Opinion by Karen Attiah: When saving a symbol of white supremacy is a way to resist it
At a time when the country is rightly being pressured to exhume its brutal past, it’s jarring to realize how much of Texas’s historic cruelties have been hiding in plain sight all along.
Nearly 100 years ago, Ku Klux Klan Klavern 101 — a Klavern was a local KKK unit — built the hall as a space for marching practice, minstrel shows and other events. The auditorium could hold an estimated 2,000 people. The ground floor alone is 22,000 square feet.Over time, the building’s racist beginnings faded from view. In 1925, it burned, though the Klan rebuilt quickly. But in 1927,to Leonard Brothers department store, and after that it was used as an auditorium and dance hall.
That serendipitous text two years ago set in motion an epic repurposing. According to city rules, the building’s owners were required to explore options other than demolition with the community. Banks and McKinney went to work holding meetings and gathering support,, ultimately joining forces with eight other nonprofits representing groups formerly targeted by KKK hate.
According to local historian Richard Selcer, there is little evidence that violence or rallies took place inside the hall itself. But the massive stage within is a reminder of how the production of art, including dance and choreography, was part and parcel of the Klan’s dual need to foster belonging within its ranks and to project strength.The hope is Black dancers such as McKinney, along with dancers from the SOL Ballet Folklorico, will use the space for dance, for resistance, for art.
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