Who else remembers the I-95 "You are in Klan Country" Billboard circa 1970?

[cthulu2016]

During the late 1960s-early 1970s my family drove from the northeast to Florida many times. One of the landmarks along the way, on I-95, was a welcome to some-county-or-state billboard citing it as birthplace of the Klan, or You are in Klan Country, and with galloping Klansman pictured.

You really could not get from the northeast to the south without encountering this thing. It was right on I-95.

Anyone remember it, and where it was? I think that heading south it was before the "South of the Border" signs started, which would put it in North Carolina. (Or maybe it was a county in SC)

It was an amazing and appalling artifact... you couldn't drive south on America's most traveled highway without being instructed to turn the fuck around. (Unless you were coming there to 'fight integration and communism')

And I am pretty sure it was still in place when we landed on the moon. (Recall that Wallace carried most of the south as an independent segregationist presidential candidate in 1968.)



This picture is of a different, but quite similar, billboard of the era. (This one was apparently on a highway 303 when you entered NC)

[onehandle]

1. Cool. Where do I sign up? I remember a Klansman running late night ads for Governor in GA.

Those were the days.

Oh, wait... They're back, thanks to the teaKlan.

[SCantiGOP]

27. J B Stoner?

Don’t know why I remember his name. He ran for Gov of GA in 60s. I lived in SC but we got the Augusta radio stations.
He won a Supreme Court case that said political ads were different than other speech on TV and could not be censored.
So the stations would run a disclaimer explaining that the Court ruling meant they had to run his ads. He would use the N word 10 times in a 30 second as, as in: “The only reason (they) want the vote is that they want our whites women.”
I remember everyone laughing at the guy, even though folks in that part of the world were all pretty racist then.

[Va Lefty]

2. I remember the one you are talking about

It was definitely in North Carolina. Not sure how close it was to "South of the Border". I remember seeing it on our way to Myrtle Beach. I remember it reading "We fight N******, Jews and Communists!"

[Hoyt]

7. In Georgia, there was a candidate that used to say that.

What I remember is that in a short ad he'd say "N****** and Jews" so many times -- and with such hatred -- that I don't even use the word "Jews" to this day.

The Nword is obvious hatred, but I similarly cannot use "Jews" because I associate it with those filthy Klansmen and their despicable brand of hatred.

I also have never liked going to Stone Mountain -- a park near Atlanta -- because it is where they held big Klan rallies when I was a kid.

They even had the audacity -- or stupidity -- to stand there in front of confederate flags spouting their crud -- and would declare they weren't racists. The candidate I remember most, even had a confederate flag in his pocket at times.

I certainly remember the signs over doors and restrooms prohibiting Blacks. And, as late as 1971, there was a governor who came to fame chasing Blacks out of his restaurant with a gun and axe handles.

I know that kind of stuff doesn't happen as often today, but we do have Zimmermans, Aryan Nation, congresspeople who vote against minorities in many ways, etc.

[dtotire]

9. Georgia Governor

I believe his name was Lester Maddox

[Hoyt]

14. That's him. I used to work for State Government when he was Lt. Governor in 1974/75.

He'd walk around the Capitol and state office buildings with a large entourage shaking everyone's hand and talking crap.

I swear this is true. One day, I was in one of the gigantic old state office building restrooms, standing at the urinal. Maddox and his bunch of suckups walked in. He wanted to shake my hand. I said "can you wait a minute?" I should have turned around a pi**ed on him.

Years later, I was in Cobb County where the Maddox lived. I was getting a tire fixed at Sears at one of the larger malls. I saw a very old Maddox wandering across the parking lot -- looking kind of confused. He died a blabbering, old fool.

[KamaAina]

10. The ironic thing about Stone Mountain

is that the community surrounding it has become one of the most integrated in metro Atlanta.

[Hoyt]

16. Stone Mountain is a nice park that a lot of people use nowadays. But old confederate ties,

Last edited Wed Aug 7, 2013, 06:31 PM - Edit history (1)

and memories of the Klan, just ruin the whole place for me.

[doc03]

3. We had a "Vote white, Vote Republican banner painted on an overpass

here in eastern Ohio back in the Nixon years for about 30 years. I worked in Arlington Virginia back in 66-68
it was not unusual to see the Klan picketing a buisiness or find one way tickets to Africa on our windsheid when
we came out of work.

[d_r]

4. even in the late 80s

old homossasssa (the part of homosassa springs down by the river) in florida was a sunset town, the sign in town said "welcome to old homosassa, N* hide your ass before dark"

[PowerToThePeople]

5. Current lawmakers from the south grew up with these

and the attitudes that went with them.

[Raine1967]

6. Was this the one?

?size=67&uid=1CEDDA12-C3EF-4818-BFA7-E0CB94FF02E7

(ETA: the image isn't showing up here, but I can see it at the link below)

I found it on this message board after I googled "KKK billbords on I-95" They said it was near a place called the Nuese River Bridge in Smithfield, NC -- that is right off I-95.

It's really terrifying, to be honest. I don;t remember it as I was probably too young, but it would appear we probably passed this sign driving to florida when I was about 5-6 years old.

[Shibainu]

8. Fayetteville as best I can recall

On our first trip to Florida in 1969 there was a billboard proclaiming "This is klan country".it was within a block or two of something called a "Colored Motel". I was young enough I thought it was because every door on the motel was a different color. My parents were both teachers and proceeded to fill in a lot of gaps in my awareness on that vacation.
I had just discovered Camelot and was a huge fan of King Arthur and his knights. To this day I am still pissed that they corrupted that iconic image of chivalry the white knight on a charger.

[backscatter712]

11. I hope those billboards were frequently vandalized... n/t

[teach1st]

12. I remember the billboards...

I remember Klan billboards. Seems to me they were quite a few. Also the "Impeach Earl Warren" ones...

[NoPasaran]

13. I remember "Impeach Earl Warren" billboards

Can't say I ever saw the Klan one though.

[dsc]

15. when I first moved down here

I was told those signs were largely in Johnson County (south east of Wake County).

[GodDamnYankee]

17. Yeah I remember it

Myself and 2 friends, 82d Airborne troops) made an unsuccessful attempt to tear it down in October 1971. Beating and ripping on the sign with tire irons, I can still remember the lights coming on from a house nearby and a window being pulled up and a voice saying "They tearing down the sign, they tearing down the sign.... git the shotgun." Marty jumped from the top and sprained his ankle and I had to pull him over the fence. So there we were walking-limping up the road praying for our buddy who was supposed to be right back in the old 65 Chevy. Finally Smitty pulled up and I threw Marty in the back seat, jumped in the front and said, "Smitty for Christsakes floor this baby." We went about 3 miles and saw blue lights coming. We really thought they would pick us up but they screamed by in a hurry to get to the scene. I can still remember that feeling of relief because make no mistake the Klan and the police were quite intertwined at the time.

[rug]

18. Welcome to DU.

Too bad you didn't get to finish it.

[gopiscrap]

19. welcome to DU

[NBachers]

28. Welcome to DU, and I'm glad you're here to tell that hair-raising story.

[ERVCENT]

20. Klan Billboard on I-95

I remember seeing this billboard many times as a child about fifty years ago
.It may have been Hwy 301, but I'm sure it was in North Carolina.

[DesertFlower]

21. i remember it. i think it was just as you entered NC driving south.

i could be wrong on the location.

back in the 70s we took quite a few road trips from NYC to miami beach, florida -- gas was cheap and so were motels.

[IPASCUL]

22. I Remember The Sign

I first saw it in 1967. That was before I-95 existed. I believe it was along US 15/501 just north of the state line dividing North and South Carolina. So it would now be at the state line along I-95 unless it has been done away with. It was the first time I had ever set foot in North Carolina. I was 18 and headed to my first day as a colleģe student. It was frightening. But it did not scare me away.

[CharlotteGirl]

23. True! I am from that area

Hi I just found this thread. And yes it's true. Johnston county is near the Neuse River basin area near Smithfield and Lagrange. There is no way to avoid it while traveling. I am from New Bern NC. I am too young to remember that sign but whenever I traveled to Raleigh I would fear going that way. All older black parents warn us do not stop in Johnson county for anything. It's been that way for a long time- still racists even though the signs are long gone. I pray that God wil heal this nation one day soon.

[gopiscrap]

24. welcome to DU

[NBachers]

29. CharlotteGirl, we are lucky to have you here on Democratic Underground. Welcome!

[marble falls]

26. No one on DU holds any nostalgia for the KKK. To even suggest it is malicious...

shame on you.

[rockodman]

30. I remember one...

I remember a billboard on the East bound side on the right of US 70 (US 70 Business now) at the Neuse River bridge in Smithfield Johnston County North Carolina. It was a KKKK sign (Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Welcome you to Smithfield NC- Klan Country). I cannot find a picture of the Smithfield sign. I do remember that the local drug store sold postcards of it in the 1960's. It came down sometime between 1976 and 1980. I used to come home to visit mom and one time it was gone. The land was owned by a local moonshiner and believed high up figure in the State Klan. According to the rumors. Anyway before it came down broken concrete, bricks, asphalt, etc. were being dumped on the land. He ran a construction company. And supposedly wanted it rezoned which the local government was refusing to do. I guess they came to an arrangement because after the sign disappeared the area was backfilled to road level (a fairly big project) and a building is there even today (I think it is a machine shop). A side note of how where you come from follows you... in 2007 I was in Colorado for work and had the wife meet me out there for a week of vacation. We did all the tourist stuff and toured a silver mine. Anyway the guide (a Native American Lumbee) ) got to a point and went through the group asking them where they were from. When I told him I was from North Carolina he said that he used to live in NC- a marine stationed at Jacksonville NC. He got out of me I had been born in Smithfield and immediately asked about the sign! He was roundabout in asking (I KNEW what sign he was asking about!) and I was quick to say that it had come down in the late 1970's. So the rest of the group didn't learn the secret that I was from Klan Country.

https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryPorn/comments/1v2guc/you_are_in_the_heart_of_klan_country_i_took_this/

The above sign was off of I-95 near Dunn NC. And the current I-95 is way different than back then. This stretch could now be I-95 Business, reverted back to a local road like US 301, or just abandoned and the roadbed removed. Or not removed.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/79068954@N02/7187486567

This sign was on NC 303 as it came into NC from Virginia. NC 303 is gone now since the 1950's though the route is probably NC 87 from Eden to Southport (Wilmington).

As far as I know none of these signs are up anymore... but I am seeing many more Stars and Bars flying than I have seen since 60's and 70's in the last couple of years. So they may make a comeback...