Robert Shelton (Ku Klux Klan)
Robert M. Shelton | |
|---|---|
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| 1st Grand Wizard of the United Klans of America Inc. | |
| In office 1960–1987 | |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Position Abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Marvin Shelton June 12, 1929 |
| Died | March 17, 2003 (aged 73) |
| Residence(s) | Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S. |
| Occupation | factory worker, car-tire salesman, printer |
| Known for | Imperial Wizard of United Klans of America |
Robert Marvin Shelton (June 12, 1929 – March 17, 2003) was a former car-tire salesman and printer who became nationally famous as the Imperial Wizard of United Klans of America (UKA), a Ku Klux Klan group.
Career
Shelton was a factory worker and a car-tire salesman.[1] He also owned a printing business, with an office on Union Boulevard.[1] In the late 1960s, Shelton ran for Police Commissioner in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He finished in fifth place.
Shelton served as the UKA leader starting in 1961,[1] which peaked with an estimated 30,000 members.[2] In 1966 Shelton received a year in prison and $1,000 fine for contempt of the United States Congress, "for refusing to turn over membership lists to the House Committee on Un-American Activities."[2]
In 1984, James Knowles, a UKA member of the UKA's Klavern 900 in Mobile, was convicted of the 1981 murder of Michael Donald.[3] At trial Knowles said he and Henry Hays killed Donald "in order to show Klan strength in Alabama."[3] In 1987, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) brought a civil case, on behalf of the victim's family, against the United Klans of America for being responsible in the lynching of Donald, a 19-year-old black man.[4] Unable to come up with the $7 million awarded by a jury, the UKA was forced to turn over its national headquarters to Donald's mother, who then sold it.[5] During the civil trial Knowles said he was "carrying out the orders" of Bennie Jack Hays, Henry Hays' father and a long-time Shelton lieutenant.[3]
In 1994, Shelton said, "The Klan is my belief, my religion. But it won't work anymore. The Klan is gone. Forever."[2]
Death
Shelton died of a heart attack on March 17, 2003 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.[2]
References
- ^ a b c Theroux, Paul (2015). Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads. London, UK: Hamish Hamilton. p. 74. ISBN 9780241146729.
- ^ a b c d "Robert Shelton, 73, Leader of Big Klan Faction". New York Times. March 20, 2003. Retrieved September 18, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Emergence of the UKA". Anti-Defamation League. 2007. Archived from the original on November 10, 2007. Retrieved September 18, 2007.
- ^ "Donald v. United Klans of America". Southern Poverty Law Center. 1988. Archived from the original on February 6, 2006. Retrieved September 18, 2007.
- ^ Morris Dees and Steve Fiffer. Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi. Villard Books, 1993. page 11