A Democratic Congressional candidate in North Carolina has released a campaign ad that’s historical, powerful and now viral. Charles Graham, a state assembly member, and a member of the Lumbee tribe, tells the story of a Klan rally in his hometown back in 1958, and how poor white, black and Lumbee Native Americans rallied together to run the white supremacists out of town.
Fast Company writes:
The Klan had announced a rally in order to terrorize the local Blacks and Lumbee. But when 50 Klansmen showed up, they were met by 400 angry townspeople. In the ad, Grahams describes it as, “Hundreds of normal folks deciding to stand together against ignorance and hate.” The New York Timesstory about that night cites 100 Klansmen and 500 Indians.
Then Graham uses his town’s history as a way to address the January 6 riots, and the images of the McCloskeys pointing guns at peaceful protesters in St. Louis. “A piece of forgotten history worth remembering, especially today,” says Graham. “In Washington, lies turned to violence, and the biggest lie is that America is at war with itself, that you can’t trust your neighbor, that they want something that’s yours, that you must live in fear of them.”
https://twitter.com/charlesgrahamnc/status/1445161817131692037?s=21
North Carolina’s 9th Congressional district has been held by Republicans since 1963. Watch the ad above.