MPR News Feature; Ku Klux Klan National Director David Duke Speaks in St. Cloud

Right now protesters clustered at each entrance to Hollenbeck hall urging other students and community members to boycott Duke's top. The student run lectures committee appropriated one thousand fifty dollars of student activity funds to bring Duke to campus. Brad Smith of The Young Socialists Alliance the American Federation of Teachers joined his group interested students and some local labor groups in the protest. The way I understand it it's a big mix up that David Duke lined up on this campus what happened was not a big mix up he was definitely invited by a small pointed or a volunteer group of students who have power over soon activities and they decided they want a controversial speaker so they decided on David Duke as a speaker which he's been allocated over a thousand dollars to speak on campus a hundred dollars for that area and $250 for travel expenses and the lodging. We're going to have to issue a protest one for the plan to be on campus for exactly because it stands for racist racism and violence in this country. And two for student funds being

used to bring a Klan speaker on campus. Are you going. Probably. What are you waiting for. Thing whether I should join them. OK let me tell you what. We gotta get that right. I mean if you haven't. Got the right most joined the estimated crowd of thirty five hundred people inside amidst catcalls some cheers some booing and applause. David Duke strode to the podium wearing a cream suit. Of course there are no blacks or Jews among the clans membership. So it was most appropriate for Duke to reiterate the clans traditional positions first towards blacks and one of the things that affected my life very strongly may be a little thing to a lot of people. One time I went to register at LSU and I got one of these in Lybia cards. I picked up a card and said this is for you

know racial categorizing this is so that if you're black you're going to special privileges is what these cards are for. These cards are not to discriminate against blacks. So I looked at the card and everybody every student has the filled out. Oh look at the card. I had about nine or 10 categories on it like the first category it's an Afro-American second category it had was it said. It wasn't broke. The next one I had on it. Was mexican american next ahead and I was Indian-American. And then finally I got down to about seven or eight down the card. They had a little box there. And it said the other. And I had to check the box. Because that is where the white people in our country are starting to be categorized. There. And I challenge this.

Any white person here tonight who thinks that there's no differences among the races that these blacks and I committed crimes and that's all right I want to live with them and work with them. I challenge them. To go down to St. Paul tonight and walk across the black section with your girlfriend. And I tell you something. If you come out on the other side at all and that's questionable. If you come out the other side at all I think you're going to come out a Klansman. Duke spent much of the evening fighting student jeers and slogans but he was able to attack the media. Jews and national policy through this example. Now the media. In our country has been pushing race mixing. It's been telling us that the thing to do is to watch a commercial. Our show you're going to be one of the smart people if you mix you're one of the check people. Now I ran into something which I

found was very fascinating and very frightening. The three top television the most powerful man in the world the media are the president and officer of golems who. Is a Russian born Jew the head of CBS. Is Were you was another Jew and the head of NBC was Robert Sarnoff another Jew. Now why would you think if there were three Klansmen of our national media would you like it. As a consequence. They can express themselves in any way they want. They have control over what you see and what you hear. And as a result the American people were not informed. About what our priorities were. David Duke national director of the Ku Klux Klan Duke's speech is part of

a concerted effort by Klansmen to change their bloody image. Whether the students were just getting back in shape and reorganizing for the school year or being entertained it didn't work in St. Cloud. Well police weren't worried about a lynch mob last night. They did escort Duke to and from the school. I'm Tom steward.