Story Archive

The Inefficient Empire

Idaho state legislator Cherie Buckner-Webb says she received, at home, a hand-addressed mailing from a well-known national organization. It included a newsletter and an application, but it was “a little unsettling.” The application asked Buckner-Webb, who is the only black member of the state legislature, to send in a $35 fee and this affirmation: “I am a white Christian man or woman. I am not married to a nonwhite. I do not date non-whites nor do I have nonwhite dependents.” Buckner-Webb said she wanted to move “on to new topics and positive action to improve our communities.” Presumably that will not involve joining the organization — the Ku Klux Klan. (AC/KBOI Boise) ...She’s not eligible since, as a state legislator, she has dependents of all races.