[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 154 (Thursday, November 6, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11892-S11893]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORDER OF AHEPA
Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, this past August, I was
privileged to address the Order of AHEPA during the celebration of its
75th anniversary in Atlanta, GA, the city of its founding. AHEPA,
American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, the largest
Greek-American fraternal organization, has played a pivotal role in
bringing Greek-Americans into the mainstream of American life, and
promoting the ideals of Hellenic culture. It has also launched
significant philanthropic and educational initiatives which have
benefited both the Greek-American community and American society at
large.
As part of this 75th anniversary commemoration, James Scofield, a
past supreme president of AHEPA, prepared for article on the early
origins of AHEPA entitled, ``Forgotten History: The Klan vs. Americans
of Hellenic Heritage in an Era of hate.'' This piece, written by Mr.
Scofield, recently retired after 30 years as a senior executive at the
St. Petersburg, FL, Times, has appeared in the AHEPA magazine and many
Greek-American publications.
It records the struggle which Greek-Americans encountered in their
effort to participate fully in American society. AHEPA's history, as
presented by Mr. Scofield, also reminds us of the extraordinary
progress which our country has achieved in providing opportunity for
people of all races, religions, and backgrounds.
We are most appreciative to Mr. Scofield for his unique contribution
and admonition to continue our efforts to ensure justice and respect
for all. I ask that his article be printed in the Record.
The article follows:
Forgotten History: The Klan vs. Americans of Hellenic Heritage in an
Era of Hate
(By James S. Scofield)
ahepa emerges 75 years ago to win battle against bigotry
It was 1922, Americans of Hellenic heritage were suffering
personal and economic intimidation orchestrated by the
revived Ku Klux Klan. It was time for them to unify and
organize, to protect and defend life and livelihood.
The widespread and often violent discrimination against
immigrants from Greece is an almost forgotten page of
American history. This is probably because of their
subsequent success and the great accomplishments of their
descendants. Very few persons today, Hellenic or not, are
even vaguely aware of the massive continental strength of the
Klan of the 1920s and its intensive persecution of foreign-
born Greeks, including those who had chosen to become
American citizens.
They do not know how deeply the evil shadows of bigotry,
hatred and intolerance cast their malignant darkness over
North America. Perhaps it is time to remind them.
[[Page S11893]]
The newly-reorganized KKK rampaged against frightened
immigrants and helpless minorities throughout the U.S. It
dominated politics in states in both the North and South. In
Canada, its dangerous wicked ways were transplanted and
flourished, especially in the western provinces.
An estimated three million militant hooded Klansmen stalked
across our continent, burning crosses and spawning terror.
During its reign of power, the Klan elected sixteen U.S.
Senators, eleven Governors and an undetermined large number
of Congressmen, both Republican and Democrat. It reportedly
exerted considerable influence in the White House.
Klan organizations ruled local politics in the major cities
of Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis and Portland, Oregon, as well
as in such smaller communities as Anaheim, California; El
Paso, Texas; Youngstown, Ohio and Portland, Maine.
In 1992, California and Oregon voters elected Klan-endorsed
gubernatorial candidates. Then in 1924, a Klan candidate won
the governorship in Kansas. The same year, the Klan endorsed
U.S. Senate winners in Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana,
Oklahoma and Texas. It also won the gubernatorial contests in
five of these six states, barely losing in Texas.
At U.S. election polls, Klansmen passed out cards which
crudely and defiantly declared:
When cotton grows on the fig tree
And alfalfa hangs on the rose
When the aliens run the United States
And the Jews grow a straight nose
When the Pope is praised by every one
In the land of Uncle Sam
And a Greek is elected President
THEN--the Ku Klux won't be worth a damn.
Meanshile, embattled but visionary Greek immigrant leaders
met on July 26, 1922, in Atlanta to form the American
Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, now better
known as the Order of Ahepa. Not by coincidence, Atlanta was
the home of the national Imperial Headquarters of the Klan.
The most important goal of the Ahepa founders was to
quickly and solidly establish better relations with non-
Greeks. They agreed to do this by taking the positive high
road of reason emphasizing assimilation, cooperation,
persuasion and unlike their marked foes, non-violence.
Their main discussion was how to best contain the wave of
hostility which had almost drowned them. The ominous specters
of twisted Americanism and KKK aggression spurred them to
create a patriotic fraternal order espousing undivided
loyalty to the United States. American citizenship,
proficiency in English, active participation in the civic
mainstream, economic stability, social unity and the pursuit
of education. The latter was considered vital for its obvious
gifts of knowledge and as the essential key to upward
mobility.
The Ahepa founders were profoundly disturbed and alarmed by
their bitter experiences with Klan prejudice and by reports
of worse bigotry elsewhere. Even before the Klan reappeared,
there had been senseless attacks on foreign-born Greeks, some
fatal. However, the new Klan expertly and abrasively honed
intolerance with brutal efficiency to silence and subdue all
of its alleged inferiors.
Many Greek-owned confectioneries and restaurants failed
financially or were sold at sacrificial prices to non-Greeks
because of boycotts instigated by the Klan. Greek
establishments doing as much as $500 to $1,000 a day
business, especially in the South and Midwest, dropped to as
little as $25 a day. The only recourse was to sell or close.
The Klan often bolstered its boycotts by openly threatening
or attacking customers entering and leaving.
A Klan Imperial Lecturer told Klansmen in Spokane that
Mexicans and Greeks should be sent back to where they came
from so that white supremacy and the purity of Americans be
preserved. Meanwhile, in Palatka, Florida, a Greek immigrant
was flogged for dating a ``white'' woman.
The Royal Riders of the Red Robe was a Klan affiliate
assembled ``as a real patriotic organization'' for approved
naturalized citizens unluckily born outside the United
States. However, in the ultimate snub of exclusion,
immigrants from Greece, Italy and the Balkans were not
eligible to join.
In Indiana, the state most politically controlled by the
1920s Klan, burning crosses were ignited in the yards of
outspoken Hellenes. Unprovoked beatings of Greeks were not
reported to police lest another beating soon follow. Others
were warned of dire consequences if they spoke Greek in
public, even in their own business establishments.
Hoosier Democrat and Republican leaders actively
discouraged naturalized Hellenes from filing for public
office, forcing them to run as Socialist Party candidates.
Fearful Greek Orthodox Christians indefinitely postponed
impending plans to organize parishes. To avoid constant
confrontation, long and difficult to pronounce first and last
names of Greek origin were shortened or changed to more
acceptable Americanized versions. False rumors spread by the
Klan about supposed unsolved murders of Greeks in other
states produced the desired dread.
The Klan Grand Dragon of Oregon said in a spirited speech
in Atlanta: ``The Klan in the western states has a great
mission to perform. The rapid growth of the Japanese
population and the great influx of foreign laborers, mostly
Greeks, is threatening our American institutions; and, Klans
in Washington, Oregon and Idaho are actively at work to
combat these foreign and un-American influences.''
Probably the most blatant hard-line bullying, almost
humorous, occurred in Pensacola, Florida. A Klansman handed a
note to a Greek restaurateur which read: ``You are an
undesirable citizen. You violate the Federal Prohibition Laws
and laws of decency and are a running sore on society.
Several trains are leaving Pensacola daily. Take your choice
but do not take too much time. Sincerely in earnest, KKK.''
Today, according to sociologist Charles C. Moskos, Jr., of
Northwestern University, American Hellenes proudly rank first
among all ethnic groups in individual educational attainment
and second in individual educational attainment and second in
individual wealth. They have succeeded in every facet of
American life. The Order of Ahepa has played the prime
historic role in this ascent.
True to its original mission, Ahepa financially supports
scholarships, educational chairs, housing for the elderly,
medical research, community programs, charitable projects and
other worthy endeavors through contributions of more than two
million dollars a year from its chapter, district and
national levels.
Ahepa validated its patriotic roots during World War II by
selling over five hundred million dollars of U.S. War Bonds,
more than any organization in America. Meanwhile, Ahepa
officials first visited the White House to meet with
President Calvin Coolidge in 1924 and have conferred with all
twelve Presidents since Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Harry
Truman and Gerald Ford became Ahepa members.
More recently, Ahepa raised $400,000 for the restoration of
Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and $775,000 for a
sculpture commemorating the Centennial Olympic Games in
Atlanta. Ahepa has received congressional and presidential
recognition for promoting friendship and goodwill among the
people of the United States, Canada, Greece and Cyprus.
President George Bush hailed Ahepa as one of ``the thousand
points of light.''
Ahepa moved its headquarters to Washington DC in 1924 and
later expanded its scope by adding three auxiliaries to
complete the Ahepa Family: the Daughters of Penelope for
women, the Sons of Pericles for young men and the Maids of
Athena for young women. Its combined eight hundred chapters,
consisting of about 35,000 members, cover the United States
and Canada and have planted successful units in Australia and
Greece. It held its 75th annual convention in Atlanta in
August.
In 1990, Ahepa filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court)
brief in the Georgia Supreme Court. It backed the legal
position of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
of B'nai B'rith in support of a state law banning masks in
public which was challenged by the KKK. The court ruled 6 to
1 to uphold the constitutionality of the anti-mask statute.
The significance of the favorable decision to a jubilant
Ahepa was that it came in the city of its founding and helped
seal the doom of another failed Klan revival. Moreover, it
enabled Hellenes to join in victorious celebration with
fellow black and Jewish Americans whose forbearers also were
sadistically harmed physically, mentally and economically by
the KKK of yesteryear.
Along with Roman Catholics, Asians and other immigrants
considered unacceptable by the Klan, they were targeted
separately and together then because they did not fit the
rigidly narrow KKK concept of what constitutes a good and
loyal American.
For Hellenes, it is supremely ironic that the six
organizers of the original Klan in 1865 created the words Ku
Klux from kuklos, a variation of the Greek kyklos meaning
cycle or circle, and applied it to their own little circle.
Today the 1920s version of the KKK is long gone--and its
flickering reincarnations are virtual nonentities. The Klan
deserved to die--and died.
The Order of Ahepa thrives three quarters of a century
after its historic birth amid the fiery heat of hate--
generated by the toxic Klan cauldron of insane fanaticism.
Ahepa deserves to live--and lives.
____________________