“The Redneck Shop”: The KKK Superstore March 11, 2008

Introducing “The Redneck Shop”.

Serving racists in Laurens, South Carolina since 1996.

An African-American minister in Laurens, SC is trying to evict a store specializing in racist memorabilia and hate-filled Americana from a building he owns.The Reverend David Kennedy is attempting to evict John Howard’s “Redneck Shop” from a building he owns. Situated in an old movie theatre about 30 miles outside of Greenville, the store is one-stop shopping for the well-dressed wizard, featuring hoods, robes, and T-shirts with racial slurs:

Since 1996, the Redneck Shop has operated in an old movie theater that, according to court records, was transferred in 1997 to Kennedy and the Baptist church he leads.

“Our ownership puts an end to that history as far as violence and hatred, racism being practiced in that place and also the recruiting of the Klan,” Kennedy said. “This is the same place that we had to go up into the balcony to go to the movies before the Klan took it. So there’s a lot of history there.”

But legal documents also indicate that the man who runs the store, 62-year-old John Howard, is entitled to operate his business in the building until he dies. Now the dispute may go to court.

Kennedy, 54, has led protests outside the store since it opened but said he’s never been able to close it because of the agreement that Howard can run the shop for life.

The store is also the site of White Supremacist meetings and functions.

A Klan Robe at the shop goes for about $100 ($150 for a colorful “leadership version”), an old “Whites Only” sign for about $1, and the dispute to have it closed has already reached the pages of Newsweek.

The town of Laurens was named after an old slave trader, Henry Laurens, and some older homes still feature addresses marked with a “C” to denote “colored” neighborhoods. The church is trying to gain ownership of the building by trying to catch Mr. Howard on violations of any terms of the lease agreement which gives him “life interest”. If the building deteriorates or any other violations occur, the building will be transferred to the church. (The National Socialist Movement - the Nazi Party - also claims ownership.)

I only wish this store’s name, “World Famous Redneck Shop and Klan Museum”, rang totally true. I wish the Klan were actually a relic of a bygone era, much like a knight’s chainmail or a butter churn. Unfortunately, as Rev. Kennedy said, racism is a still a problem in the country — and the store is obviously staying in business — and this store is only a symptom of the much larger, much more insidious problem that we as Americans need to fix.