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Georgia Rejects Klan Bid to Adopt Highway

A Georgia Ku Klux Klan branch says they will not be deterred in their quest for the right to join the state's Adopt-a-Highway program.

By Naeesa Aziz

Posted: 06/13/2012 11:45 AM EDT

Filed Under Ku Klux Klan, white supremacist group, National News

Members of the International Keystone Knights Realm of Georgia, perform a traditional Klan stand along the portion of highway they want to adopt.

Although not typically known for their community service work, a branch of the Ku Klux Klan recently applied to “adopt” a stretch of Georgia highway and help to maintain the area, keeping it free from litter and debris.

They were denied.

Citing public safety concerns, officials in Georgia’s Union County rejected the white supremacist group’s application, and the county now can expect the group whose name is synonymous with racial hatred will fight for its right to have its name posted on the highway for all to see. Reuters reports:

"The impact of erecting a road sign naming an organization which has a long rooted history of civil disturbance would cause a significant public concern," the Georgia Department of Transportation wrote the Klan chapter. "Impacts include safety of the travelling public, potential social unrest, driver distraction or interference with the flow of traffic."

Harley Hanson, whose formal title is the Exalted Cyclops of the Union County Klan, had earlier said his group would consider legal action if the application were denied.

"We're not going to be deterred," Hanson told Reuters on Monday.

State Representative Tyrone Brooks said Georgia should fight the Klan's application in the courts and if it loses, "I think you might want to end the program."

Read the full story here.

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