Alabama Editor Under Fire After Calling KKK to Lynch Democrats

The editor of a small community paper in Linden, Alabama is calling for a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan’s night raids, this time targeting U.S. Democrats and Socialists in Washington in response to state tax hikes.

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"This socialist-communist ideology sounds good to the ignorant, the uneducated, and the simple-minded people. Time for the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) to night ride again...We'll get the hemp ropes out, loop them over a tall limb and hang all of them," an acclaimed journalist, Goodloe Sutton of the Democrat-Reporter, wrote in an editorial Thursday.

With only around 3,000 subscribers to the paper, his editorial would likely have gone largely unnoticed if not for a photo posted on Twitter by Auburn University students.

Social media responded immediately, slammed with messages rejecting the racist references and calling for the journalist’s resignation.

From her twitter account, a Black Democratic Representative, Terri Sewell, wrote, “For the millions of people of color who have been terrorized by white supremacy, this kind of ‘editorializing’ about lynching is not a joke- it is a threat. These comments are deeply offensive and inappropriate, especially in 2019. Mr. Sutton should apologize and resign.”

Alabama Democratic Representatives Doug Jones tweeted, “OMG! What rock did this guy crawl out from under? This editorial is absolutely disgusting  and he should resign- NOW! I have seen what happens when we stand by while people- especially those with influence- publish racist, hateful views. Words matter. Actions matter. Resign now!”

An Alabama-based political writer and former co-worker of Sutton, Kyle Whitmire, said, “Twenty years ago, I worked a summer at the Democrat-Reporter. I’ve written good things about Goodloe Sutton Sr. in the past, so I feel obligated, and sickened to share the bad. I can explain how anyone would write anything like this, except to have gone down a really dark path.”

Sutton has been praised for his ethics by prestigious publications such as the New York Times and American Journalism Review, as well as honored in his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Communication.

The university said that in light of the “recent and continued history of racist remarks” Sutton’s name has been removed from its Journalism Hall of Fame. The school “strongly condemns Mr. Sutton's remarks as they are antithetical to all that we value as scholars of journalism, the media, and human communication."

In his editorial, Sutton defended his thesis, saying, "It's not calling for the lynchings of Americans. These are socialist-communists we're talking about. They didn't kill but a few people. The Klan wasn't violent until they needed to be.”

However, in U.S. history, there were at least 3,500 African Americans lynched by KKK members in the century following the Civil War.

During the 1900s, the organization had as many as four million members, however the number has decreased to an estimated 5,000 to 8,000.