Ku Klux Klan says march in Bloomington will go on

Having been confirmed in the last few days that the Ku Klux Klan will hold a march in Bloomington, city officials and community leaders are asking that students and residents ignore the expected rally.\nBeverly Calender-Anderson, director of the city’s Safe and Civil City Program, said residents should find other, positive things to do, such as visit the local science museum or see a movie, if the KKK does march.\n“The important thing is that we stop feeding into people’s fears,” Calender-Anderson said. “We don’t know why they are coming, and there’s no reason for us to believe that it will be any day more so than any other.”\nAnd despite the rumors, Calender-Anderson added, there is no indication the KKK will be rallying during Little 500 week.\n“If people hear that it (the march) is happening, then they should stay away,” Calender-Anderson said. “We should not give attention to something we’re against, but rather give attention to something positive that the community does support.”\nBloomington resident Jane Weiser echoed Calender-Anderson’s sentiments.\n“They have the right to walk and express their opinion,” Weiser said. “But I hope everyone just ignores them.”\nWeiser, a participant in Sunday’s Homeward Bound walk, said organizers have to get special permits to march. “It’s weird to think that they can walk right in without permission,” Weiser said.\nMary Beth Morgan, the director of Adult Family Ministries at the First United Methodist Church, 219 E. Fourth St., agreed with both Weiser and Calender-Anderson but focused more on the response within the children of the community.\n“Even though we’re trying to publicly not affirm, or ignore, this march, it is also important to be attentive to the responses and feelings to those with anxieties and unsettledness,” Morgan said. “It is important that we encourage children to able to talk with trusted adults with difficult issues with what they’ve seen or heard, to help them to develop questions and thoughts, and to assure them that people are doing all they can to keep them safe.”\nRabbi Sue Shifron, director of the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center, 730 E. Third St., stressed the importance of community in the event of the KKK marching in Bloomington.\n“Bloomington is a community that has always supported diversity and is a forefront to promoting diversity and letting people know what we’re about,” Shifron said. “We need to keep that in mind and be proud of that, and to not let any group or anyone shake that.”\nAlthough a time and date is not certain, city and community officials agree the best way to handle thesituation is to pay no attention to the rally.\n“Building community is a priority in Bloomington, and it is important for us to be proud of who we are,” Shifron said. “It would take a lot more than the Klan to be able to change that in this community.”