OPPOSITION TO THE KU KLUX KLAN AND THE AMERICAN NAZI PARTY

WHEREAS, there has been a re-emergence of the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party; and

WHEREAS, the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party have been responsible for violent attacks on racial, religious and ethnic minorities, sometimes resulting in serious injury or death of their victims; and

WHEREAS, in California a leader of the Klan has won the Democratic nomination to Congress; and

WHEREAS, members of the Klan and the American Nazi Party are being discovered in the police and other law enforcement agencies; and

WHEREAS, the philosophy of the Klan and the American Nazi Party and other organizations which call for the oppression and annihilation of racial, ethnic and religious minorities has no legitimate place in a democratic society; and

WHEREAS, there are instances of public schools being used as recruiting grounds for Klan and the American Nazi Party youth organizations; and

WHEREAS, the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party have publicly and violently opposed integration and disrupted the transportation of school children to integrated schools; and

WHEREAS, the AFT has a long history of participation in the civil rights movement in this country; and

WHEREAS, the AFT took a stand against white supremacy and segregation by expelling segregated locals; and

WHEREAS, the racist and segregationist practices of the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party have found support in times of economic recession; and

WHEREAS, the high unemployment being experienced in this current recession is again providing a climate in which the Klan and the American Nazi Party can publicly propose that "racial separation by forcing blacks back to Africa is the final and only solution to America's problems";

RESOLVED, that the AFT go on record as opposing the Klan, the Nazis and all other groups that advocate racial, ethnic or religious oppression; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT work together with other labor and human rights organizations to destroy the influence of the Klan and the American Nazi Party; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT encourage its locals and state federations to work to remove the influence of the Klan and the American Nazi Party in local law enforcement agencies; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT, through its publications, inform its members of the history, ideas and current revival of the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party and make available materials suitable for classroom use; and

RESOLVED, that this resolution be sent to the AFL-CIO Executive Council for its endorsement and support.