil County retailers are also hurt by its proximity to sales tax-free Delaware and high bridge tolls faced by shoppers and casino-goers crossing the Susquehanna River.
Cecil has one of the highest jobless and drug abuse rates in Maryland, a state that has benefitted from the proximity of a large part of its population to the more prosperous Washington, D.C. area.
The Klan group holding the membership session on Friday was the Confederate White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, listed as being from Rosedale, Md., east of Baltimore. The county allowed the meeting citing First Amendment reasons and perhaps feeling it could provide security at the complex that also houses the County Sheriff’s office. The county building is a short walk from the Delaware state line.
The website of the Rosedale group features images of hooded Klansmen, a burning cross and a link to a petition to impeach President Barack Obama. The website indicated the group is seeking native-born members of European extraction who should not have intimate relations with a member of another race or engage in terrorism. Jews and Muslims are barred from membership.
Klan activity has declined in Cecil over the years. During some periods, groups made occasional forays into adjacent areas of New Castle County. The Southern Poverty Law Center did not list any Klan groups in northeastern Maryland in a map that identifies such organizations. The law center has focused more on “Patriot Groups” that have become more widespread, with some taking up arms
