Flickr: Governor-elect Ron DeSantis speaking with attendees at the 2018 Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. Photo credit: Gage Skidmore
One Crucially Important, Fair and Extremely Valid Question Must Be Posed During the August 23 GOP Presidential Primary Debate
“Although the state of Florida has promoted its image as a tourist paradise for more than 100 years, the truth is that the state has also been a Ku Klux Klan stronghold throughout much of the 20th century.” PBS, The Legacy of Harry T. Moore
By Gary Glennell Toms
In 2000, PBS featured the story of Harry T. Moore in its acclaimed series “Freedom Never Dies.” On Christmas Day 1951, Moore, an NAACP official who helped register over 116,000 new Black voters in Florida, was killed after a bomb was placed beneath the floor of his bed. He died on the way to the hospital, and his wife, Harriette, died several days later. The series noted….”During the Depression, the Klan continued to wither away — except in Florida, which had an estimated 30,000 members. Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa were the most powerful klaverns. Although Florida Klansmen continued to terrorize African Americans, they expanded their targets to include union organizers, particularly in the citrus belt from Orlando to Tampa. One of the most notorious Klan incidents in Florida history occurred in Tampa in 1937, when labor organizer Joseph Shoemaker was flogged, castrated, and tarred and feathered. Shoemaker eventually died from his injuries. Ironically, one of nine Klansmen indicted for the murder (although they were all freed) was Edward Spivey, from Orange County, who would later play a role in the 1978 re-investigation of Harry Moore’s murder.”
I truly believe that in order to have a firm understanding of a person’s character, how they think, and how they view others and the world around them, you must examine the area(s) and environment(s) in which they grew up. Thus, I decided to delve into Dunedin’s history because GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, Jr. resided there from the 1980s until he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Earlier on, his parents, Ronald Daniel DeSantis and Karen Rogers, initially settled in Jacksonville during the late 70s. Throughout the 60s, Black and Brown residents of the city faced tremendous racial hostility. Ax Handle Saturday and the 1964 race riots are two tragic examples. The family moved to Orlando when DeSantis was six-years-old and later relocated to Dunedin.
In order to gain greater insight into Dunedin’s history of racial tension, I emailed a renowned Florida historian and scholar. He provided the following quote and urgently pleaded that his name and location not be published out of concern for his physical safety and that of his family. “There are many fanatics out there who might use my statement of fact as reason to lash out at myself or those I love,” he said. “Dunedin and Palm Harbor were home to many active Klan members from at least the 1960s to the 1970s, and likely many decades before and after.” This was confirmed by Helen Kamp, who was the subject of a 2013 report by the Tampa Bay Times. The report noted….”I will say that Palm Harbor was not kind to blacks, and that goes back to when I was (a teenager),” she said. “We all knew there were people in the (Ku Klux) Klan in Palm Harbor back then, in the 1940s. They are long gone now though.”
The article also included statements from Delorace Coleman, an African-American woman who grew up in Safety Harbor and was one of Kamp’s closest friends. She attended Dunedin High School, the same high school the GOP presidential candidate attended. It was during a different period, but she said it was not a pleasurable experience. Coleman told the Tampa Bay Times….”I first met Helen, who I now call my ‘other mother,’ when I was a freshman at Dunedin High, getting in trouble in school. I was yelling about some people who I felt did not treat me right, and she took the time to tell me not to think like that. From that point on, I wanted her in my life.”
Several agencies, churches, individuals and organizations were called or emailed in effort to speak to residents about past and possibly current Klan activity in Dunedin. No one wanted to discuss the matter for fear of retaliation. However, I did receive an email from someone named “Ray.” He stated….”I was contacted by a colleague, who wishes to remain nameless, about your inquiries into DeSantis. I hope that I can further elucidate any details regarding your research, as I am unconstrained by any organizational attachments. There is a rumor in Dunedin that Ron DeSantis, Sr. was involved with the Klan after he moved to Dunedin in the 1980s. Unfortunately, because of the clandestine nature of the KKK, I have been unable to prove or disprove this rumor. However, looking at Jr.’s track record, it does seem entirely plausible. I applaud your attempt to find out.”
According to published reports, DeSantis’ parents have gone to great lengths to avoid the press and discuss their past. That was the case when he ran for governor, and it is still the case as their son tries to snatch the GOP crown from “45.” I find that extremely interesting, intriguing and strange. DeSantis made family and family values central themes in his quest for governor and continues to do so in his bid for the White House, so why would his parents opt to remain in the shadows instead of seizing any opportunity to proudly stand beside their son as an American family upholding traditional family values? Well, a 2018 article entitled DeSantis’s Father Spread Racist, Misogynistic Rhetoric on Social Media may have answered that question.
The report opens by stating: “Ron DeSantis’s father shared a Facebook post that called then-President Barack Obama a ‘cop-hating terrorist,’ one of several racially tinged posts he shared on social media in recent years before he turned his attention to his son’s campaign for governor.” The article also pointed out that prior to defeating his gubernatorial opponent, Andrew Gillum, a Black man and the Democratic mayor of Tallahassee, DeSantis said voters should not “monkey this up” by voting for Gillum. He made the comment during this FOX News interview.
Source: Guardian News
Like “Ray,” I have no idea if DeSantis Sr., or his son, was or is a KKK member or sympathizer. What I do know is that Florida has a deadly and ultra-vicious Klan history. What I do know, thanks to the historian and scholar, is that Dunedin and Palm Harbor were and may still be hubs for numerous Klan groups. What I do know is that DeSantis has shown a reluctance to answer questions about white nationalists and/or supremacists that have proclaimed him “their leader” and the state as “DeSantis Country.” What I do know is that a member of DeSantis’ administration was forced to resign after a photo of said member in KKK garb was discovered. What I do know is that a DeSantis staff member was fired after reportedly creating a pro-Nazi meme about the governor. Given these facts, moderators and candidates scheduled for the August 23 GOP Presidential Primary Debate, like Chris Christie, must be brave enough to pose this crucially important, fair and extremely valid question to DeSantis. What would you say to voters, especially those from Black and Brown communities, who believe your ongoing war on “wokeness” and “anti-Black” agenda are the result of ideologies you embraced while growing up in a city and state with a significant KKK presence?
This commentary is from the heart and…..from The G-Man.
These news clippings were submitted by the historian/scholar to verify the Klan’s presence in Dunedin, Palm Harbor and nearby areas.