Auction house in Michigan sells Ku Klux Klan paraphernalia

A Ku Klux Klan knife sold for $400 and a sweat shirt drew a $15 bid Saturday during an auction of KKK robes and other paraphernalia that critics have blasted as insensitive. Auctioneer Gary Gray said a steady stream of people visited the auction house in Howell, about 55 miles west of Detroit, in the hours leading up to the auction. He planned to sell seven KKK robes and items including buttons, books, movies and a lantern. Maybe I have taught more people about history, at least this week, than some schools,'' Gray said. It's not a question of racism. That's intertwined. But it's not the main focus.'' About 35 protesters gathered outside the auction house, holding signs that read, Hate has no home here.'' Some tried to enter the house, chanting No Nazis, no KKK.'' People say it's historical, but it shouldn't be something we have to remember every day,'' protester Michelle Soli said. The NAACP branch in neighboring Oakland County and other civil rights groups have criticized the auction as insensitive. Members of a local diversity council were raising money to buy one of the robes for an anti-racism museum exhibit. Jerry Gowlan, who attended the auction, said he planned to bid on KKK literature and pamphlets, but said he wasn't a supporter of the Klan. [more]