Because of what happened in Greenesboro NC in 1979; it was in the back of my mind that something again could happen yesterday: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensboro_massacre
I remember many years back here in Atlanta that some local Klan group applied for a permit to march in College Park. COLLEGE PARK !!! Talk about suicidal tendencies. Anyway, the most impressive part of the ordeal was civil rights icon Hosea Williams asking the Klan leader during a TV interview if he could join them in a lawsuit giving them the right to march.
At that moment, Williams became my favorite Atlanta politician of all time. The man stood on principle. Don't get me wrong. I don't think Hosea should ever have been allowed to drive a car again considering his DUI history. But the man spoke with integrity which is so refreshing in this political climate.
Another incident from this same event has also stuck out in my mind. Some pre-march Klan protesters were protesting somewhere in South Fulton county. One was brandishing a Confederate battle flag. I will never forget some man charging forward and snatching that flag out of his hands and yelling 'How dare you use this flag as a symbol of the KKK'. It was an act of courage that I will never forget.
Anyway, the Klan never got their permit to march in College Park (smart move) although they did get a permit to march in downtown Atlanta. On march day, less than a dozen had the courage to show up, surrounded by 200 state troopers with full riot gear, and tens of thousands of Atlantans expressing their displeasure with their march.