A story nearly made for a book or a movie made the rounds a few weeks ago, when the Associated Press reported that a black church won a court battle against the owner of a Ku Klux Klan shop.
After a lengthy legal battle between a black South Carolina church and members of the Ku Klux Klan, a judge has ruled that the church owns a building where KKK robes and T-shirts are sold.
A circuit judge ruled last month that New Beginnings Baptist Church is the rightful owner of the building that houses the Redneck Shop, which operates a so-called Klan museum and sells Klan robes and T-shirts emblazoned with racial slurs. The judge ordered the shop’s proprietor to pay the church’s legal bills of more than $3,300.
You can get a picture of what the store looks like from the 2008 Associated Press video embedded above, but the latest story doesn’t go into too much detail about how the black church got involved in a dispute over a KKK store.
The New York Times has a follow-up story, looking at how the deeds to the building ended up in the hands of a pastor and his church.
The shop owner had deeded the building to a man named Michael Burden Jr. with the caveat that the shop, and Mr. Howard, could remain there until he died. But there was a falling out between the two, and the shop owner threw the family and their possession into the streets. And the church stepped in and did what churches do.
That’s where Pastor Kennedy, whose civil rights résumé includes protests against flying the Confederate flag over the South Carolina Statehouse, comes in.
He gave Ms. Burden and her children some water. Church members took them to a restaurant to eat. Someone secured a hotel room for the family.
“I busted out in tears, ashamed at what I’d done,” said Ms. Burden, who soon joined the church with her husband. “I still pray for forgiveness.”
Then things got worse. The family needed money. The one thing of value they had was the deed to the Echo Theater. Would Pastor Kennedy buy it? He did, on April 22, 1997, for $1,000.
The article includes the interesting info how the purchase came after the church helped the family. However, the piece doesn’t go into depth about other details about the church, such as size, history, the impact of the sale on the congregation. And does Ms. Burden still attend the same church?
The story goes on to explain that the shop owner tried to sell the building, creating a court battle that he ended up losing. The piece offers a look at what could happen to the building if the shop owner doesn’t pay the legal fees.
C. Rauch Wise, the church’s lawyer, said that if Mr. Howard does not appeal or pay, there could be a foreclosure auction. The shop and its contents, robes and all, could go to the church.
When that day comes, plans will be made. The old Echo Theater might become an arts center for youth, or a civic center. Or, in what would be a cinematic ending, a new home for the tiny church, which now holds services in a double-wide trailer.
What’s interesting about this part of the story is that it seems to contradict the earlier AP account.
Kennedy said his congregation’s numbers have decreased in recent years as some of its 200 members became fearful of reprisals from Klan members. Nazi and Confederate symbols have been tacked to the door of the double-wide mobile home where New Beginnings now meets, Kennedy said, and dead animals have been left at the building.
“A lot of people became so afraid,” Kennedy said. “I just told them that it is part of our faith to endure.”
Kennedy, who has previously said he would like to close the store and hold his church meetings there, declined Tuesday to detail his plans, saying only that he thought some parishioners would feel uncomfortable worshipping in the structure that once segregated moviegoers and now sells Klan-related materials.
Perhaps plans have changed. Either way, the Times story is a nice follow-up that tracks down some of the missing pieces in earlier reports.
 | Posted at 8:11 am |  Print
| Permalink | Trackback |
Comments (5) |
January 18, 2012, at 1:05 pm
So there is one question to which I wanted an answer, but didn’t find an answer. If Michael Burden Jr held the deed to the property, how did Howard throw the holder of the deed into the street?
carl
Like or Dislike:
1 
0
January 18, 2012, at 1:50 pm
Hm, good question, Carl. I was under the impression that maybe Burden might have been renting other property from Howard and was thrown out, but maybe I was just projecting that. I imagine they couldn’t really live in the theater even if they owned the deed.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
January 18, 2012, at 1:56 pm
Sarah:
Sometimes it’s necessary to get real estate before one gets religion. The AP writer doesn’t get it:
No, he didn’t. He ruled that Howard, who owns a life estate in the property, slandered the title of New Beginnings by recording a deed executed by Howard tranferring fee title to a third party, rather than the life estate that Howard actually owns. New Beginnings owns fee title subject to the life estate owned by Howard. Howard’s life estate entitles him to possess and reasonably use the property until his death. New Beginnings’ fee title subject to life estate entitles it to take full title and possession to the property upon Howard’s death. The NY Times gets it:
Who “owns” the property? Both Howard and New Beginnings. That was true before the lawsuit, and it’s true now.
Until Howard dies, New Beginnings has no control over the property, except to prevent “waste”, a legal term meaning damage to the building that substantially reduces its value beyond Howard’s lifetime. The inspection referenced in the story gives New Beginnings information about the physical condition of the building, nothing more.
Talk about how the church will use the property is premature. New Beginnings will have the right to use the property only if 1) Howard dies; or 2) Howard fails to pay the judgment of attorneys’ fees for the slander of title action, and New Beginnings collects on the judgment by foreclosing on Howard’s life estate in the property.
carl wrote:
Howard still held a life estate. Burden had no right to be in possession of the property except as a tenant or guest of Howard.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
8 
0
January 18, 2012, at 2:06 pm
Oh, and one more thing. The NY Times writer notes possible reasons why Howard may have transferred to Burden fee title subject to a life estate:
There’s another possibility. Klansmen tend to injure the person or property of others, resulting in tort claims against them. Howard may have tried to make himself judgment proof by transferring the property to Burden, a person he trusted. If someone got a judgment against Howard, he or she could only take Howard’s life estate in the property, something of dubious value.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
5 
0
January 18, 2012, at 9:05 pm
Dale
Thank you for that extremely helpful post. The story makes sense now.
carl
Like or Dislike:
1 
0