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By Thomas Clouse Staff writer

White supremacist comment pronounced terminally unfunny

COEUR d'ALENEHuman rights leaders and a Bonner County commissioner are steamed over a quote in NBC's popular TY drama "ER." During Thursday's episode, a character told one of the show's stars that she was from Idaho but not "the white supremacist part.•· Tony Stewart, secretary of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, said he will contact NBC officials regarding the comment.

"1think it is shameful and disgraceful that a writer of a TV series would provide totally false information about the people of Idaho," Stewart said. "Even in the context Continued: Remark/ A6

Online news: www.spokesmanreview.com

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Remark: NBC fails to respond Continued from Al

that the stories are fiction, you should never bring into those stories stereotypes that are fa lse about a people."

NBC officials did not respond to an e-mail and phone call to their New York office requesting comment.

Bonner County Commissioner Tom Suttmeier watched the show Thursday night and said he e-mailed NBC officials seeking an apology.

"It was a cheap shot. It really ticked me off," Suumeier said. "I told them we've worked very hard to dispel that image and move those elements from our community. It was unnecessary, and l thought they ought to apologize."

Gov. Dirk Kempthome agreed with Suttmeier that the "courage" of a jury to bankrupt the Aryan Nations, and the work of local civil rights leaders should not be overlooked. ln September 2000, a jury unanimously awarded a $6.3 million civil judgment against Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler and three of bis followers.

Then last year, the former Aryan Nations compound was purchased and burned to the ground.

"Probably that letter (from Suttmeier to NBC) will make them a ljttle

more sensitive,'· Kempthome said during a visit to Coeur d'Alene.

"Many people missed it. Ifwe make a big deal, then we've raised the issue even further."

Last year, Hayden officials reacted strongly to comments Geraldo Rivera made on the CNBC show "Rivera Live" regarding Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

"And this is the guy that's they're making a hero of up in Hayden Lake and in other places where racism and fascism and ... kind of perverse militia-ism run rampant, at least among a tiny minority of the people."

That show's producers did not apologize, saying that Rivera did not intend to suggest that every Hayden Lake resident thought McVeigh was a hero.

Stewart didn't get involved in the Hayden .dispute. But he intends to get a response from NBC. "We in the task force will be in contact with the show and attempt to talk to the writers and tell them the true facts," he said.

Mary Lou Reed, a member of the Human Rights Education Foundation, said she supports Stewart's efforts.

"That really is crummy to have to fight these past battles," she said.

"But I guess the battles ·are never won."

• Staff writer Susan Drumheller contributed to this report

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The Press, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2002

Idaho quip bombs with local TV viewers 'ER' dialogue slams north as 'supremacist'

By ERIC FLOWERS Staff writer

COEUR d'ALENE - Despite the best efforts of local human rights groups and a $6.3 million judgment against the Aryan Nations, it seems the notion of North Idaho as a haven for white supremacists endures in the national media NBC brought that point home again Thursday night during the airing of its

"Mymouth just fell open. I couldn't believe it. I was appalled."

- Tom Shepherd, Coeur d'Alene resident

Emmy-winning medical drama, "ER" Coeur d'Alene resident Tom Shepherd was watching the show at home when he heard a character refer to North Idaho as the "white.suprema-

cist part" of the state.

"My mouth just fell open. I couldn't believe it," Shepherd said Friday. "I was appalled. Myself and my roommate turned to each other and said, 'What did she say?"'

The exchange occurred near the end of the episode titled "Beyond Repair" when Abby, an ER nurse, introduces herself to a new neighbor in her Chicago flat.

The neighbor, played by guest star Christina Hendricks, tells Abby that she moved recently to Chicago from Idaho. She then pauses and clarifies, 'The potato part, not the white

supremacist part," with a laugh.

The humor was lost on some local residents.

'That is just awful," said Tony Stewart, an instructor at North Idaho College and board member on the Kootenai County Task Force on Hmnan Relations.

'This is so unfair to the people of North Idaho," said a clearly discouraged Stewart, who said he heard about the reference during a conversation with a fellow board member Friday afternoon.

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Stewart said the task force will likely write a letter to NBC and try to talk to the show's writers after viewing a copy of the episode.

Although pervasive, such stereotypes fly in the face of the diligent work of countless volunteers that dates back to the early 1980s when a handful of residents formed the task force. Its primary focus at the time was the growing menace of white supremacy and its Nor th Idaho point person, Richard Butler, founder of the Aryan Nations.

Task Force members declared victory in that battle less than two years ago when Butler lost a $6 million lawsuit over an incident in which Aryan Nations security guards assaulted a mother and her teen-age son along a rural Kootenai County road.

The suit forced Butler into

bankruptcy, and he surrendered the 20-acre compound.

Human rights activists and other community leaders hoped that the landmark judgment, the largest sum ever awarded to a defendant by an Idaho jury, would help lift the stigma. "'That was the people of Idaho speaking out and that was. a step in the right direction. Will that alone change the perception? I don't think so," said Marshall Mend, a founding member of the task force.

Mend, a Jew who moved to the area from California, was targeted by Butler and his followers during ¡ a series of attacks and acts of vandalism in the 1980s. Mend applauded the community for its efforts to combat hate groups and promote tolerance.

He referred to a malicious harassment ordinance passed by the Coeur d'Alene City Council nearly 20 yeats ago that gave law enforcement a tool to fight hate groups. It was one of the first of its kind in the

United States, said Mend.

Since then, the city of Coeur d'Alene has been recognized by .other national human rights organizations for its effort to promote tolerance.

In 1987, the Raul Wallenberg Institute, a Sweden-based human rights organization, presented city officials with its Civic Award that lauded the strides made in Coeur d'Alene.

The work continues today.

Later this month, Greg Carr, president of the Carr Foundation at Harvard University and an Idaho native, will provide details about his plans to construct a human rights center in Coeur d'Alene.

But more needs to be done, said Mend, who advocates printing the slogan "Idaho the Human Rights State," on ever y Idaho license plate.

"We've had the repetition about the Nazis over and over again, now we need some new repetition," Mend said.

Messages like the one sent

out to the millions of "ER" viewers don't help the cause, he said. Other locals who work hard to promote North Idaho as a place to visit and live agree.

"It's a real slam," said Carrie Oja, Coeur d'Alene Association of Realtors executive director, when told about the reference to white supremacy on Thursday ¡ night's episode.

An NBC publicist reached

by The Press on Friday declined to comment on the brief piece of dialogue.

Barb Tranchito referred calls to another NBC staffer but said each episode is reviewed by a network standards committee. T ranchito said she was unfamiliar with the particular piece of dialogue. When described to her by a repor ter, she expressed surprise that it made it through the screening process.

She added that some things that air on "ER" are not necessarily part of the script

OUR VIEW Idaho needs to correct the media sbigoted stereotypes.

Smearing of Idaho calls for a rebuttal The entertainment industry bas slapped North Idaho again.

This time, the culprit was "ER," the popular NBC-TV hospital drama. In the closing minutes of last week's show, a character told one of the show's stars that she was from Idaho but not "the white supremacist part."

The one-liner came less than a year after Geraldo Rivera slimed Hayden Lake, claiming residents considered Timothy McVeigb a hero. It came three years after a black doctor in "Chicago Hope," another hospital series, accused a white female physician of prejudice, saying, "Maybe you should move to Idaho."

National Public Radio's Garrison Keillor and cartoonist Garry Trudeau have also played the race card against Idaho.

In the past, North Idahoans have had to grin and bear it when the nasty stereotype was foisted on them by lazy writers, jokesters and producers from faraway cities. After all, the Aryan Nations used to be in Idaho's back yard, providing annual spectacles with its congresses and downtown Coeur d'Alene parades. But that isn't true any more. The Aryan Nations no longer exists. Idahoans worked for years to shut them down and drive them out.

The record should be set straight.

From Gov. Dirk Kempthome to human-rights organizations and chambers of commerce, Idahoans ought to react when entertainers and the national media smear their state as a haven for racists. A demand by Bonner County Commissioner Tom Suttmeier for a retraction from NBC for the "ER" comment was a start. But NBC will probably ignore Suttmeier, as CNBC ignored angry Hayden Lake residents last year.

Idaho needs a strategy and material to educate the media regarding the closure of the Aryan Nations compound and the human-rights movement that drove racist Richard Butler into bankruptcy. The story of how a community fought back against racism is more compelling than a gang of sad sacks who tried in vain to resurrect defeated Nazism.

The Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations not only helped stop the Aryan Nations in its tracks, it also developed a model community response to racism. Task force leaders such as Tony Stewart, Marshall Mend and Norm Gissel helped Idaho write some of the toughest anti-bate laws in the nation. Now, their talents and experience are needed to help the governor deal with the unfair portrayal of Idaho by entertainers and national journalists.

Some, of course, believe the best course would be to ignore the occasional entertainment swipes. They point to polls that say outsiders generally think of potatoes and outdoor beauty if they think of Idaho at all. But that doesn't seem to be true of the trendsetting entertainment industry. Unanswered, the cumulative effect of the media's jabs could have a significant impact.

The Aryans have left. Their ghost should be exorcised, too.

D.F. Ollverla/Forthe editorial board

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The Press, Thursday, Jan. 17 2002

Hear No Evil

CORY RUST/Press

Jacob Larson, left, and classmate Isaiah Newcomb, react during an all school assembly Wednesday at Fernan Elementary school. Keynote speaker Jeff Moyer, talked, sang and played numerous musical instruments to educate the kids about human rights.

SPEAKING OUT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Advocate performs at Fernan events H uman and children's rights advocate Jeff Moyer will speak al two events sponsored by the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Rights this week.

Moyer will be the keynote speaker at the task force's fourth annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., memorial program at 7 p.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church, 521 Lakeside.

Bryan Elementary School's spe-

cial chorus will perform and a reception will follow.

Moyer will speak to Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene fifth-grade students at North Idaho College that morning. Students will make presentations as well.

Moyer is a musician, composer and producer of c.bildren's theater.

He has received a Giraffe Project award and the Council for Exceptional Children Distinguished Service Award and is an inductee into the National Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities.

Human and children's rights advocate Jeff Moyer performs for Fernan students:

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The Press, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2002

Arla ltUdantl at MC for lllnln Plgbtl

By MEGAN COOLEY

For news or story ideas: Call City Editor Bill Buley at t E-mail: bbuley@cdapress.com

Inside What kids think of human rights C3

Staff w riter

More than 1,000 students from Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls packed Schuler Auditorium at North Idaho College Friday for two hours of songs and stories about respecting differences and h uman rights.

The 17th annual inter-district assembly featured keynote speaker and human rights advocate Jeff Moyer, who drew loud applause from the students who'd met .

Moyer at their schools earlier in the week.

Students themselves presented most of the entertainment One representative from each of the 14 schools read an essay about the importance of Dr. Martin Luther King's work, and others danced and sang.

COEUR d'ALENE -

"We need to honor this great man for not only setting blacks free, but for freeing all Americans from discrimination," said Winton student Jocelyn Hogan.

The Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, the Human Rights Education Task Force, the two school districts, North Idaho College Human Equality Club, North Idaho College Popcorn Forum and the Coeur d'Alene Inn sponsored the assembly.

"Every year it is emotional, moving and energizing to watch the children talk about the dignity of old persons and about peo¡ple with differences," said task force member Tony Stewart before the program.

Skyway Principal Pam Pratt later presented Stewart with a

medal for his efforts to strengthen human rights in North Idaho.

The assembly began with speeches by two exchange students living in North Idaho this year.

"It's fun to have a few good friends," said Anastasia Yevsleyeva of the Ukraine, "but it's fun sometimes to start a conversation with a complete stranger. Think about expanding your circle of friends."

Yevsleyeva's words kicked off the assembly's theme: How Big is Your Circle? Speakers encouraged students to go beyond comfort zones and accept people different from those in their social circle.

"Wherever you are from, the color of your blood is always red," exchange student Nadya Morar of Belarus paraphrased her mother's words.

Moyer led the audience in songs about unity and acceptance.

HUMAN continued on C3

Group Effort

CORY RUST/Press

Skyway's Star-Spangled Sh.owstoppers performed at Friday's 17th annual Human Rights Celebrat ion at North Idaho College's Schuler Auditorium. Pictured are: front left, Amanda Studor, Zach Grant, Jocyln Clark; back left, Kathlene Withycombe, Meagan Stoeckert and Clayton Falk.

HUMAN

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Moyer lost his sight as a child. He taught the crowd the words to a song about a blind accordion player he would poke fun at as a child.

"How could I know that years from then I too would play my songs and kids would stare at me and wonder what was wrong," sang Moyer.

"Down the sidewalk of my memory t always see him there."

Pratt and Sorenson Principal Bob Shamberg coor-

dinated the event, which Pratt brought to the district 12 years ago.

During the program, Pratt retold a phone conversation she'd had witli a parent earlier this week. The woman's son had heard Moyer talk with students at Skyway and shared an insight while tying his shoes one morning.

"Mom, I will never have the ability to grow as much as a disabled person because I'll never have the challenges that they do," he said.

Megan Cooley can be reached

at (208)664-8176,ext. 2005,or mcooley@cdapress.com.

Kid Talk ''Every-. body's the same on the inside, even if they're different on th outside."

"You shouldn't get made fun of for what color you are."

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-Brianna loper, 10

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Carlin

Lauren

"{Martin

"(Martin Luther King Day) is about us as American working together ... "

Luther King) changed laws to let black and white people go to the same school."

- Carlin Brandi Mitchell, 10

_ Emily

haffer, 11

-Brandi Marty, 10

''Thecolor ofyour kin, if you're challenged, like in a wheelchair shouldn t matter."

" P eople, like Martin Luther King, are honored today because he helped top egregation."

Emily

Lauren Valle, 10

Michael

- Michael Mulvaney, 11

SECTION

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Saturday, Januaty 19, 2002 The Spokesman-Review Spokane, Wash.(Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

1,200 kids have moment of unity King celebrated in words, music

By Winston Ross Staff writer

COEUR d'ALENE- There's something amazing about the sound of 1,200 students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Even the sound that the chairs make as they all flop up at once when the youngsters stand. And the soft chorus

of 1,200 shy voices, singing along to the national anthem.

But the true miracle of 1,200 students in North Idaho College's Schuler Auditorium on Friday wasn't sound.

It was silence.

The 17th annual Martin Luther King Jr. children's program was created to teach ideals about equality, diversity, unity and human rights.

This year, the students were themselves a lesson. They stayed quiet together, they sang together, they applauded feverishly together -all 1,200 of them.

"Soon we're either going to have to have two sessions

or move into the gym," said Tony Stewart, a member of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, which sponsored the event. "These schools keep growing."

Just when you thought the auditorium was chock full of squirming, scratching, waving, hair-twirling, giggling students, another class would file in.

"I t's pretty interesting," said Alice Page, a Seltice Elementary School teacher, of trying to make the event happen. "But it's not that bad to coordinate. It's very Continued: Celebratlon/ B6

REGION

Celebration:

Circles are

widening Continued from B1

well-organized."

Indeed, when it came time for the show to start, the crowd grew instantly still.

"How wide is your circle?" was this year's theme of the event, established to honor King. The message there is to broaden horizons, expand circles of friends to those beyond comfort zones.

The keynote speaker was Jeff Moyer. Moyer is blind, and has spent the last 10 years traveling around the country, singing and playing musical instruments at engagements like this, to raise awareness for human rights.

Moyer played the guitar and harmonica as he sang on Friday.

One song was autobiographical.

"One reac;on to do the right thing," Moyer said, "is because you live with it your whole life."

Through song, Moyer then told a story of when be was a little boy in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, in the 1950s. An old man walked the street with an accordion. As the neighborhood children watched his feet explore for boundaries, it was clear: "I knew he couldn't see," Moyer

sang. mentary School students dancing in Being children, they taunted the "body sox," and with hula hoops.

After that, fifth-graders representman, silently.

"When be walked on past us, we'd ing all schools in the Coeur d'Alene act blind and drag our feet," he sang. and Post Falls districts read essays titled "One Moment in Time," where And one day, perhaps on a dare, they each described what they'd do if Moyer walked out in front of the they had a moment in time to make a man, cut him off, and stared up into change. his face.

"I probably couldn't change his"How could I know that years from tory," said Hayden Lake Elementary then, I too would play my songs?" he School student Brad Boyer. "But I sang. can learn from it."

And there were songs, by the There was no shortage of meaningful presentations. Two foreign ex- Skyway Elementary Chorus and two change students, from Ukraine and welJ-rehearsed soloists. And more Belarus, spoke about their own ex- dances, and more speeches. periences here, and the differences The goosebumps moment came at between the countries. the end, when Norm Gissel, another Ukraine's Anastasia Yevsleyeva, member of the human rights task who goes to Lake City High School, force, lit the "friendship flame," a explained that schools in her country large candle at the center of the aren't splH up into elementary, mid- stage.

One by one, a student from each dle and high schools. And she goes through her entire education with the school with a fifth grade in the two districts followed, lighting candles of same group of students.

"We grew up together," Anastasia their own.

And as each new flame was cresaid. "Lake City High School kids get ated, the audience roared louder. to know more people."

Instead of waiting until all the canComing to America, "I was really dles were lit, the children just let their scared to death. But I had to find new voices and applause crescendo, until friends. Being an exchange student the auditorium shook with noise. helped me develop new communicaThey bad gone from an unruly tion skills." horde of fifth-graders to a respectful She's also learned the importance room of onlookers, to vigorous paroffriendship. ticipants. Here were 1,200 children, "We often say we can't live without all making the same movements, food and water. Imagine your life singing the same songs. without friendship and love."

United.

The presentation also featured an "If I had a moment in time," Gissel interpretive dance, with Skyway Ele- said, "it would be this moment."

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Shayla Adkins, left, watches Jocelyn Hogan light a candle from the " friendship flame" candle at the end of the 17th annual Human Rights Celebration at North Idaho College Friday morning.

Tuesday

COIUR cl' ALINI

Jan. 22, 2002 Snow showers Weather A2 Vol. 95 No 208

3 sections

Carr gilts North Idaho Gives former Aryan compound to NIC

By MEGAN COOLEY Staff writer

BILL BULEY/ Press

Gregory C. Carr, president of the Carr Foundation, said Monday he is giving the former Aryan Nations compound on Hayden Lake to the North Idaho College Foundation to be used as a Peace Park.

COEUR d 'ALENE Christmas came to North Idaho twice this winter.

Greg Carr, president of the Carr Foundation and founder of the Carr Institute for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University, followed the Dec. 25 celebration by announcing numerous gifts to the community at a press conference Monday. The philanthropist and Idaho native is giving more than $1 million, a mon-

ument and 20 acres to establish North Idaho as a haven for human rights. '"This is a group effort, an effort lliat's been going on for 20 years or more ... to create a human rights culture in Northern Idaho," said Carr. 'Today is one more step in that direction."

About 70 people attended the press conference, held at North Idaho College on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Loud applause and laughter often followed an announcernentorconunent Boise Mayor Brent Coles, Coeur d'Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem, trustees of North Idaho College and District 271, members of

human rights advocacy groups and several members of the media attended.

Carr's gifts include $1 million to the Human Rights Education Foundation to build an educational center in Coeur d'Alene, possibly within the next five years.

Foundation members traveled to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Ala, to form a vision of the scale and impact they hope the Coeur d'Alene center will make. More than 100 citizens shared their ideas at a public forum in the fall.

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"We will make it a must-see destination," said Mary Lou Reed, chair of the committee designing the vision of the center. "When people come to Coeur d'Alene, we11 want to make it the first thing they want to see."

The center, which may be built as part of the new library, will incorporate the theme "Choosing democracy." It is expected to be 3,000 to 5,000 square feet Interactive media and library collections will tell the story of local Native American tribes, the demise of the Aryan Nations' presence and the community's effort to reverse national perceptions of North Idaho.

Reed estimated that 35 percent of the grant would be spent on programs, 35 percent on the building and 30 percent would

.

be set aside for a sustainability Foundation called the gift an fund. Reed said she hopes the "end of an era" and a "symbol of Human Rights Education human rights."

A third gift was already Foundation will raise another $1 million and that corporations transported to Coeur d'Alene and other foundations will from New England. donate more.

Carr gave the City of Coeur "One thing you're giving us d'Alene a 13,000-pound granite is courage," Reed told Carr, monument etched with the pre"the courage to dream and amble to the Universal plan."

Declaration of Human Rights, Carr also announced a gift of adopted in 1948 by the United 20 acres to NIC. The property, Nations. on<B> <B>Hayden lake, is the "It is important to have symsite of the former Aryan bols," said Carr.

Nations compound.

Carr Bloem accepted the gift, but bought the property last spring the city hasn't decided where it when Richard Butler, former will sit. It will be in a prominent leader of the white supremacist place, she said. group, went bankrupt.

The final gift was $25,000 to "A human rights culture is a the University of Idaho for a peace park 20 minutes from speaker series on human here North Idaho College will rights. The university matched be operating;' said Carr. "(It's) the donation. a conversation between two ''View it as a grant to the peopeople under a tree. It's some- ple of this region to acknowlthing that happens across time edge the events that they've and across venues." gone through," said Raoul Jim Coleman of the NIC Sanchez, assistant to UI

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President Robert Hoover.

The series will be named after Bill Wassmuth, a human rights advocate whose Coeur d'Alene church was bombed in the 1980s while he was priest there. Wassmuth is currently battling Lou Gehrig's disease. ¡ Immediate action will be to raise money and hire a design firm for the center, said Reed.

The Hayden Lake park will be left alone for now. '. ''First, let it heal," said NTC President Michael Burke. "It's had an ugly past and I'd like to put that to rest" The press conference ended with a chant sung by Jeanne Givens of the Coeur d'Alene tribe to "honor people who do great things."

"It just seems like Christmas," said human rights advocate Tony Stewart, who facilitated the press conference1 Megan Cooley can be reached a (208) 664-8176, ext. 2005, or mcooley@cdapress.com.

AN EDI TI O N OF 1}tE .5Pc>KEsllAN-REvl6W

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JANUARY 22, 2002 â&#x20AC;˘ 50 CENTS

A helping hand for human rights

By Angie Gaddy Staff writer

I Carr donates $1 million, .

I formerAryan Nations land

COEUR d'ALENE They took a quiet walk through the frozen grounds.

On the day celebrating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life, area human rights activists walked through the former home of the now-defunct Aryan Nations. " It was quiet, clean and beautiful," said Greg Carr, president of the Carr Foundation, which

purchased the land after the Aryan Nations lost a $6.3 million civil suit in September 2000."ll felt good to be there with people that I've gotten to know in the past year and half.''

Monciay morning, Carr, a native of Idaho Falls, presented those people with a showering of gifts.

To the city of Coeur d'Alene: an 11-foot, 13,200-pound granite monument.

To the Human Rights Education Foundation: $1 million for a human rights education center in Coeur d'Alene.

To the University of Idaho: $25,000 to fund a

national speakers series.

And to North Idaho College: the deed to the former Aryan Nations compound. " It just seems Like Christmas," said a beaming Tony Stewart, head of the Human Rights Education Foundation.

At a news conference at NlC on Monday, Carr and Stewart - along with dozens of local and state human rights activists and leaders - talked about the beginning of North Idaho's new era.

"This is truly a historical moment,'' Stewart said.

Continued: Rights/ A4

Liz Klshlmoto/The Spokesman-Review

Greg Carr announces grants from the Carr Foundation to promote human rights.

Rights: Group

plans to raise funds for future Continued from Al

"I'm so glad we have chosen North Idaho College for this historical day.

This is sacred ground thanks to the Coeur d"Alene Tribe. This was the gathering place for tribes for years twice a year - to play sports, to fish, and to deal with the human spirit. ...

We respect that sacred ground."

Carr, who left Idaho to run Prodigy lnc., attended Harvard University

and created the Carr Institute for Human Rights Policy there.

He is no longer CEO of Prodigy.

Now, he spends his time helping to fund and support human rights activities and educ;ation. Carr donated funds to help create the Anne Frank Memorial in Boise.

"This is a group effort," Carr said.

"To create a human rights culture in northern Idaho and to create a culture that sends a positive message.

Today is one more step toward that journey."

Carr presented new Mayor Sandi Bloem with an 11-foot monument inscribed with the preamble of the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" adopted by the United Nations in December 1948.

That monument will be placed in a high-profile area to greet residents and tourists as they enter the Lake City, Bloem said.

A specific place has not been picked yet.

"Every time that monument is observed, we all know what that means," Bloem said.

Carr also presented the Coeur d'Alene Human Rights Education Foundation with $1 million to help construct a center in the city.

Mary Lou Reed, chairwoman of the foundation, said the center will be about 3,000 to 5,000 square feet and there's a possibil ity it could be housed in the new library.

The center will include an exhibit, archives, a media center, a resource

library and office.

Members of the foundation group traveled to the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., and to the Rosa Parks Library and Museum in Montgomery, Ala. They met with Morris Dees, civil rights attorney, who helped successfully win the case against the Aryan Nations in 2000.

"Morris Dees was saying, 'Don't juJt make it interesting, dramatic.

Make it when people come to Coeur d'Alene, the fi rst thing they're going to want to see is your human rights center,' " Reed said. ''That's our goal."

The foundation will continue to raise money to help pay for construe-

University of Idaho to fund the Bill Wassmuth Speakers Series, named ' Carr presented North Idaho Col- after the local human rights activist. lege with the deed to the 20-acre For the next five years, the univerformer Aryan Nations compound.

The site - now void of any of the sity will sponsor civil, social and group's buildings - will be turned cultural rights forums in Coeur into a peace park, NTC President d'Alene and throughout the state.

"This is the true Idaho. There's Michael Burke said. certain national television drama I "The gift of this property with its productions and national talk show unfortunate and ugly past brings to close a chapter in our collective hosts who are wrong about Idaho. struggle to preserve human rights," This is a human dghts state not stereotyped as a white supr41T1acist Burke said. state," Stewart said to the itUdience, For now, the college won't build which broke out in applause; ... hope anything on the property. lt is a place they get the message." of solitude and peace, he said.

"I think we can give it an opportunity to rest. Let the land heal for a â&#x20AC;˘ Angie Gaddy can be reached at (208) 765-7124 or by e-mail at while," Burke said. angieg@spokesman.com.

Carr also presented $25,000 to the

I tion, programs and future projects.

A4 THE PRESS Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2002

COURAGE

continued f rom A 1

RACHEL ROMAN/Press

Michelle Fink (left) received her award for courage from Diana Gissel, the president for the Kootenai County Task Force for Human Relations.

Fink receives courage award Task force recognizes refusal to compromise

By RACHEL ROMAN Staff writer

COEUR d'ALENE - Michelle Fink was presented an award for courage Monday at the 10th Annual Gala Fundraiser and Auction sponsored by the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.

Last summer, the manager and vice president of North Idal10 Title was asked to compromise her beliefs by removing a sign from her business that read "Idaho, the Human Rights State."

One of Fink's clients told her if she did not remove the sign, he wouldn't do business with her company.

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Other real estate agencies working with Fink wanted the situation to end, so they agreed she should take down the sign.

'The other agents thought since the compound is gone, then it's not an issue anymore," said Fink, who is also a member of the Kootenai County Task Force. ''With human rights, it's an ongoing : issue, whether or not there's : a compound." , During this time, Fink said ; she received harassing letters ; from her client ; "I took the sign down ; because I felt intimidated," • she said. : Afterward, the client sent ; her an e-mail that dissolved : her fear and ignited her : anger. , "He got the impression · that I thought he was right," : she said. '1t changed my way . of thinking; I wasn't going to 1 be bullied into taking the sign 1 down."

Fink returned the sign to •its post on the company's

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fence, only to receive increased hate mail. ''We'll never understand what these people are thinking," she said. "Who knows what Hitler thought or what bin Laden is thinking?"

The Kootenai Coun ty Task Force on Human Relations and the Human Rights Education Foundation decided to honor Fink after a recommendation by Realtor Marshall Mend.

Fink also contributed $500 to the Human Rights Foundation, so they could recruit child advocate Jeff Moyer to teach 2,400 children for a week, said Tony Stewart, president of the Human Rights Education Foundation.

"She's been supportive of our work, values and beliefs," Stewart said.

Fink said she appreciates the honor, but thinks what she did was relatively small.

'There's so much more to be done," she said.

Rachel Roman can be reached at (208) 664-8176, ext. 2016, or rroman@cdapress.com

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The philanthropy of Greg Carr will have far-reaching effects on how the rest of the world sees this region and the entire state.

His generous contributions will help provide a true picture of Idaho's deep concern for the protection and advancement of human rights.

President of the Carr Foundation and the Carr Institute for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University, the Idaho Falls native has given the Human Rights Education Foundation $1 million to help build an educational center in Coeur d'Alene within the next five years.

With a theme of "Choosing Democracy," the center will highlight the history of local Native American tribes, the successful battle against the Aryan Nations and the reversal of national perceptions of North Idaho as a racist haven.

The foundation says it hopes to raise another $1 million for completion of the center.

Carr also purchased and has donated 20 acres of property, the former home of the Aryans, to North Idaho College to be developed as a human rights peace park.

In addition, Carr has given $25,000, to be m~tched by the University of Idaho, for a speaker series on human rights to be named in honor of Bill Wassmuth, who began his work as a human rights advocate in Coeur d'Alene.

The city of Coeur d'Alene also was a Carr benefactor, receiving a 13,000-pound granite monument etched with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations.

Idaho, and especially our region, has undergone a long, arduous battle against an unfair reputation as a harbor for the Aryans and their colleagues in hatred, but Carr and a dedicated group of human rights activists are on the way to letting the rest of the world know the value we have always placed on human rights.

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With Aryans Gone, To"Wn Seeks Ne"W Life

By SAM HOWE VERHOVEK HAYDEN LAKE, Idaho, Feb. 15 As the proprietor of Everett's on the Lake, a restaurant that looks out on the clear waters of Hayden Lake and the snowy pine forests beyond, Everett Fees knows he has a beautiful spot for dining and an appealing menu, which he describes as Northwestern eclectic. But he is still bothered by the response he got when he described it all one day a few years ago to a woman from Spokane, Wash.

"Sounds wonderful," Mr. Everett recalls her saying, "but we can't possibly go up there. My husband's black."

With the unfortunate distinction of being near a 20-acre compound that was for two decades the home of the Aryan Nations, a white-supremacist group, Hayden Lake - and much of sur rounding North Idaho - has long had a serious image problem. People here still recall a scene a few years ago from a television show, "Chicago Hope," in which a black doctor accused a white colleague of prejudice and told her, ''Maybe you should move to Idaho."

But in what many Idahoans hope will be a powerful symbol that their state is a much more tolerant place, the former Aryan compound is about to become a "peace park" run by a local college, with exhibits on tolerance, monuments, concerts and other events.

The guard shack, 30-foot watchtower and commissary with a giant swastika on the roof have been burned to the ground or razed, and Mr. Fees, like most people here, said he could not be happier about it.

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Hayden Lake, Idaho, is no longer the home of the Aryan Nations.

"This is all about taking an awful negative and completely turning it around," Mr. Fees explained as he stuffed a chicken the other night.

"Instead of being known as a place for Nazi skinhead psychos now we're going to be known as ru{ International human rights community."

Whether North Idaho's image changes that completely remains to be seen. The population is still over~hel~gly white, and many people like it that way. This part of the world still attracts people seeking refuge from urban America, including Randall C. Weaver, the white separatist involved in a firefight with federal agents at Ruby Ridge 10 years ago, and Mark Fuhrman, the Los Angeles police officer involved in the 0. J. Simpson case.

But the racist Image of North Idaho has been exaggerated, people here say, and they cast the peace park, run by the North Idaho College Foundation of Coeur d'Alene, as the latest sign of resistance to racist thought. For one thing, they pointed out, counterdemonstrators always vastly outnumbered the marchers at Aryan parades and other public events.

For another, the Aryans never amassed any political power here despite assertions by their longtlm~ leader, Richard Butler, who moved here in U1e 1970's to escape what he called the " alien scum" in Southern California, that North Idaho was the capital of Aryan North America In a six-way election three year s ago for mayor of Sandpoint, about 35 miles north of here, a United Methodist minister who campaigned in defense of "human rights and dignity" received 1,200 votes, or 87 percent ; an Aryan candidate who ran on an "antidiversity" platform got 33 votes.

Coeur d'Alene, the resort town a few miles south of here, has tried in recent years to counteract racist messages. It set up a human-rights education fund for a curriculum to teach schoolchildren about "dignity, tolerance and respect." One year residents spontaneously came up with a program that raised more than $1,000 for the fund for every one or the 32 minutes the Aryans marched in a parade.

The Aryans themselves are in disarray. They were forced to give up the compound last year because of a $6.3 jury judgment , stemming from an assault by neo-Nazi guards against a local woman and her son.

At least three people have claimed leadership or the group in recent

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Phocographs by Jeff T. Green for The

Last summer, firefighters destroyed buildings on the 20-acre compound that had been the home of the Aryan Nations for 20 years. A college plans to use the land for a' peace park,' which residents along Hayden Lake and business owners like Everett Fees, below, hope will help erase the area's racist image.

months, one of whom said lts headquarters was now in rural Pennsylvania.

Hayden Lake, a community of about 400 people that is 10 mile south of the former compound, has probably borne the biggest brunt of the image problem.

Last year, the Hayden/ Hayden Lak Chamber of Commerce complained to Geraldo Rivera, the television talk show ho t, after he said there wa "raci m and fascism" and a "kind of perverse militiaism run rampant" in Hayden Lake. Mr. Rivera's public-relations office said he

had made it clear that he was talking about a "tiny minority" of the people there.

With the peace park, Hayden Lake has an opportunity to project a new image. Greg Carr, an Idaho native and former chairman of the internet service Prodigy, bought the property after the jury judgment and donated it to North Idaho College. The foundation Is Yorking out plans for just what wlU be in the park, and whether any of the Nazi paraphernalia there, including nags and a silver bust of Hitler, will be displayed.

"This community needs to estab-

lish a completely new identity," said Mike Trumbull, a produce clerk at a local discount store, who was fish ing for pike in the lake as the sun dropped the other afternoon.

Paula Dahlen, out for a walk around the lake with her Siberian husky, Annie, agreed.

"When people think about Hayden Lake, they should think about this," said Ms. Dahlen, a physician's assi tant, gesturing aero s the water, where ducks placidly moved back and forth , and toward the pines. " This place is beautiful. This is not a plac for hate."

A4 THE PRESS / NORTH IDAHO NEWS NETWORK Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002

Editorials

Memorial to help heal racist scars N orth Idahoans are eager to leave the image of racism far behind: The recent generosity of human rights activist Greg Carr will do the region, and his most worthwhile cause, great good.

Carr's gifts of $1 million, a monument and the land that Richard Butler's evil Aryan Nations compound once occupied, all are warmly received. The million dollars will help build an educational center in Coeur d'Alene within the next five years or so.

Fittingly, all these gifts are manifestations of Carr's compassion for his fellow man.

That's the vision we hope becomes reality.

As plans are made for the education center or similar facility, we humbly suggest that every effort be made to memorialize all that's right with the human spirit, and not to inadvertently build monuments to Butler and his misguided misfits.

We've seen in the past week how easy it is for the scattered leftovers of this tiny, impotent faction to perpetuate the myth that their organization thrives. Some newspapers reported a rift between Butler and his bozos back East who are struggling for control of what essentially is a leaky raft with no rudder, motor or sail.

This alleged "news" is exactly what the defunct group wants: perpetuation of the image that they are more than they are. They delight in blighting entire regions with their rotten image and hope that, as nothing more than a mouse, they cast the shadow of a lion.

Meantime, planning for Mr. Carr's projects has begun. Many thoughtful people will create lasting impressions for future generations. Butler and his thugs tarnished the image of tens of thousands of wonderful, loving North Idahoans, but the scar they left will heal, as American resilience has proven countless times. The proper memorial will help erase the pain, not reopen the wound.

OUR VIEW Philanthropist Greg Carr is a welcome member ofthe local human-rightsgang.

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Greg Carr says he's just "one of the gang," but Tony Stewart, Mary Lou Reed, Norm Gissel and other Kootenai County humanrights activists wiU argue differently.

To them, he's Idaho's version of Santa Claus - a native who made it big on the East Coast but never forgot bis Gem State roots.

In the last few years, the former chairman of Prodigy Inc. has opened bis checkbook several times to help Idaho dispel its unwarranted image as a haven for white supremacism.

After donating $500,000 to the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in Boise in 1999, Carr spent $250,000 to buy the old Aryan Nations compound last year. Then, he paid to have it Carr's gifts change thefoc'US razed. During the recent Martin Luther King Jr. holiday ofNorth Idaho's struggle weekend, he traveled cross from shutting down country to present Kootenai County and North Idahoans Richard Butler and the with more gifts: the deed to the Aryan Nations to old Aryan property, $1 million promoting human rights for a human rights center in downtown Coeur d'Alene, for all. $25,000 to begin a University of Idaho speaker series in honor of Bill Wassmuth, and an 11-foot, 13,200-pound granite monument.

North Idaho's 20-year human-rights struggle was well under way when Carr, 42, a native of Idaho Falls, found out about it and chose to enlist. He had made philanthropic gifts to human rights causes elsewhere when he learned of the battle for Idaho's sou] between racist Richard Butler and the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations. His generosity and heart-felt support for human rights drove the last nail into the Aryans' coffin.

What's amazing about this newest member "of the gang" is bis humility about his contributions. According to Carr, aU he does is write a check while the others do the hard work. Indeed, Kootenai County activists have done a lot of heavy lifting over the years.

Some have had their names placed on racist bit lists. But their efforts now will go so much further, so much quicker, because Carr chose philanthropy over what he describes as "the rat race" offered by the business world.

Carr's gifts change the focus of North Idaho's struggle from shutting down Richard Butler and the Aryan Nations to promoting human rights for all. A new downtown center, a retreat at the old compound grounds, a U1 speakership and a human-rights monument will attract visitors and inquirers- at least a hundredfold more than the Aryan Nations creed did. They will serve as a reminder of what people of good will can do when they boldly come together to fight hate.

D.F. Ollverla/For the editorial board

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By DAVID GOINS Political correspo ndent

North Idaho has entered a new hwnan rights era.

In essence, that was what North Idaho College President Michael Burke told state lawmakers on Wednesday.

Burke's first-ever message to the House Education Committee came two days after philanthropist Greg Carr announced the donation of the BOISE -

20-acre former Aryan Nations build a Coeur d'Alene human land on Hayden Lake to NIC. rights center, and was donating The Coeur d'Alene community a human rights monument His voice quavering with emocollege has plans to eventually convert the land - earlier the tion, an ebullient Burke headquarters for the now bank- referred to the liquidation of the rupt, racist Aryan Nations Aryan Nations compound. group - into a peace park.

'The Aryan Nation (s) is histoCarr also announced on ry. . . That chapter of Idaho's Monday Martin Luther history is over," Burke said.

"And I just wanted lo share that King/Idaho Human Rights Day- he would give $1 million with you." to the Human Rights The NIC president is schedEducational Foundation to uled to give the college's annual

budget presentation this morning to the powerful Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee.

Burke's talk to the House Education Committee covered a variety of issues, including Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's recent recession year decision to freeze funding for a statewide list of construction projects.

The $11.8 million appropriated by the Legislature last year for NIC's planned Allied

Health/Nursing/Life Sciences Building was an item on that list Burke noted that architectural planning for the building project is moving forward.

"I don't think we11 lose any steam," he said. ''We11 wait for the revenue situation to turn around. We're hopeful."

The decision to raise tuition at NIC has been a source of worry, Burke said.

'The truly financially-chat-

lenged may self-select out of higher education as we raise tuition," he said. "And that concerns me."

But the NIC president said educators will cope with state revenue woes, devising "clever efficiencies" to make up for a downturn on the state-funded portion of budgets.

'That may make us better," Burke said. "It may make us a much more solid, competitive institution a year from now."

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HOT POTATOES

Kempthorne, Republicans take credit where it isn't due TheSpoke.,man-Rcview

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ot Potatoes is stm chuckling about that statement No. I Spud Dirk Kempthorne made at the Kootenai County Lincoln Day dinner.

You know, the one about human rights. Quoth Brand X: "You took a difficult issue, turned it around and made a foundation for celebration." Right comment. Wrong party. Local R's were generalJy MIA D.F. on the human rights front until the war was almost over Oliveria -except, p'haps, for Marshall Mend and the late Larry Broadbent. The D's, led by Tony Stewart, did most of the heavy lifting during the scary neo-Nazi glory days.of the '80s. But, hey, who's keeping score (besides Your Common Tater)?

Still, Dirk's been there for us - this winter Sweet Potatoes: Ya gotta give the guv'nah credit for visiting North Idaho regularly, though. In the last month or so, he's been to Post Falls twice to celebrate exciting economic news and once to back the Boundary County school levy. Must be an election year. But it's still nice ... Now, state Sen. Robbi Barrutia, R-Glenns Ferry, is griping about the mandatory treatment sessions for people like her who get nailed for a second DU I in five years.

Mebbe she need.s a timeout in the cross-bar hotel instead ... French Fries (or, ·'I-duh-hoe doesn't need no steeekin' schools"): I, Tax cuts; 2, Capitol renovation; 3, Tuition hikes; 4, Mine tax credit; and 5, Clyde Boatright.

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Dyno did all she could to stop from exploding Earth to Rev'rend Mayor Paul Graves: When Director Dyno Wahl and Festival at Sandpoint backers come calling, you let them speak. You certainly don't make them wait until the end of the City Council agenda and then muzzle them. F'shame. (Yo, Ms. Wahl, bring your Dyno-mite festival to Coeur d'Alene, and we'll roll out the red carpet) . .. "If you're disappointed in a third place at nationals, I guess your program is where it needs to be" - NIC wrestling coach Pat Whitcomb ... Hot Potatoes Lucky No.: 2. Or, the number of girls basketball teams on the Rathdrum prairie that won state titles last week- Post Falls and Lakeland. Saaalute.

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in Pennsylvania called and said, 'You people are a model.'"

A human rights center, financed by Idaho born philanthropist Greg Carr, is in the planning stages for downtown Coeur d'Alene.

Carr also bought the Aryan compound on Hayden Lake.

The buildings were burned down and the land was donated to Nor th ldaho College Foundation for a Peace Park.

"If it's done well, the day will come when we will be known for that human rights center and we certainly will not be known for the former Aryan Nations," Stewart said.

"Because of what we've gone through over the years, I doubt if you will find a community anywhere in the country that is more aware of these issues and more sensitive."

The ascendancy of the Aryan Nations under Richard Butler in North Idaho began a quarter-century ago, so it is hard to immediately dispel its image, Potok said.

"While he didn't come close to starting his own nation, several hundred people slill moved there to be close to Butler," Potok

said. "Another aspect that's been shown by demographics is that whiles from both coasts have been moving to the Northwest to get away from minorities."

Many are not supremacists but they are separatists, he said.

The law center kept Aryan Nations on its 2001 list of hate groups present in Idaho.

The list also includes: Gospel Ministries, Boise; National Alliance, Boise; National Association for the Advancement of White People, Coeur d'Alene; Gospel of Christ Kingdom Church, Hayden Lake; Underground Skinhead Action, Hayden Lake; Amerrca's Promise Ministries, Sandpoint; 11th Hour Remnant Messenger, Sandpoint; 14 Word Press, St. Maries.

Founders of 11th Hour Remnant Messenger and 14 Word Press left the state in 2001.

Potok said the relation between hate crimes and hate groups is tenuous. Often, a dispute such as leaves blowing onto a neighbor's lawn is touched off and the racial element is drawn into the argument, he said.

Staff writer Mike McLean contribttted to this report.

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n 'Ri/Jfits 1Janquet Prouramfar,t.lie Pventne Reception Dinner

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Diakonia Music Pr~ntatio,.â&#x20AC;˘.

"New Age Dawning" Kathy Beck, Rob Peck, Julie Croteau, Ed Muehlbach, Julie Powell, Greg Tenold, Rick Welton Introduction ofKeynote Speaker: Mary Lou Reed

Keynote Address: Ms. f arvin Darabi "RagA gainst the Veil"

This year we celebrate the $1 million gift from the Greg Carr Foundation.

This generous gift launches the formation of a new Human Rights Center to benefit individuals and communities of the Inland Northwest.

The mission <;t,.fthe Human Rights Center will~ o~/ to promote human rights as,l'Cln . ,ssential element of a just anq.succe~sful democracy.

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Diana Gissel - President Josh Buehner- Vice President Lorraine Landwehr - Treasurer Tony Stewart - Secretary Dr. Michael Burke Doug Cresswell Bill Davenport Dr. Victor Duarte Valerie Fast Horse Norm Gissel JoAnn Harvey Fr. Roger Lachance Clay Larken Vince Lemus Lucy Lepinski Marshall Mend Alan Wasserman Rocky Watson

1fuman 'Ri[Jfits Tducation J'ourufation: Tony Stewart - President Denny Davis- Vice President JoAnn Harvey - Co-Secretary Betsy Hawkins - Co-Secretary Lucy Lepinski - Treasurer Freeman Duncan Sandy Emerson Dr. Jerry Gee Norm Gissel Jim Hammond Lorraine Landwehr Bob Potter Mary Lou Reed

Idaho Education Assoc.

Coeur d'Alene Education Assoc.

The University ofIdaho First Bank Buell Brothers, Inc. Paine Hamblen Coffin Brooke & Miller Center Partners Dr. Paul E. Berger The Hagadone Corp. & Hospitality Avista Corporation Gonzaga University Tony Stewart Coldwater Creek A.C. Data Systems, Inc. Idaho Independent Bank Parkwood Business Properties North Idaho College Margaret W. Reed Foundation The Coeur d'Alene Tribe (2 tables) Norm Gissel Kootenai Medical Center Idaho Spokesman Review North Idaho Title Witherspoon, Kelley, Davenport & Toole

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By MEGAN COOLEY Staff writer COEUR d'ALENE - At the Fifth Annual Human Rights Banquet Thursday, Bonner County Human Rights Task Force took home top honors and attendees walked away with insight and responsibility.

Norm Gissel of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations presented Gary Payton and his colleagues from Sandpoint with the 2002 Civil Rights Award at the end of an evening filled with story and song. Local JASON HUNT/ Press human rights activists recognized Bonner County's task Tawnya Pettiford-Wates force for their efforts to spread performs a one-woman acceptance and drive out the play as Sojourner Truth at Eleventh Hour Remnant Boswell Hall-Schuler Messenger, an anti-Semitic Auditorium during NIC's and racist religious group Popcorn Forum Thursday. founded in Bonner County during the 1990s.

The banquet attracted "Good people cannot remain more than 450 guests from as silent in the face of hatred and far away as Boise and Seattle, bigotry," said Payton after accepting the award.

BANQUET continued on A3

B ANQUET continued from A1 Wash. The evening's theme, "Choosing Democracy," evolved into one of responsibility and consciousness. ''You have to be responsible for what you now know," said performer and University of Washington professor Tawnya Pettiford-Wates. "It's very easy to let go... to forget It's very easy to revise hi~ lory and remember it not as how it happened, but as you wish it did."

Pettiford-Wates performed dramatic readings from her play "Nappy Edges" and from Ntozake Shange's book "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide."

A captive audience heard PetfilordWates' recollections of growing up black in the United States. She also reminded the audience of Thursday's anniversary Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated April 4, 1968.

Pettiford-Wates' readings followed a keynote speech by Iran native Parvin Darabi.

Darabi described in blunt and potent language the oppression women endure in her homeland and wherever militant Islamic practices rule. "(Islam) is a religion of peace if you sub-

mit," said Darabi. "I mean, I would have no human rights. problem with my husband if, to everything "There's a lack of tolerance in this area he said, I said, 'Yes, dear."' (for homosexuals) ," said North Idaho Darabi described her childhood in Iran College Gay-Straight Alliance President and the restrictions placed upon her and Brian Hardison, seated with fellow club other females. At age nine, girls are consid- members. '1t can be a very difficult thing to ered adults and fit for marriage, she said. be gay in North Idaho. That's why we're Men control the right to divorce and com- here - to promote tolerance and eventualmit "honor killings" if so much as a suspi- ly acceptance." cion is raised about a wife's fidelity. Women Funds raised at the Human Rights are stoned to death for seemingly minor Banquet support the Kootenai County infractions of Islamic law and their genitalia Human Rights Task Force and scholaris mutilated to control sexuality: ships for minority students at NTC. The audience sat silent during parts of Scholarship r ecipients for 2002 are Darabi's speech and laughed in disbelief of Rebekah Adolph and Theodore Umtuch. a culture so dissimilar to North Idaho's.

Both will receive a full-tuition scholarship "I'm not telling you stories," Darabi said. and were recognized Thursday. 2001's 'These are the facts of life in these coun- recipient Larry White also attended the tries.'' banquet.

Darabi displayed the traditional veil Northern Light, a musical group from women must wear in Iran, and demonstrat- the multi-faith organization Diakonia, pered how at all times either a hand or teeth formed pieces such as "Bridge Over must keep the face covered with cloth. This T roubled Water" and "Love Changes was the final requirement that pushed Everything."

Darabi's sister, a medical doctor, to burn Near the end of the evening, Darabi herself in protest in a Tehran square in reminded attendees that with the knowl1994. edge acquired through experience and Thursday's audience of religious, civic, through Thursday's lessons, comes obligacultural and school leaders commented on tion: accepting diversity and changing the 'We have to carry the value of human national image of North Idaho from Aryan rights to the farthest corners of the world," Nations training ground to haven for she said.

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Co~nty Thursday. T f the multi-faith group is ~art ~iakonia. They are, organization h Beck Julie from left: Kat Y Ed Croteau, Julie Po;:n~ld and Muehlbach, ~~~tonner County Rob Beck: L Task Force Human Rights p yton accepts President ahts Award fro the 200~ Civil f :e Kootenai Norm Gissel o Thursday. Th County task force as recogniz Sandpoint groupn%aking Nort~ for their efforts , odating env1ldaho a less-accomhite supremaronment for the w Eleventh I. ¡ us group cist re 1910 t Messenger.

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Keynote speaker at Human Rights Banquet paints grim picture of llfe under Islamic law

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COEUR d'ALENE - This year, there were no angry Aryans in the parking lot, waving handmade signs in protest. No $6.3 million judgment to celebrate. The key battles in a decade!>-long 1deological war of tolerance vs. hatred, it seems, are decided.

At this year's annual Human Rights Banquet, it was clear that the Aryan Nations are aJI but extinct in North Idaho.

But the struggle for human ''Muslim women rights continues.

"As long as there are are birds with Aryans anywhere, we right broken wings. here in Coeur d'Alene have a problem," Coeur d'Alene They cannotfly to Mayor Sandi Bloem said.

"America has a problem. freedom."

"The seed of hatred are easily sewn in the fertile Parvin Darabl minds of the young and disen- Iranian writer chanted."

And equality continues to prove challenging worldwide.

Since Sept. 11, the world has awakened to atrocities against the women of Afghanbtan and other countries where fundamentali t version of Islam are practiced.

On Thur ¡day night, 450 people at the Coeur d'AJene Inn learned, 100.

Parvin Darabi, an Iranian writer, lecturer and human rights activist who live in America, was the banquet's keynote speaker. Her sister, Homa Darabi. set herself on fire in Iran on Feb. 21, 1994, in protest of oppre ion against women in that country.

Parvin Darabi explained the oppression of women in some Muslim societies.

From the age of 9, Darabi said, women in some Muslim countries are required to pray 17 times a day, fast for a month each year. For violating such rules, they can be executed, he said.

The prophet Mohammed, a key figure in the religion, had dreams that God, or Allah, gave him a package wrapped in white silk, which contained a 6-year-old child.

"AJlah told Mohammed: ¡This is your wife,' " Darabi said. "And he married this girl."

When she learned of thi , Darabi would talk to Muslims. wondering why Mohammed couldn't be declared a pedophile, she said.

"They would say, 'No, he did not have sex with her until nine years of age,' " Darabi remembered.

And there's much more that women in Islamic Continued: Human

rights/ AlO

Human rights: Sister set herself on frre to protest Continued from A1 fundamentalist countries must endure, Darabi said. They're covered from head to toe when in public, allowed only to be treated by female doctors, travel only with the pennission of their husbands. In some countries, women can vote only after menopause. Adultery is a crime punishable by stoning to death.

"The way to prove adultery is for four witnesses to say they've seen a woman in the act of adultery," Darabi said. "But if a man cannot find four people, he simply must testify fou r times."

Darabi's sister, for example, was told she must wear the Islamic hijab, or she would no longer be allowed to teach at the School of Medicine at Tehran University in lran.

Then, when she refused to wear the hijab in her private practice, Homa Darabi's office was closed.

In 1994, after a 16-year-old girl was shot to death in northern Tehran for wearing lipstick, Homa Darabi couldn't stand it any longer.

She set herself on fire in a crowded square in the city, shouting "Death to tyranny, long live liberty, long Live kan~ .

Her sister has since pledged not to let Homa Darabi die in vain.

"Muslims always tell you, 'It is a rel igion of peace,'" Darabi said Thursday. "I agree, it is a religion of peace, if we submit."

When her speech was finished, Darabi donned traditional Muslim garb for women. When she was done, only a small part of her face was visible. '·Muslim women are birds with broken wings," she said. "They cannot fly to freedom."

After Darabi's speech, Tawna Pettiford-Wates, another speaker, took the podium. " You must be responsible for what · you now know," Pettiford-Wates said.

The 2001 civil rights award went to the Bonner County Task Force on Human Rights, for opposing white separatists Vincent Bertollini and Carl Story, who have left the area.

"Our work is not finished," said Gary Payton, the task force's president. "Your neighbors to the north pledge we will stay engaged. We will not be silent. We will stand up.·•

HOT POTATOES

Testing the appeal ofrepeal The Spokesman-Review

T

he other shoe may be about to faJI on all of those '02, ahem, lawmakers who voted to repeal term limits. (1n North Idaho, all soIons backed the repeal and the override of Gov. Dirk Tater's veto but state Sen. Kathy Sims, R-Coeurd'AJene, and Rep. Kris Ellis, R-Coeur d'Alene.) Columnist Dan Popkey of the Idaho Statesman spent time gathering signatures last Monday to get a feel for how the "repeal the repeal" referenduJTl was going. People jumped at the chance to sign the petitions. Popkey's conclusion? "Citizens are miffed at the Legislature." So what else is new?

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We haven't changed our minds about Walker-Macy Since Steve Wheeler asked (in a letter to the editor in which he didn't ID hjmself as a Coeur d'Alene Resort spokesman): The SpokesmanReview endorsed the Walker-Ma<.)' plan for McEuen Field ages ago. That plan, designed with input from 2,000- 2,000! - residents, kept all current McEuen Field rec uses. Any further questions? ... Hot Potatoes 101: Human rights in Coeur d'Alene should mean that every kid, no matter how poor, has a right to play sports on McEuen Field. Period ... French Fries (or, " Public officials who don't like to listen to the simple folks''): 1, Club 105 (aka, the Idaho Legislature); 2, Rathdrum City Council; 3, Committee of Nine; 4, House Speaker Bruce Newcomb; and 5, NIC board of trustees.

Bertolllnl and Story and Butler, bub-bye Sweet Potatoes- to the Bonner County Task Force on Human Rights for its decade-long battle with hate and for receiving the local 2001 civil rights award ... " It certainly is more user-friendly," gushed booster prez Bob Madden after Boy-C State unveiled its new $85,000 logo. (And you probably thought Spud State hjgher ed was strapped for cash) ... Quotable Quote: "It's the job of a newspaperman to spur the lazy, watch the weak, expose the corrupt. He must be the eyes, ears and nose of the American people. Yes, the nose is important for no 'matter how much stench a newspaperman is exposed to he must never lose his smell" - muckraker Drew Pearson ... Today's Lucky No.: 450. Or, the impressive number of attendees at the annual human rights banquet. Or, the local HR bandwagon sure got crowded once the Aryan Nations went down in flames.

88 THE PRESS Friday, March 29, 2002

Popcorn Forum For more than two decades North Idaho College has worked to fulfill its mission to educate, not just the students but the greater Coeur d'Alene community.

Along with offering all sor ts of curriculum, the college puts together programs to benefit everyone's intel-

lect Toe Popcorn Forum offers discussion of advances in humanities how man and womankind deal with their place on earth.

Occasionally, speakers in different areas come to campus.

But the highlight of the whole forum is a week-long symposium in the spring, where dozens of ideas are presented Toe lectures and performances are at no charge to the community.

In the last few years, the information has been enhanced by community members taking the roles of historical .figures in the Chautauqua style. By stepping into the roles of the characters, they are able to deliver all the details of the people and their significance on culture.

Characters over the years have ranged from early Celtic leaders to heroes of America The event also brings in some of the world's top Chautauqua performers, including Clay Jenkinson, known for his interpretations of Thomas Jefferson and John Wesley Powell.

The 2002 symposium is planned for April 1-5.

Fantasy in Lights Each year, Fantasy in Lights brightens the holidays in downtown Coeur d'Alene and all along the waterfront.

More than 200 displays with 1 million lights now stretch along the water around The Coeur d'Alene Resort and other points along the lake.

Put on by the Hagadone Corporation, the $1 million Fantasy in Lights is America's largest on-thewater holiday light show.

The annual ceremony when the

like live music, a dinner for participants, and a craft and trade show around the resort area. The 2001 event included a collection of "woody'' paneled trucks and remote controlled boat races.

And the word is, if you ask real nice, just about any boat owners will be happy to take you on a quick spin around the lake.

Other boat clubs have also joined the effort, bringing in their expertise and interest The 2002 show is planned for July 12-14.

Those who miss that summer weekend may still have a chance to see various wooden boats.

A flotilla of five or six wooden boats shuttle resort guests from the lights are first turned on draws thouresort to The Coeur d'Alene Resort sands of people to downtown Coeur Golf Course. d'Alene the day after Thanksgiving.

One of the country's premier Daily evening cruises are availwooden boat works, The Resort Boat able through January to give people a Shop, is in Post Falls, and builder Syd spectacular view of the display.

Young is considered one of the area's Each year, organizers add new feafonts of nautical knowledge. tures and place favorite displays in different locations.

For instance, nightly fireworks An annual mid-summer gathering along with a sequencing computer were added in 1999, and in 2000, of pipers, drummers and dancers boats visited Santa's Workshop, decked out in tartans and kilts transwhere Santa greets visitors. In 2001, a forms the North Idaho College camnew display showing Santa's sleigh in pus into a Highland paradise.

For more than 30 years, the Coeur flight, was added. Just by itself, it is d'Alene Summer School of Piping SO-foot-tall by 157-feet-long and and Drumming has drawn students includes 6,000 lights. from around the world for lessons in Information: 765-4000.

Scottish country dancing, Gaelic singing, piping, drumming, Highland dancing, fiddle and harp.

Fans of wooden boats have tliree Students attend the program in days each year to celebrate the clas- late in July through early August sic watercraft.

Lovers of Scottish sounds and For more than a decade, all vari- sights always delight in mid-aftereties of boats and their crews have noon strolls around the campus, as gathered around The Coeur d'Alene pipers are fond of practicing their Resort to show off their crafts, swap lessons beneath the shade of towertips on care, upkeep, and display. The ing pines that dot the well-tended event wraps up with a parade around lawns. Free outdoor recitals are perthe lake. formed every evening of the camp, The public also enjoyed a close and the program wraps up with a look at the boats, which are always in grand finale for the community. tip-top shape, and often bring back a The ca.mp took summer 2001 off sense of yesteryear. because there was nowhere to live on The event grows in popularity campus, but with the opening of a each year, and now includes things new dorm, the pipers announced

The Pipers

Wooden Boat Show

From hatred to peace: Aryan land given to college Gregory Carr, president of 1he Carr Foundation made the announccmenl on campus.

"North Idaho College bas long served as a beacon for human rights in Idaho," said North Idaho College President Michael Burke. "This gift will allow us to continue that tradition."

Carr, former chairman of Prodigy lnc., and co-founder of Boston Technology Inc.. purchased the Aryan Nations property in Hayden Lake with an appraised value of $250,000 last February. He wants 10 o-ansfonn it to a site tha1 serves peaceful purposes. The foundation demolished the buildings and cleaned the siie last summer before transferring the property to the college.

Carr said he wanted to give the property back to the community and believes Burke 's leadership has demonstrated the college ·s Photo by Jnu Tinsley/th~ Corr Fn11nda11nn commitment 10 human rights and diversity. ··1 Gregory Carr, president of the Carr Foundation. left. shak.es hands with Michael Burke. wanted the property 10 be in the hands of president of North Idaho College at a press conference announcing the transfer of a former.. . local leaders:· he said. "The college was a Aryan Nations property while Tony Stewart, a local human rights activist. looks on. perfccl choice. Tht:y have the ability to

BY l<ATHERl'-E Sun: A fonner Aryan Na11ons· hcadquanc:rs Idaho will become what c1\·il righ ts

in north

advocaies envision as a peace park after 1he deed of the propcrry was g i\'c n 10 North Idaho College .

The college received 1hc gift on Manin Luiher Kin g Jr ·s b1nhday in January when

Colleges cited as model • programs 1n GAO report

mainiain ii as a peace park and 10 conduct outdoor educaiio nal activities there ·· The transfer came after reques is from Ste\'e Judy. former mayor of Coeurd· Alene and numerous human righ1s groups in the area 10 mist· awareness o f d1vcrSll)

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The Aryan Nations lost the property and rights to use the organizational name after a jury ruled on a $6.3 million civil judgment in September 2000, bankrupting the organization. The lawsui1 stemmed from an alleged assault by members or the group on a mother and son.

Burke said the college doesn ·1 have any solid plan for 1he peace park yet. For now. the community hopes to just let the land "heal and the memory fade.·· In addition to lhe property, the Carr Foundation will give $ I million 10 the Human Rights Educalion Foundation in Coeur d'Alene 10 construct a human rights cenier in 1he c 11y Mary Lou Reed. chair of the education foundation ·s committee assigned to develop a plan for lhc center. said the facility would be 3.000 10 S.000 square feet and wo uld include exhibit and archival areas. an inleractive media cente r. resource library and office.

The Carr Founda1 1on also gave 1he C ity o r Cocurd.Alene an I I-foot 13,000-pound graniie monument reaturing the preamble 10 the Un1\'Cri.al Declaration or Human Righ 1s. Mayor Sandi Bloem said 1he monument will t>e placed 10 a prominent location.

Be Ins ired Ame rican Association of Commun ity Colleges Annual Convention Ap ril 20-23, 2002 Seattle, Washington

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LYSSES, Pa. - On the northern edge of Pennsylvania, in a region of rolling hills they call God's Country, people are learning to deal with a brand of hate imported from Idaho.

August Kreis, a 48-year-old disabled carpenter who lives on welfare, says he's established the new Aryan Nations world headquarters in a mobile home near the tiny borough of Ulysses in Potter County.

Kreis and his associate, Harold Ray Redfeairn, of Dayton, Ohio, claim they and a third man, Morris Gullett of Continued: Aryan Nations/AU

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The Rev. John Baney of the United Methodist Church In Austin, Pa., prepares signs for Saturday's Unity Day In Coudersport, Pa. The signs were made by area children.

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Aryan Nations: Some disputes with neighbors

Comparing the two counties Though Potter County, Penn., has only 18 percent of Kootenai County's population, the two are similar in many demographics.

Continued from All

Jews are the seed of Satan and blacks are ·'mud people" or "beasts of the field."

He and his econd wife. Karley, have five children, ranging in age from 11 months to 8 years. They live in an old mobile home they rent with a federal housing subsidy. ''All Jews should die," said the couple·s 8-year-old daughter, Barbara. wearing a "White Pride'· T-shirt as she played on a swingset outside their home.

Kreis, who suffers from diabetes and a foot ulcer, said he gets Social Security Insurance disability payments and the children get welfare.

His wife, he said, has been cut off from public assistance. ·'We get about $1,000 a month and live in a home that has taillights," Kreis said. ''That's nothing I'm proud about.''

He wants to build a home and an Aryan Nations church on tbe property, but conceded he doesn't have enough money to do that now, and doesn't own the land. " It all depends on what our members want and what they are willing to support financially,'' he said. "You don't have to have a church to have meetings, and that's what ~ve.'re doing. We may even buy an existing church somewhere else in Potter County, and use that."

AltJ1ough he doesn't own the property, Kreis said he and a forme r associate, Michael Reid. considered approaching Adelphia and offering to sell his home for $500,000. Reid, who defected from the group, has described the plan as '·extortion."

"We talked about it, yeah, but never for mally approached Adelphia," Kreis said. "'Hell, the deal still stands, and it wouldn't take $500,000.

1 will sell out for $250,000 and go build the Aryan Nations World Headquarters some place else. . .

But once we build a church here, our offer is done.·, Kreis has had a couple of disputes with his neighbors. In March, one neighbor fired a hunting rifle and wounded Kreis· German Shepherd, Gunther. The 2-year-old dog lost its right front leg.

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SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau: 2000Census Staff graphic: Vince Grippi

" I was ready to go over there to the neighbor's house and spray the whole place with bullets and kill everybody in it," Kreis said.

He called a press conference in Coudersport and said he was adopting a "zero tolerance policy" and would shoot-to-kill anyone who comes on his property or endangers him or his family.

He faces a court date next month for owning an alleged vicious dog, a claim he says is without merit. Kreis said a local attorney, who's Jewish, refused to represen.t him because of hi~ "repugnant beliefs."

Hate on the Web A small room in Kreis' mobile home erves as the Internet hub for his Aryan Nation Web page. rt competes with a eparate Web site operated by Butler and his remaining followers in North Idaho.

His Web site asks Aryan Nations followers to join him in Potter County. He's put links to Potter County real estate developers on his site.

There is little evidence of followers taking him up on the offer.

Kreis does have an associate, Joshua Caleb Sutter, 20, who lives in an adjoining mobile home where Nazi flags cover the windows.

Sutter, the son of a Pentecostal minister, said he is willing to carry out "God's law." " I consider myself a Phineas Priest because I'm in full knowledge of my Identity beliefs dating back to Adam," Sutter said. " l cannot be broken by any human institution."

Kreis said Sutter "represents the intellectual young men" the Aryan Nations is now attracting. · He and Sutter spend two to three hours a day updating their Web site, which has had postings supporting Palestinian suicide bombers and the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah. ·'The enemy of our enemy is our friend ... he said.

Earlier this month, during the teleconference with the Pennsylvanians, Sandpoint Mayor Paul Graves talked about the mark Butler and the Aryan Nations have left on North Idaho.

"We have to thank the · white supremacists folks for making our human rights movement so successful,'' said Graves, who is a member of the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force.

"In effect," he said, ·'we organized against an enemy. ln the process, the task force transformed from reacting to the presence of a hate group to responding to the need to treat everyone with dignity."

• Bill Mortin can be reached at (509)

459-5444 or by e-mail at billm@spokesman.com.

I

Spokane, Wash/ Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

FRO M THE FRONT PAGE

Butler attracts stnall crowd for Yorkrally Sunday, April 21, 2002

Police plttn to bill Aryan founder for overtime

By BIii Mortin S1aff wri1er

YORK, Pa. - Aryan Nations founder Richard Butler traveled 3,000 miles to hold a courthouse "Adolf Hitler birthday" rally Saturday that attracted a couple of dozen supporters and spectators, while dozens of police stood by.

York Police Chief Michael Hill ca.lied the racist gathering outside the York County Courthouse a "nonevent" and attributed the low turnout to a ¡'split in the Aryan Nations."

Butler and his followers, still based in Hayden, [daho, are in a power struggle with a northern Pennsylvania splinter faction headed by former loyalists Harold Ray Redfeairn and August 8. Kreis ill.

In an apparent response to the power struggle, Butler pulled himself from a Coeur d'Alene hospital bed and flew to York.

York was the sct}ne of bloody race riots in 1969. That legacy was reopened last year when a former white police officer and mayor was

indicted on charges related to a black woman¡s murder during the riots.

Two black men aJso were indicted in 2001 for the 1969 race riot murder of a white police officer. Against that backdrop of racial tensions, city and county officiaJs closed parks and passed an ordinance in attempts to block the Aryans' raJly. But Butler persisted and carried out the 15-minute rally that ended with stiff-armed saJutes. John Brenner, the mayor of York, said he intends to send Butler a bill for police overtime, as yet uncalculated.

Brenner wouldn't elaborate, but said he "has a plan in mind" if Butler refuses to pay the bill.

Butler, 84, was whisked to the downtown area in a van driven by police. He waJked a short distance and stood on the sidewalk outside the courthouse, guarded by 50 riotequipped police.

His racist message went largely unheard because police prohibited use of a bullhorn and a noisy state police helicopter flew overhead.

At least 100 other riot-equipped

Page All

His racist message went largely unheard because police prohibited use ofa bullhorn and a noisy state police helicopterflew overhead. officers, including a dozen on horseback, manned roadblocks that closed off a five-block area in the heart of the city of 42,000 residents.

Butler was accompanied by a dozen supporters, including Arthur Sherman, a longtime follower from North Idaho. Butler's "staff leader" Shawn Winkler, who was born and raised in York, didn't make the event because his car broke down in Minnesota, his associates said.

Butler, who flew to Harrisburg on Thursday, also had bad luck. His luggage was lost, he couJdn't find his rental car paperwork and a black cabdriver refused to give him a ride to town.

One of the few protesters turns away from Richard Butler's speech during the 20 minutes Butler had In front of the York County Courthouse Saturday morning In York, Pa.

SECTION

B

SUnday, May 5, 2002 The Spokesman-Review Spokane, Wash,/Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

C L O S E T O H O M E â&#x20AC;˘ Cynthia Taggart

Holocaust survivor tells riveting story MARSHALL MEND SPENT WORLD WAR II RIDING BIKES on American sjdewalks and playing tag with friends while Vernon Rusheen was starving, suffering Nazi beatings and losing his human identity.

Both boys were Jewish, but Marshall was in Los Angeles and Vernon was in Berlin.

"We djdn't know how bad it was and didn't hear much," said Marshall, a nonpracticing Jew. He was a carefree American kid who learned about the Holocaust little by Little in the years following the war.

Marshall is a human rights activist in Coeur d'Alene now. His work to counter neo-Nazi influence in North Idaho bas cemented in hjs mind the destructive power of hate speech -words that demonize populations.

He knows few people can build a stronger case agajnst hate speech than the survivors of the Holocaust, which is why Marshall invited Vernon to sh~re rus story in Coeur d'Alene trus week.

"It's important to know that what happened there (in Germany) could happen here," Marshall says. "These guys are getting old and dying off. Pretty soon people are

not going to get the chance to talk to a real-life person who went through it."

Vernon, 77, shares his World War Il experiences with audiences at the Simon Wiesenthal Center for human rights in Los Angeles. Marshall visited the center last year to look for ideas that would work in a human rights center planned for construction in Coeur d'Alene.

He heard Holocaust survivor Zoltan Friedmann share bis story. Marshall invited the man to speak in Coeur d'Alene. Zoltan agreed, then died two weeks before his speaking date. Vernon agreed to fill in for his friend from the center.

"In a few years, there will be no survivors left," Vernon says.

That Vernon is alive is beyond explanation. He's tried

to figure out how he survived two years in the Auschwitz concentration camp and five months at Dachau. " Luck, and someone was looking over me," he says.

Vernon was 8 when Adolf Hitler rose to power and condemned the Jewish population. His childhood ended abruptly.

"You learn quickly that Rusheen something is wrong," he says. " You mature faster."

Hitler classified people by race, religion and health.

Vernon didn't meet fbe definition of pure Aryan, so he was considered subhuman.

His family was harassed by people absorbing Hitler's hate speech. His father, a tailor, lost his job. In 1936, Continued: Close to Home/B3

Close to Home: At frrst, emotions hard to control Continued from B1

Vernon was thrown out of hi German chool. He continued in a Jewi h community chool for two years until German destroyed it and others like it.

"I never had a childhood," he ay .

I couldn t go to a movie. Jew weren tallowed.'

By 1940 Vernon wa in forced labor in Berlin with hi family. One of hi two i ters had died. In February 1943, his family was picked up and ordered to Au chwitz. Vernon wa 1.

The trip began at a collection center in Berlin. Vernon wa taken from hi; parent . He never aw them again. From the center, he was tuffed into a cattle car so crowded he couldn't move. There wa no food or water. _ People died on the 48-hour trip, but no one knew until the tram topped and the crowd wa cha ed out the door into Au chwitz.

Everything was taken from the pri oner . Doctors waved each person into one of two line - tho e who could work and tho e who couldn't. Most peopleJounger than 15 or older than 45 an anyone with handicap were directed to a line that went to the ga chambers.

The people in Vernon's line were tattooed with numbers that replaced their name .

We were like branded cattle," he says.

He remembers constant beating sleeping on wooden plank and haring one blanket with three other men.

He remembers his wooden hoe watery cabbage oup and tanding at attention for hour for morning roll call.

Hail, rain made no difference he ay . 'We were not allowed to move."

He remembers guards who might hoot him if they were drunk or for no reason at all and medical experiment on twin . The Nazi wanted a cheaper way than gas or cremation to elimmate populations they considered unpure. Vernon remembers experiments to terilize people.

He doesn t know how he tayed alive a other around him died.

You had to have hope faith in your elf ' he ay . We kept a ort of moral vanguard. We helped each other.

Vernon joined other inmate in a

IF YOU GO

Rusheen speech Holocaust survivor Vernon Rusheen will speak Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in North Idaho College's Schuler Auditorium. His free presentation is open to the public on a space-available basis. The Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, which is sponsoring the visit, has invited three school districts to participate.

Rusheen will share his experiences with students in Sandpoint and Clark Fork on Wednesday.

he wanted people to under tand the power of hate peech - how it nearly tamped out hi culture. He wa willing to hare hi per onal experience to get the point across.

'I bad a hard time controlJing my emotions the fir t few time , e pecially when I'd peak to children and recall what wa taken away from me ' he ay.

But speaking wa therapeutic. People Ii tened with awe. They a ked que tion . They hugged him.

'It wa a reward to tran late the experience to tart a new generation that understand that hate doe n t pay ' Vernon ay . What I do ab olutely necessary. ' â&#x20AC;˘ Cynthia Taggart can be reached at 765-7128 or by e-mail at cynthiat@spokesman.com.

re i tance group. When they worked in arms production they abotaged anything they could. It gave them a crumb of ati faction. ln early 1945 Vernon en ed the Nazi ' end wa near. Ru ian oldier were infiltrating the area near Auschwitz. Vernon' hopes era bed when he wa wept with 6 000 keletal men into a panicked evacuation of pri oner .

They started a 48-hour death march to another camp in midwinter with no food or water. From the camp they were herded onto open freight cars in ubzero temperature and tran ported to the Dachau death camp near Munich.

Only 375 urvived the trip. Three weeks later only 75 were still alive.

Vernon stayed at Dachau until May 4 1945 laboring all the time but the three or four hour a night he wa allowed to leep. American tanks brought liberation. Vernon weighed 65 pound . Hi teeth were rotten. Hi memory was gone and he bad no motivation left to live.

He didn t know what bad happened in the out ide world during his tmpri onment. He returned to Bertin convinced he'd find his family. Of 100 relative only two of hi cou in urvived the war.

Vernon immigrated to the United States in 1947, eventually settling in Los Angele . He had little education and poke no Engli h. He pent his fir t few Jear working any job he could fin to pay for medical treatment to rebuild hi di integrated health.

He married in 1953 and he and hi wife Shirley had four children. Now they have nme grandchildren.

'I didn t look back, he ays. ' I pent all my energy rebuilding."

A dozen years ago he read about the peakers at the Simon Wiesenthal Center. They wanted volunteer .

Vernon like many other survivors, didn't want to talk about the war. But

A4 THE PRESS Monday, May 6, 2002

¡Holocaust survivor to speak on campus Rusheen lived for 2 years in camps COEUR

d'ALENE

Vernon Rusheen will never forget the atrocities of the Holocaust and he has spent part of his life making sure others remember as well.

Rusheen, a Holocaust survivor, will speak on the "Atrocities and Evils of the Holocaust" Tuesday at North Idaho College.

Rusheen was born in Berlin, Germany, and at the age of 8 he witnessed the Nazis rise to power. In 1936 he was forced to stop attending the Berlin public school because he was Jewish. He continued his education at a Berlin Jewish community school until the "Night of the Broken Glass" in November 1938, in which the Nazis destroyed all remaining Jewish schools.

From 1940 to 1943 he was pressed into forced labor that ended with deportation to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Nearly 100 of Rusheen's close relatives died in the extermination camps, including his parents and sister.

On Jan. 18, 1945, about

lnfonnation The presentation is cosponsored by the NIC Human Equality Club and the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.

6,000 inmates were forced to take the death march to Germany. Rusheen was one of only 75 surviving prisoners to arrive at Dachau, where be and fellow prisoners endured fur. ther labor and starvation.

Rusheen was freed in May 1945 by American troops. He returned to Berlin and participated in the restructuring of the Berlin Jewish corrununity, which included assisting thousands of survivors from Eastern Europe.

Rusheen immigrated to the United States in 1947 where he continued his education and married his wife Shirley in 1953. They now have four children and nine grandchildren.

He has participated in presentations across the nation speaking about his experiences in the Holocaust The NIC presentation will begin at 9:30 am. in Boswell Hall's Schuler Auditorium. It is free and open to the public.

PAGE

8 THE

WEDNESDAY, MAY

SENTINEL

8, 2002

Club speaks out against harassment After learning of the racial slurs directed at NIC African-American tudent out ide Red Lob ter , ethnicaJly-ba ed malicious hara sment of yet other NIC tudent , and the recent report in The Sentinel of derogatory and demeaning words directed at NIC ' gay and lesbian students , the NIC Human Equality Club denounce the e action .

When people u e hateful and prejudicial terms to de cribe their fellow human bejng , all ociety uffers.

We will not achieve equality for all people untiJ prejudice and discrimination i eradicated and uch behavior is only a bad memory from the pa t.

Dr . Martin Luther King Jr. aid it be t: 'Injustice anywhere i a threat to ju tice everywhere. We are caugh in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of de tiny .

Whatever affects one directly , affects all indirectly."

It i time uch a the e that remind us of the work that lies ahead. We tand ready to be an ally to tho e who face di crimination .

Tony Stewart and Bill Davenport, Adviser and President of Human Equality Club

SECTION

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Wednesday, May 8, 2002 The Spokesman-Review Spokane. Wash/ Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

C L O S E T O H O M E â&#x20AC;˘ Cynthia Taggart

Dachau survivor, liberators connect PHILIP SLOCUM HUGGED VERNON RUSHEEN as if he was a long lost brother. In a sad way, he was.

The two men share a memory of horror that nearly killed Vernon and left Philip fighti ng depression the rest of his life.

They were both at Dachau, a Nazi concentration camp near Munich, Germany, on April 29, 1945. Vernon, a German Jew, was an emaciated prisoner. Philip, an American soldier, was a shocked liberator.

Vernon, who lives in Los Angeles now, shared his wartime experiences witb schoolchildren and a few adults at North Idaho College on Tuesday. Philip, 83, made himself go see a man who had lived through carnage beyond his imagination.

"There's a chance I might have even seen him there," Philip said after the presentation.

Philip, who lives in Coeur d'Alene, listened in his Veterans ofForeign Wars hat as Vernon told children from Spokane to Moscow about Living through hard labor in Berlin, two years at Auschwitz and five months at Dachau. Spellbound, the mostly teenage students watched silently.

Philip sat silently, too, because he's mostly deaf. The

moment Vernon stopped speaking, though, Philip raised his black cane into the air and shouted the speaker's name.

"I told myself I had to do this no matter what," PhiJip said later.

He's talked little about his experience at Dachau since returning home 57 years ago. He'd seen no dead people before the war.

That day at Dachau with the U.S. Edstrom Army Rainbow Division in 1945, Philip saw thousands of bodies stacked like cords of wood. It numbed him forever after.

"Most of the time I tried to block it out," he said. "At times I thought l could talk to my wife, but she was so detached from it, so rdidn't."

Ale photos/The Spokesman,Revlew

Phlllp Slocum helped liberate the Dachau death camp In Germany when his unit, the Army's 42nd Rainbow Division, passed through the camp's entrance 50 years ago.

He didn't feel safe expressing his horror of Dachau in North Idaho, an area white supremacists called home. So Continued: Close to Home/ BS

Contact the North Idaho office: (208) 765-7100, toll-free (800) 344-6718; fax (208) 344-6718; e-mail news@spokesman.com

Online regional news: wwv.

Close to Home: 'It never leaves you' Continued from Bl

Philip buried his memories - until he read that Vernon was coming to Coeur d'Alene.

He went to Tuesday's program for relief. ··( figured the least I could do was meet him," Philip says. "A lot of compassion came over me when I saw him."

If any of. the students in the audience didn't trust Vernon's memory, Philip steered them straight. He told them about the overpowering stench that hit him as he entered the camp.

He mentioned railroad cars standing full of bodies, high-tension electric fences and barracks

with wood plank beds next to human excrement. " Up to that point I didn't know why we were in the war," Philip said with a shaking voice. " I knew why then. It never leaves you."

Vernon's presentation gave Philip courage to take his experiences public.

"If this man has the guts to make a statement, I also could make a statement," Philip said. " I never believed it could happen, but it did happen."

Philip's testimony motivated Bob Edstrom of Post Falls to climb on stage. Bob, 78, was a medic in the Rainbow Division during World War II. He arrived at Dachau a day after Philip's company.

He's spoken of the horrors he witnessed to close friends, but not to others. When he read about Vernon's engagement at NIC, Bob wanted to see him. He knew he was part of the group that had freed Vernon from Dachau so long ago.

"The Lord said, 'Support him. He's standing

alone sticking his neck out,'" said Bob, who's a chaplain at the Kootenai County Jail.

So he went. But speaking out was harder than he imagined. His wife finally prodded him to say something.

Bob told students about combing through the bodies in dozens of railroad cars and of American soldiers who reacted with rage.

"It's an event in history that will never go away, but a few of us are left who know it's true." he said, a gold cross the size of a pocket knife dangling from a chain around his neck. " It's the first time I've really talked about it."

Vernon, who began speaking about his experiences 12 years ago, understood. He hugged Bob and Philip.

And the children stood and clapped.

• Cynthia Taggart can be reached at 765-7128 orby e-mail at cynthiat@spokesman.com.

•C •

JASON HUNT/Press

Holocaust survivor Vernon Rusheen speaks to about 600 people at Schuler Auditorium Tuesday about his experiences.

Burning Memories Holocaust survivor shares stories of life in Gennan concentration camp

By RICK THOMAS Staff writer

COEUR d'ALENE - Vernon Rusheen was only 8 years old when the Nazis came into power in Germany in 1933, but he was old enough to witness and remember the rapid evolution of Adolph Hitler's regime.

For Rusheen and his family, every knock on the door was "terrifying," as one by one, family friends and neighbors were forced from their homes with virtually no possessions, never to be seen or heard from again.

He watched in fear as German Area veterans Brown Shirts, Storm Troopers share stories and SS troops brutalized and tor of liberating tured all who dared object to the Nazi inhumane savagery of those who concentration demanded absolute domination camps A3

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all who opposed them. ''It was not only the Jews targeted by the Nazis," .

Rusheen said, but any of several dozen other groups, including gypsies, opposing political parties, non-eonforming religious sects, the old and the in.firm.

Rusheen shared the reality and horror of Nazi Germany's World War II Holocaust during an emotional presentation at North Idaho College Tuesday before about 600 people at Schuler Auditorium.

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their duties. Any injury was a likely death sentence, as continued from replacements arrived daily and for the Nazis it was more effiIn all, more than 11.5 milcient to execute than to heal lion were murdered, more than Meanwhile, the ovens kept half of them Jews, but even ¡ burning. those who survived did so only Burning the evidence of the after iocrediole suffering and Nazi crimes. deprivation.

Burning to capacity as long At 14, Rusheen was taken as there was gas. off to forced labor, along with Burning the bodies of those his sister and brother-in-law. who died of "smallpox" or Even though he was only a "pneumonia," as the Nazis few yards from his parents when advised those who dared the Nazis dragged him away, he inquire. was unable to even aclmowledge When the gas ran out in their presence or to say farewell, May 1944, they began open for that would have resulted in burning of the bodies. their brutalization.

Near the end of 1944, the He never saw them again. inmates and the Nazis were For Rusheen, it was "a 1~ aware that the Russians were hour work day which began closing in on the eastern front, with bread made with sawdust said Rusheen, and the Germans U10ch was cabbage soup. stepped up efforts to destroy as There was no dinner." many Jews as possible.

On these starvation rations, When it became clear to the he said, each day about "250 Nazis that the Russians would workers would go out but only arrive before they could 200 would return." achieve their "final solution," The rest would die in acciRusheen and 6,000 other dents or from the decimation of inmates were forced on a death their bodies or would be exemarch back to Germany, a twocuted on the spot by the Nazi day run that killed many of guards if unable to complete those remaining.

HOLOCAUST A1

For another five days they traveled without food or water to the camp at Dachau. There, they slept on the ground without blankets, protected only by what materials they could gather.

They worked 15-16 hours per day, with rations even more meager than before. When food finally did get to the survivors, many of their bodies were so badly destroyed that the relatively rich food killed them.

Io late April, 1945 Dachau was liberated by United States armed forces.

Rusheen survived to tell his story "on behalf of those who can't," he said, and to remind people, especially young people, of the atrocities that can occur "when people don't take action" to prevent them.

Rusbeen and two cousins were the only survivors left from an extended family of nearly 100 at war's end Hatred, terror and brutality were the story of the Nazi atrocities.

"Tolerance, enlightenment and compassion" are Rusheen's message now.

Rick Thomas can be reached at (208) 664-8176, ext 2005.

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Local vets recall liberating camp Two men make impromptu appearance on stage at NIC

By RICK THOMAS Staff writer

COEUR d'ALENE -A standing ovation followed the presentation by Holocaust survivor Vernon Rusheen at North Idaho College Tuesday, but two members of the audience had their own stories to share.

Upon opening of the floor for questions from the audience, the first person to come forward was a frail and slow-moving man wearing VFW colors.

As Phil Slocum stepped to the stage he told Rusheen, '1 was with Task Force Llnden, 42nd Rainbow Division, U.S. Anny Infantry, and on April 29, 1945, I was with the U.S. forces liberating Dachau."

Slocum then took the stage and told the story of what he saw that day.

"When we got to the gate, there was a sign above it that said 'Arbeit Macht Frei,' which tran1Y lated means 'Work will make you free.'"

Slocum, a member of VFW Post 889 in Post Falls, continued to describe the scene of horror which he saw that day, of emaciated people and dead bodies, and of the moat and electric fence surrounding the camp.

He described an insurrection that took place among the starved inmates in which they beat to death numerous members of the Nazi guards who had tormented them for years.

He also described his lack of remorse at his own killing of a Nazi.

'1 wouldn't have felt any worse shooting a rabbit," he said.

Up until that day, even in battle, he said he'd

JASON HUNT/Press

Vernon Rusheen receives a hug from World War II veteran Phil Slocum. Slocum was with U.S forces liberating Dachau.

felt badly about shooting another human being.

Thoughts of that time still haunt him, said Slocum, who was 21 years old at the time.

"We went on to liberate Munich, and there as at Dachau people who lived nearby claimed no knowledge of what had been happening."

Another member of the 42nd, Bob Edstrom of Post Falls and a member of VFW Post 889, was also with the liberating forces that day.

As a member of the 122nd Medical Battalion, he was assigned to examine freight cars full of dead bodies. Like Slocum, he has never forgotten that day, and was one of the few to get out with photos of the scene.

According to Edstrom, the military's Counter Intelligence Corps confiscated most cameras and photos of the scene, though he is still not sure why.

Following the presentation, the three shared a somewhat bittersweet reunion. "Arbeit Macht Frei," Rusheen said. "When you're dead, you're free."

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Human Rights Foundation has home Cd'A Mines leases organization space

By RICK T HOMAS

Staff writer

COEUR d'ALENE - North Idaho's Human Rights Education Foundation has a new home in downtown Coeur d'Alene.

Dennis Wheeler, chairman and president of Coeur d'Alene Mines said Wednesday the company i~ leasing the foundation 700 square feet of office space for $1 per year.

The offices on the third floor of the building al 505 Front St. include numerous desks and other furnishings. ''We recognize the foundation's significance to our community and hope our contribution sup, ports its mission," Wheeler said.• The center is key to North Idaho's effort to shed its image as a haven for neo-Nazis, an image strongly tied to the activities of the Aryan Nations over three decades.

Foundation president Tony Stewart, who has known Wheeler since 1972, said, 'Toe years have shown his commitment'' to the cause of human rights. ''We've been working in this struggle for over 21 years " Stewart said. ' The office space will provide a central location for foundation activities, said Stewart. Until now he said, members worked fro~ their own offices. The new offices will allow a full-time staff member to be in place by July.

The foundation will begin moving in within a few days, he said.

FOUNDATION continued on A3

FOUNDATION

cont inued from A1

Acquiring the temporary office space is part of a long-term plan to open a human rights center that will include an operations center for the foundation as well as a learning center.

The center will provide a "history of the final conquering of the Aryan Nations situation " said foundation member Mar y Lou Reed.

The foundation will spend most of this summer raising funds.

1

Reed said members hope to raise $1 million to match the grant from Idaho native Greg C. Carr that provided the seed money for the Human Rights Center.

A Coeur d'Alene jury in 2000 awarded a woman and her son $6.3 million from the Aryan Nations and its elderly leader, Richard Butler.

The jury concluded Butler was negligent when his security guards fired shots at and roughed up the two in 1998.

Carr, former chairman of the Internet company Prodigy Inc., bought the former Aryan

compound and the buildings were demolished. The compound is considered too remote for a permanent public human rights center.

Carr's grant, and "this most generous gift from the Coeur d'Alene Mines and the financial support from regional businesses for the Human Rights Banquet will usher in a new day for our region," Stewart said. ''We will be known as the home of one of the finest human rights centers in the country."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Space donation

Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman¡R6Vlew

Dennis Wheeler, left, CEO of Coeur d'Alene Mines, Jokes with the media during the announcement Wednesday of the company's donaUon of office space to the Human Rights Education Foundation. Tony Stewart, the foundation's board president, said the group wlll use the space to raise money for a human rights center.

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Much of the 700-square foo t space will be devoted to fund-raising efforts and strategic planning.

"I promise you that we're not moving in all the artifacts,., board member Mary Lou Reed told Wheeler. "We're not moving in the mus~um. We're not bringing the public and the school kids.·· Building the center and creating an endowment to run it will require nearly $2 million, according to a business plan being developed by the foundation. ·'We're not expecting Coeur d'Alene to come up with all of this money," Reed said. "We want this center to be a regional center."

Board members are hoping for big donations from private foundations, and maybe even some government grants.

So far, businesses have been receptive to the idea of the center, Reed said. " We hear from every corporation we talk to that they are quite concerned about being able to attract a skilled work force.·· Wheeler echoed her remarks. ''f consider this to be one of the most important economic initiatives. It confirms that fact that we are a human rights area and we welcome people into the community."

Carr will loan the foundation a staffer for six weeks this summer from Harvard's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. She'll help the board members research funding possibilities.

By faJI, the foundation could announce a permanent site fo r the center. Board members envision a building of about 5,000-square feet near a school or a library. Educational outreach will be a large part of the center's mission.

The center will tell the story of ··27 years of living with the Aryan Nations and the final conquering of this,'' Reed said. '·We fee l it's very important to make sure that hate never has another opportunity to develop a toehold in our region. We feel we can do that through education."

But while xhibits will di cuss white supremaci t in the region, and the law ·uit that finally bankrupted the Aryan Nations the center won't be a mu eum. Stewart aid.

A large part of the pace will be devoted to developing program , uch as the Martin Luther King celebration that 1,200 schoolchildren participate in annually. There al o will be space for archive and computers to link the center to imilar institution . .

'You can teach human rights in a positive way ' Stewart said. "But we won't ignore the problem of the pat.'

• Becky Kramer can be reached at (208) 765· 7122 or by e-mail at beckyk@spokesman.com.

Choosing Democracy

Please join the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations and the

Human Rights &lucation Foundation April 4, 2002 for the

Parvin Darabi Writer, Lecturer & Human Rights Activist Author, 'Rage Against tbe Veil' Parvin Darabi, born in Iran and educated in America, represents a vibrmt world voice in women's rights violations and Islamic oppression of women and other minorities. She and her son have written a biography of her sister, Dr. Homa Darabi, who, in I994, set herself on fire and died to protest the death sentence of a 16year-old girl in Tehran for wearing lipstick, and other political and cultural atrocities committed by zealots. An engineer and former president of a California electronics firm , Ms. Darabi is considered an expert on women's human rights issues and has established the Dr. Homa Darabi Foundation in memory of her sister. Her mission is to raise awareness about the violence afflicted upon women and children in the name of God, religion, culture, family values, and the preservation of the society, and to promote activism for change.

Also Presenting Sojourner 'fruth, a fonner slave in the 1800s who was nationally known as an advocate for equality and justice, as portrayed by Tawnya Pettiford-Wates. Her honors include the Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Award, "Best of Seattle," and film credits for Sleepless in Seattle and Twi11 Peaks, among others.

Human Rights Banquet Thursday, April 4, 2002 6 P.M. 7 P.M.

Coeur d'Alene Inn General Reception Dinner Keynote Address, Parvin Darabi Sojourner Truth, portrayed by Tawnya Pettiford-Wates

Benefacror's Table for 8 Dinner & Reception Individual Dinner & Reception

$500 $25

Benefactor's Table i11cl11des special recognition and seating.

THIS YEAR vVE CELEBRATE THE $1 MILLION GIFT FROM THE GREG CARR FOUNDATION .

THIS GENE ROUS GIFT LAUNCHES THE FORMATION OF A NEW HUlv!AN RIGHTS C ENTER TO BENEFIT INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNJTrES OF THE L'JLANO NORTHWEST. THE MISSION OF THE H UMAN RIGHTS C ENTER Wll.L BE TO PROMOTE H UMAN RIGHTS AS Ai'i ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF A JUST AND SUCCESSFUL DEMOCRACY.

Proceeds from the Banquet will suppon North Idaho College minority scholarships, school and community programs that promote the appreciation of diversity and the H uman Rights Center Fund.

FOR MOR£ INFORMATION CALL 208.664.3564

Boards of Directors TASK FORCE ON H UMAN RELATIONS

Diana Gissel, President Josh Buenner, Vice President Lorraine Landwehr, Treasure,· Tony Stewart, Secretary Dr. Michael Burke BilJ Davenport Dr. Victor Duarte Valerie Fast Horse Norm Gissel JoAnn Harvey Fr. Roger LaChance Clay Larken Vrnce Lemus Lucy Lepinski MarshalJ Mend Alan Wasserman Rocky Watson

H UMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION FOUNDATION

Tony Stewart, President Denny Davis, Vice President JoAnne H arvey, Co-Secretary Betsy Hawkins, Co-Secretary Lucy Lepinski, Treasurer Freeman Duncan Sandy Emerson Norm G issel Jim Hammond Lorraine Landwenr Bob Potter Mary Lou Reed

cmn,11 ns of PrmllTry 2002

The Seattle Times: Editorials & Opinion: E mbracing human rights in Northern Idaho

A Service of The Seattle Times Company

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Editorial

Embracing human rights in Northern Idaho How fitting the North Idaho movement that fought the hatred of the Aryan Nations for 20 years has evolved into one that now defines itself with a focus on education about the critical role of human rights in a democracy.

r:?I E-mail this article ~ Print this article

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The Human Rights Education Foundation has moved into a donated, downtown Coeur d'Alene office and set to work raising another $1 million to match the generous contribution by Greg C. Carr, an Idaho Falls native and former chairman of Prodigy Inc. Carr also has loaned an employee from Harvard's Carr Center for Human Rights to help the 3-year-old Coeur d'Alene foundation start fund raising to open its planned Human Rights Center, which has the slogan, "Choose Democracy."

No longer is the movement defined merely as anti-Aryan, although Mary Lou Reed, the foundation's founding chairwoman, says the movement's roots will be an important part of the center's exhibits.

Reed and Carr hope the Human Rights Center's mission will eclipse the now waning image of North Idaho as a haven for white supremacists.

"It's important for children who grow up where there's not a great deal of diversity to learn that differences are not scary, something to be afraid of or to be disliked," Reed said of the center's purpose. "Diversity should be celebrated, not feared."

The Aryan Nations, which was based at Hayden Lake outside Coeur d'Alene, was devastated by a $6.3-million jury award in a lawsuit brought by a woman and her son who were shot at by security guards. Carr purchased the notorious Aryan Nations compound, demolished the buildings and donated the property to the North Idaho College Foundation.

Aryan Nations founder Richard Butler still lives near Coeur d'Alene and leads the group. But the hate group appears to have a much lower profile. 'We never see them any more," Reed said.

In North Idaho, good certainly seems to be winning out over evil.

For more information about the Human Rights Education Foundation, call Reed at 208-664-3564.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htmVeditorialsopinion/134471713 _ hurnanrights 11 .html

6/11/02

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July 6, 2002

Sunny Weather ' Vol. 95 No. 360

NIC opens compound to students Classes to be held on fonner Alyan property

By KEITH ERICKSON Staff w riter

HAYDEN LAKE - Once a haven for hatred, the former Aryan Nations compound near here will be bustling with college students this fall.

Biology, botany and geology students from North Idaho CoUege will use the 20-acre site as a field classroom beginning in late August when the fall semester begins, college officials said Friday.

'The acreage is ideal for studying the North Idaho flora and fauna, water and land conservation and the environmental concerns related to North Idaho, and has many geological formations that the students need to study," said Jerry R Gee, NIC NIC continued on A2

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continued from A 1

vice president for instruction.

Rayelle Anderson, executive director of the NIC Foundation, said more than 100 students will further their education on the property formerly owned by white supremacist Richard Butler.

Philanthropist Greg Carr acquired the land after Butler lost it to bankruptcy. Carr donated the land, on North Rimrock Road, to the NIC Foundation lastJanuar~ "It really is an honor for the foundation to have an opportunity to (act as the) steward of that land," Anderson said.

Aside from the science courses, NIC plans to take advantage of the land's infamous history by making it available to political science students, Gee said.

"As the former site of the Aryan compound, the political science department has requested access to this property for historical and politi-

4 sections

cal knowledge for those students," he said.

Gee made his comments in a July 1 letter to Anderson to establish tax-exempt status with Kootenai County commissioners.

Offering the courses qualifies NIC for the exemption, Anderson said in a letter last Tuesday to commissioners.

Besides the educational opportunities, the foundation will allow a neighbor of the former Butler property to graze livestock during "noninstructional usage" in exchange for keeping watch over the property, Anderson said. ~e want to make sure we are a good neighbor, one that people can be proud of," she said of the NIC Foundation.

"Our students need learning laboratories and we don't have a lot of property off-site. So anytime we can have a natural setting where productive research and training can occur, it's another benefit for North Idaho College students," Anderson added.

Keith Erick.s on can be reached at 664-8176, ext. 2012, or kerickson@cdapress.com.

North ldaha

THE PRESS Friday, July 12, 2002 C3

-College presidents to converge â&#x20AC;˘ ¡I Cd'A .

60 community college presidents from across the country will arrive in the Lake City this weekend.

"As the ofticial voice nationwide for community colleges, AACC is COEUR d'ALENE The our strongest advocate," said NIC American Association of President Dr. Michael Burke.

Community Colleges is holding its "When I learned they were keenly national Presidents Academy interested in coming to our comSummer Institute at the Coeur munity, I was proud to know NIC d'Alene Resort this weekend. Over and Coeur d'Alene would have an

NIC's Burke proud to play host to event

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opportunity to showcase what assets we are to our state and region."

The institute focuses on current issues important to college presidents, and provides a program that includes sessions on leadership, governance, ethics, budgeting, crisis management and other topics.

The Resort, the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce and Burke

were part of a team effort to bring the Summer Institute to Coeur d'Alene.

The weekend's program will include sessions about how communities and colleges can join forces to deal with hate and racism.

One of the sessions, titled "Community Change: Overcoming the Challenge of Racism and Hatred," will feature Norm Gissel, Marshall Mend and Tony Stewart.

We're delighted to have an organization like this come to Coeur d'Alene," said Jonathan Coe, president of the Chamber of Commerce. "Obviously, it has a significant economic impact on our town, but is also a chance to expose people from all over the country to the wonderful quality of life we have here."

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Aryan Nation shares its message of hate

By Dennis B. Roddy Post-Gazette Staff Writer

ULYSSES, Pa. - It has been a hard summer in Potter County, a gorgeous range of forested mountains and tidy, small towns along the Pennsylvania-New York border.

First, federal investigators handcuffed the town's leading industrialist, indicted in a fraud case just weeks after his company filed for bankruptcy and his stock was removed from the NASDAQ exchange.

Then, yesterday, the Nazis showed up.

This was not the summer that Potter County, whose major industries are tourism and cable televi-

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sion, had planned.

Originally, John Rigas, founder of Adelphia, the cable behemoth that became the core of the economy in this county of 16,000 people, had planned a 50th annivers~ celebration for his company until 1t crashed and burned. Rigas and his family stand accused of pillaging the firm.

"I guess that's all gone by the wayside," said Bob Currin, a former history teacher and Rigas family friend who heads up the local historical society.

Instead, they got the Aryan World Congress, an agglomeration of skinheads, Klansmen, neo-Nazis and SEE ARAYANS, PAGE C-4

EDITORS: T()M BIRDSONG, SUSAN MANNELLA

PJIT BURGH POST-GAZETrE

a

UNDAY. JULY 28, 2002

STATE NEWS

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r~ an Nation shares its message

of hate in Potter County AIIAYANS FROM PAGE C- 1

white power bands that gathered on a grassy patch of hillside four miles outside this hamlet.

The gathering was called by the Aryan Nations, or at least one of the two groups that profess to be the Aryan Nations, which has established a headquarters on several acres owned by August Kreis, a 47year-old ex-Klansman and selftaught minister in the racist Christian Identity Religion.

"I doubl if he'll get a half-dozen people. Maybe he'll surprise me," Currin said.

Surprise.

By mid-morning yesterday, Kreis had about 100 people who paid $35 each to camp in the middle of a field and hear a quartet of skinhead bands with names such as Intimidation One, Max Resist and White Wash.

On the stage, Kreis sat alongside James Wickstrom, a longtime Identity preacher who worked with such white supremacy leaders as Gordon Kahl of the Posse-Comitatus, and members of The Order, a neo-Nazi group that carried out bank and ar. mored car robberies, and the machine-gun murder of a Jewish talk show host in Denver.

Wickstrom, Kreis, as well as Aryan Nations leader Charles Juba and Minister for Islamic Liaison, Joshua Caleb Sutter, held court for the media yesterday. It could not have been good for the tourist trade.

"Hate is bealthy, because it's biblical," Wickstrom said The bulk of his remarks centered on the belief that the world is run by a cabal of Jews who manipulate blacks and other minorities.

Wickstrom talked admiringly about The Order and its violent path. Kreis promised that someday synagogues and mosques in Amenca will be burned down, and spoke of someday beheadin~ golfer Tiger Woods and his white girlfriend. or course, both Wickstrom and Kreis believe Adelphia's troubles are the work of JeWish bankers angered that Rigas had refused to car-

ry the Playboy Channel Kreis, who moved to Potter County in 1992 and has subsisted on a combination of Social Security dis¡ ability benefits and welfare benefits for his children, was one of the few in Potter County to spot a bit of sunshine amid the wreckage of the region's largest business. ''Y'know where that's helped us?

It's driven down the reaf estate market to where the working man can afford to move out here," Kreis said.

His Aryan Nations Web site invites followers to move to "whiter and brighter" Potter CountY, but to date the only new arrivals have been children Kreis fathered with his common law wife, and Sutter, who moved in with the Kreises sometime this yeac Real estate values are, to some extent, down-primarily because a building boom fueled by the rapidly expanding Adelphia has screeched to a halt.

The finn has not laid off workers, although locals are nervous.

Primarily, the reaction approximates mourning.

"It's tragic. Aside from the business, it's just been so personal to everybody because the Rigas family has been so near and dear to everyone," said the Rev. Joseph Wolf, pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Coudersport, the county seat 14 miles south of Ulysses.

Shortly after arriving in Potter County, New Jersey-born Kreis opened a branch of the Posse-Comitatus, led by Wickstrom, a Michigan resident who was once jailed by a federal court in Pittsburgh on a counterfeiting charge.

Kreis branched out into the Aryan Nations after its founder, Richard Butler, lost bis com~und in Northern Idaho after a civil lawsuit

Butler named Ray Redfeaim, a Kreis associate to succeed him and, earlier this year, Kreis and Redfeairn ousted Butler from Aiyan Nations. Butler in tum expelled them.

"He was always very divisive, right from the beginning," said Butler, who said he declined to attend

Franka Bruns/Post-Gazette photos

Participants gather at the Aryan World Congress yesterday in Ulysses, Potter County. The event was sponsored by Aryan World Congress, an ¡ allaince of skinheads, Klansmen, Neo-Nazis and white power bands. Below: Steven Richard comments on hearing Hitler's voice booming kom loudspeakers "It fills my heart with pride, He's the man that got that movement going." Richard says became a skinhead when he was 12. : :

r.esterday's event and considers it illegitimate. "He's money hungry.

His God is money."

Shortly after Kreis and Redfeairn seized the organization, they were stunned when their Minister of Security, Mike Spencer, held a news conference to announce that his real name was Mike Reid and that he was an undercover infiltrator.

Reid said Kreis had sketched out a plot to extort $500,000 from Rigas in return for moving the Aryan Nations oul of Potter County.

Kreis denied the plot, but local critics said Reid's easy penetration of the group proved that Kreis and his allies are not to be taken seriously.

"This guy just shows up and in three weeks he's the head of security? Wolf said.

To Wolf and others in Potter County, Kreis is merely a bearded man in a trailer with a computer and no impact. ''Who cares?" Kreis said. "Does it matter? Eric Robert Rudolph fsought for the Olympic Park bombing] was one man. One man.

There's a lot of closet racists around here."

If they are in the closet, they've kept it soundproof.

While Potter County is overwhelmingly white, minorities many recruited by Adelphia - mingle comfortably. In Coudersport, one of the most popular bars features a mixed clientele of straight

and gay.

In Ulysses, local businessmen make little secret of their dislike of Kreis.

"I've checked into refusing him service," said Jim Wagner, who runs the local hardware store where, shortly before Y2K, Kreis bought up all the oil lamp wicks and

boasted of his ammo supply.

''When he first came here ... he said, 'You've gotta come out and see what we're doing,' " Wagner said. "1 told him I can't come out there because what you're doing makes me sick."

It doesn't please Wagner's clerk, either.

Kwabena Anafi, a visiting student from Ghana, is perfectly comfortable in Potter, where he spends the summer with the Wagner family until returning to college in Ohio. ''It's a law-abiding county," Ana.ti said. "We don't live in a jungle here.

I don't see any reason to be nervous."

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Sunday, July 28, 2002 The Spokesman.Review Spokane, Wash./Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

message east Speakers hope to spread knowledge gained In North Idaho to help other slmllar communities

By Winston Ross Staff writer

COEUR d'ALENE - Marshall Mend has a bit of advice for Pennsylvanians battling hate groups.

'Send them east;' he says with a chuckle. " Don't send them west.'

Mend, Tony Stewart and Norm Gissel are in the Keystone State this week, conducting several seminars in communities dealing with an insurgency of hate.

They know what they're talking about.

The three are acclaimed in North Idaho as key

crusaders in the decades-long fight against the racist Aryan Nations.

For the last two decades, Richard Butler's white supremacist clan tagged Idaho with an infamous reputation - as a breeding ground for hate.

But after a $6.3 million civil verdict against Butler and the Aryan Nations1 that reputation may be changing.

Idaho can now bill itself as the state that fought hate and won.

A woman and her son won the verdict in the fall of 2000, after they were assaulted by Butler's guards outside the Aryan compound in July 1998. The case left Butler and his group bankrupt.

"It's becoming well-known nationally, what has been accomplished here in Kootenai County and elsewhere in

'(It's becoming well-known nationally what has been accomplished here in Kootenai County and elsewhere in North Idaho."

Norm Glsse~human rights activist

North Tdaho," said Gissel, an atlorney and member of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations. The

Aryan Nations "were moving here, and now they're moving away, and that is an important story to tell. We have that story to tell. " We understand it in ways nobody else did."

It's too soon to declare the Aryans extinct, though. In January, Pennsylvania racists gave up their effort to move the Aryan headquarters from North Idaho.

The human rights activists have been in high demand si~ce the verdict, speaking at various engagements in different p~rts of the country. They were invited by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, for which Ann Van Dyke is a civil rights investigator.

Van Dyke, who has worked at her post for more than a decade, said she and others have kept track of Idaho's Continued: Antl-hate/ 82

Page 82

Sunday. July 28. 2002

Anti-hate: Group thrives in towns

that are silent Conunued from B1

ha11k' against Aryans. ··Al l ~f u:, in tl{i~ field have watched very closely as the Southern Poverty L,w Cente r worked with the Koote· nai County task force to shut down thl' Arya1i ation . . compound out !hen: ... Van Dvkc ~aid. ··When I hc·ard that thc · team in Kootenai County was will ing 10 come co Penn. . ylva nia - nut unly willing. but .i11x1ou" - we just jumped on it."

Stewart. Mend and Gissel will visit ...c,cral Pennsylvania commun ities grappling with hate groups, beginning 1oday through Thur:,day.

The trip give~ Pennsylvania a chance lll learn from Idaho's mistakl!s. And it gives Idaho a chunc1.: to r~·lkct on a long journey.

"Wc·n.: guing lO tell them the things we <lid right and the things we Jid wrong," said Mend, a Hayden Realtor and member of the task fo rce:.

Mencl said that in the "wrong" L ate2.orv. he'd focus on law enforcement a1id government. While fo rmt:r rnu111y pn; secutnr Glen Walker was "tllllgh as nails" on the Aryans, Mend ...aid. government shou ld have bee n luugher. " I think they were very sofl on thcsc pcople." Mend saiu. "I think they gnt away with a lot of bu ilding \'iolations."

Mend also said activi~ls should haw tried IO bankrupt the Aryans :i ftcr the 1986 bombi ng of a priest's homc. That priest. Bill Wassmuth. ,,·cnt on 10 fou nd the orthwest l 'oalition Aga inst Malicious Harass111cn1.

"At that point, wt: should have !.!one af1er them.'· Mend said. " Bill J idn't want to get the church involved in 11 at the time. bu t he said he looked hack on ii as the biggest mistake he cvcr mat.le. ··Whcn ::.omc1hing goes wrong, you 111.:cd to lilke act ion immediately.'· S1cwan said he ha:-. ,1 dii'fcrc.:11 1 pa"f)l'l't ivc.

0

UPCO M ING

Gissel journal This week, Coeur d'Alene attorney Norm Gissel will write about his experience helping Pennsylvania towns battle the racist Aryan Nations.

Excerpts from a journal kept by Gissel will run this week, starting Tuesday, in the Handle.

··1 think before you can have victory on a case. you have to have the right kind of case," he said. '· I don't think there's ever been a case: tha1·s as clearly defined as the Keenan case::."

Victoria and Jason Keenan are the mother and son who sued after being assaulted by Aryan Nations members on the road outside the group's compound in 1998. The Southern Poverty Law Center helped with the case.

As for law enforcement. Stewart said, "We had a lot of success.·· Walker got the first guilty plea under the malicious harassment statute, signed into law after the Aryans moved to North Idaho, he said.

And Kootenai County Sheriff Rocky Watson "did a super job in 1999 when the Aryans rented that space" at Farragu t State Park, Stewart continued. "He rented the section next to them, and all the firing ranges, so they were in a fishbowl.

And (Prosecutor) Bill Douglas got a plea bargain conviction on two of the three in the Keenan case. They went to prison.''

Both Mend and Stewart also poi1111::d to lhe Lemons to Lemonade program, held during one of the Aryans' parades in downcown Coeur d'Alene. For every minute the Nazis marched. human rights activists recruited pledges from the community.

The fundraiser netted more than $33,000. ·'They weren't real happy about that.'' Mend said.

The group has several stops planned throughout Pennsylvania.

Potter County, where they arrive on Tuesday, hosted the Aryan Nation World Congress last week.

Pennsylvania hate groups multi-

RE GI ON

Scon Smesflhe Spokesman.Review

Kathy Brotnov turns her back as the Aryan Nation supporters pass by her on Sherman Avenue during a march In Coeur d'Alene In July 1998. Anti-Aryan rallles were held In Coeur d'Alene and Spokane.

plied in the last decade, from 12 in 1990 to 56 in 1995, Van Dyke said.

Ttle list is down to 33 now.

Why Pennsylvania?

There's u long list of characteristics that make a community appeal to hate. she said.

• Fear and hostility to changing demographics. particu larly in areas that are mostly white and Christian. because the Aryans call themselves Christians. " It's not just rural," Van Dyke said. "We see it in some suburban areas."

• A strong sense of insiders and outsiders.

• Pockets of struggling economies.

• Existing problems that have people angry, feeling disenfranchised. ··111 Pennsylvania, we have more than our share of dumps, particu larly corporate waste facilities - the nice term for toxic dumps," Van Dyke said ... We've seen the Ku Klux Klan announce, 'We are the environmentalist Ku Klux Klan.' They come marching into town with green stripes on their sheets."

Klansmen then say they're defending the little man against big corporations and government. White people say they don't like the Klan. but they

like the idea of eradicating a dump.

So the Klan tells them that "Jews are running the corporation that runs the dump. and businesses were harmed by the dump. and your jobs were given to a black guy.'' Van Dyke said.

Silence about divt.!rsity is another characteristic. Community leaders and citizens don't deal with th!.! prejudice in eve ryday life. · " Instead, what they do when an egregious act of hatred comes is they say 'Oh, that was an isolated incident,'" Van Dyke said.

Those in North Idaho agree. One of their central messages is encouraging communities 10 speak up. to organize and promote democracy and diversiry as soon as hate groups hit town.

Even with the Aryan compound demolished in North Idaho, hate groups will thrive wherever they're allowed to, Gissel said. .. In a democracy such as ours, no had idea is eva fully laid to rest. and no good idea is ever fu lly embraced.'' he said.

• Winston Ross can be reached at (208) 765-7 132. or bye-mail at winstonr@spokesman.com.

Idahoans teach about tolerance Pennsylvanians want to hear how Panhandle beat Aryans

By Norm Glssel Special 10 77re Idaho Spokesma11-Review

PJTISBURGH - Two points raised by us were of particular interest to the Pittsburgh audience.

We observed that the Aryans in 1973 did not move to Idaho from Southern California for our weather, fishing, hunting, the job market or our ruraJ lifestyle. They moved here because they received cultural cues from us that suggested to the Aryans that we would welcome them with open arms.

They also believed that after receiving the "truth" as the Aryans asserted it, North Idahoans would gladly and willingly abandon basic American principles of freedom, equality, the rule of Jaw and the dignity and value of each individual.

The Aryans expected to rep I ace these great politicaJ Gissel values with hatred, fear, racism and a new religion caJled Christian Identity.

The Aryan Congress just completed its annuaJ convention in Potter County, Pa., and the citizens of Pittsburgh voiced their concern that the Aryans had similarly misunderstood the cultural message sent out by rural Pennsylvania.

We explained that the unanimous $6.3 millipn verdict by a 12-person jury of the Aryan Nation peers (in Kootenai County) immediately became an unmistakable cultural cue all by itself. It showed the Aryans and any other racist group looking for a new home that their views and attitudes would find no ¡acceptance or growth in the Inland Northwest.

The Pittsburgh group came back severaJ times to the extensive efforts of Kootenai County educators and others in North Idaho to teach about

RIGHTS CRUSADE

Nowwhat?

That's what Kootenai County human rights activists asked themselves two years ago when the Aryan Nations lost a $6.3 million jury verdict and started leaving town. The answer wasn't long in coming. Norm Gissel, Marshall Mend and Tony Stewart are busy as ever now coaching communities on how to deal with hate groups. This week, they're in Pennsylvania, sharing how the Inland Northwest fought the white supremacist movement for years- and finally won. On Sunday, Gissel, Mend and Stewart were at the University of Pittsburgh, where they spoke to more than 100 civil rights activists, citizens and state officials. Their appearance was sponsored by the Institute of Politics, the American Jewish Committee and the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission. The following excerpt is from a journal Gissel is keeping during the week's trip.

civil rights. Tony Stewart described the education experienced by many Kootenai County fifth-graders as they prepare for the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and a program put on by the fifth-graders themselves at North Idaho College.

Tony also reported on the regionwide teacher training that the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations bas funded in recent years as well as grants for educational materials to be used in the classroom for civil rights education.

The rest of the week we will be in different parts of rural Pennsylvania.

We are very interested in seeing if the warm reception that we received in Pittsburgh will be repeated elsewhere. â&#x20AC;˘ Norm Gissel Is a Coeur d'Alene attorney who worked with the Southern Poverty Law Center to win a Jury verdict against the Aryan Nations. The hate group now is trying to establish its headquarters In rural Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh lhbune-Review

•

Monday, Ju ly 29, 2002 Page B1 **

Idaho group warns of racism :N"eo-:N"azi sect seeks headquarters in state

By Anne Michaud TRIBUNE-REVIEW

The upswing of organized racist activity in Pennsylvania bas alarmed human rights groups so much that they kicked off a five-city speaking tour in Pittsburgh on Sunday to teach Pennsylvanians how to fight bigotry.

Three men with experience combatting neo-Nazi Aryan Nations in Idaho since 1973 spoke to an audi· ence of about 100 at the University of Pittsburgh. A faction of the Aryan Nations intends to establish a national headquarters in Potter County, north of State College, and hosted a three-day rally this weekend that drew more than 100 Nations members, Posse Comitatus followers, skinheads, Klansmen and hate rock bands.

"I want to apologize. When we kicked them out of Idaho, we had no idea they were going to come to Pennsylvania," said Marshall Mend, a businessman and a founder of the Kootenai County (Idaho) Human Relations Task Force.

The task force and supporters successfully sued Aryan Nations founder Richard Butler and won a $6.3 million judgment in 2000 that cost him his 40acre compound in northern Idaho. The compound has been renamed Peace Park, Mend said, but north· ern Idaho's image has not recovered.

"There are still people who will not come to Idaho because they think it's a haven for hatred," Mend said. "And nothing could be further from the truth."

The story the Idaho men told about how Aryan Nations established a foothold in their state was chilling.

Butler moved near the all-white city of Coeur d' A· lene (core-da-leen), and for several years, the organization was quiet, holding public speeches from time to time, said Norman Gissel, a lawyer who initiated the successful lawsuit against Butler. The group began to hold meetings to swell their ranks and eventually attracted 300 to 400 active members.

Not content with that, Butler began a prison ministry that invited felons who were being released to come to his compound to live for free, Gissel said.

The local crime rate soared. Aryan Nations ultimately helped launch The Order, perhaps the most notorious supremacist group in Amer ican history, which murdered, robbed banks and counterfeited until its leader Robert Mathews was killed in 1984 iJ1 a shootout with federal agents. Twenty-two Order members were jailed.

Fighting the neo-Nazi groups overtook Gissel's life and the lives of other task force members, Gissel said. "Our job, as we matured into this, consumed us," he said. "Other than our professions and our families, that's all we did for 15 to 20 years was fight the Nazis." · "This all-white community has a lot to say about civil rights," he said.

Tony Stewart, a political science professor with North Idaho College, the third guest speaker from Idaho, said they made a mistake early on believing that because the group was small it was benign.

"Never, never take the position that because there are few of them, they will not do harm," he said.

Reacting once in a while will not keep a community safe, he added. "Please, please never remain silent.

Please do not confine yourselves to a counter-rally, and please commit your life to the dignity of others."

Countering hate starts young, said Stewart, who recalled talking to the heart-broken mother of a

PLEASE SEE IDAH0/ 86

Idaho group warns of racism IDAHO FROM/Bl

racist skinhead. "She told me she never intended him to become a skinhead, but she realized she set the stage for that in the home," he said.

"She told me, 'We used that language at home, particularly against African-Americans."'

George Simmons, regional director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, said a vital step in combatting the spread of hatred is to report incidents to his organization, the American Jewish Committee, the National Conference for Community and Justice or a similar group.

Anne Michaud can be reached at amichaud@tribweb.com or (412) 380-5615.

Sidney L. Davis/Tribune-Review

Ann Van Dyke, of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, breaks down the different types of racial crime offenders at the William Pitt Student Union.

A4 THE PRESS Monday, July 29, 2002

Anti-hate group advises Pennsylvania communities COEUR d'ALENE (AP) A group acclaimed in northern Idaho as crusaders in the decades-long fight against the white supremacists have taken their expertise on the road to help communities in Pennsylvania.

'1t's becoming well-known nationally, what bas been accomplished here in Kootenai County and elsewhere in North Idaho," said Norm Gissel, an attorney and member of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.

The human rights activists have been in high demand since a $6.3 million civil verdict against Richard Butler and his white supremacist clan. The case revolved around a mother and son who sued after Aryan Nations members assaulted them on the road outside the group's compound in 1998.

The Southern Poverty Law Center helped with the case.

Gissel, Marshall Mend and Tony Stewart were invited to the state by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

Pennsylvania hate groups multiplied in the last decade, from 12 in 1990 to 56 in 1995, said Ann Van Dyke, a civil rights investigator for the commission. The list now is down to

33.

"All of us in this field have watched very closely as the Southern Poverty Law Center worked with the Kootenai County task force to shut down the Aryan Nations compound out there," Van Dyke said. "Wh en I beard that the team in Kootenai County was willing to come to Pennsylvania, not only willing but anxious, wejust jumped on

it"

THE .SEATTLE TIMES

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OPINION WEDNESDAY

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AYDEN, Idaho my guide to Peace Park and a longtime Eventua11l sh~ ~d, there will be a : -The faim human-rights advocate in Coeur d'Alene, place called the Human Rights Center, · · · · house was over this week are in Pennsylvania, where with exhibits and interpretive history of there~~ my guide ex- hate groups are trying to gain a foothold. the region's· fight against. hate, bu,t the plainecI.:. :rhe. barn was ,• The trio spok~ to citizens~a~o.ss PeIU1- .. first priority.is education:· Reed sees the there, ··the office nearby,' . sylvania, advising them on't community I task in simple terms: "It's how we treat the · watchtower beyond, · strategies f?r responding ~ jf?!?th. r~cti~e each other.'\ %• ,- . ·:: .' · i : near the edge of .t he field. • and , proa~ove • ~ys. N~~t~~ I~ • : Through.7its education program, the . , .: · Under those trees; he . headed to Flood.a; where he will deliver a center will partner with schools, colleges : said, pointing'in another direction, were similar message.\ c. • ·· ·· ,:.::·, , • and universities in ·Ea"stem'. Washington the dilapidated barracks where the skinThe most significant work, .howeve~ is·· and Northern idaho, and will reach out to' heads lived;;'~+ ~,: ·._ ,t: . being done where it all began. One unan- law-enforcement personnel, and civic and On a recent/ summer-perfect day, it swered question about tjle Aryan Nations business leaders. was hard to imagine that this lovely place, episode in North Idaho is:. Could it hap· : a J'.!l~dow ringed by_tall .trees ip the roll- pen again? ,· ·_., · · Carr's support goes beyond writing 1 '. ·mg hills of the Idaho Panhandle, was for Ongoing human-rights efforts are pre- big checks. He encouraged members of nearly three decades the headquarters of ventive medicine, inoculation against this the center committee and the Kootenai hate in the Northwest.\ region ever again becoming a haven for County Human Rights Task Force to visit Today, all that's left is a rickety wooden hate. human-rights centers around the country platform where Richard Butler, leader of At the outset, new efforts are being for ideas and inspiration. Several did, and the now-defunct Aryan Nations, once funded by Idaho native Greg Carr, now of Carr paid their way. stood to spew his vile message to a small Boston. He is sending some of the forVisiting a place is indeed instructive. band of misfit followers. tune he made at Prodigy, Inc. back home That's why I asked Reed and Stewart to Butler lost the property after a $6.3- to seed human-rights efforts and institume to Peace Park. · · million court judgment against him and tions across the state." · Standing in the shade of a tall pine the Aryan Nations two years ago. Since He purchased the',former Aryan Na- tree; I tried to imagine what Stewart was then, the notorious site has been tho- tions compound, spent )$25,000 on its describing: the concession stand marked roughly · cleansed. Last summer, local cleanup and gave it~ to the North Idaho with swastikas, the guardhouse with firefighters used it for training, burning College Foundation. Jhe college, based "whites only'''signs, crosses ablaze in the· the 10 buildings. lwo large,.healthy ever- in Coeur d'Alene, will'use it as an outdoor field, the poster of a'biracial couple being greens were removed because someone .. classroom and laboratory, possibly for po- used as target practice. . had carved swastikas in the their trunks:-' · litical-science lectures·· as well as enviOrt a glo!lous sunny day, that restful Today, the remote 20-acre parcel is ronmental study.' place refused to offer up its ghosts. I like genuinely deserving of its new name, Carr is funding the startup of a new or- to think they ·are gone, replaced by the Peace:Park. No longer harbor for hate, it ganization establishe4 to·create a ·.¥ energy, optimism and future focus of good now serves as silent testimony to a com- Rights Center in Cbeur d:Alene. · The people like Reed and Stewart. munity of people who fought hate, and center's mission is "to promote1 human · won. rights as an essential element of a just Mindy Cameron 's column But this story is far from over. Just as and successful democracy." i.l ·, appears alternate Wednesdays Peace Park is about the future, not the Carr has pledged $1 million over the ."'on editorial pages of The • past, human-rights. advocates around ne~ fiye years; local organizers expect to Times. E-mail her at . • • here are looking ahead, not back. raise another $2 millio~Mary Lou Reed, . mindycameron@earthlink.net ,~ They have learned a few things in a former state legislator and :veteran civic or write her c/o The Seattle i.. • their fight and they aim to teach others. activist in ~the region', is chaj.rman of the Times, P.O. :Box 70, Seattle, :. ' ~ee of them, including Tony Stewart, center committee. · WA 98111."' ~

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YORK D AILY RECO RD •

THURSDAY, AUGUST I, 2002

LOCAL Speak up, out against hate • Members of an Idaho human relations task force shared their experiences in York on Wednesday.

By MICHELE CANTY Daily Record staff

ler's actions and eventuall helped with a lawsuit that shut down his training complex.

"So much hate was taught there. Then (Butler's trainees) went out and established chapters across the country," said task force founding member Tony Stewart "I wish we had started this organization in 1973. ' Learn from us in that way - counter

Eight years later, as the leader of the Aryan Nations sent his troops out to spread When Robert Butler moved to an Idaho its mes age, the Kootanei County Human county in 1973, its residents watched and Relations Task Force was born. For the next waited as he eventually founded two white few decades, the group tried to counter Butsupremacist organizations.

See RACE, page 3C

YORK DAILY RECORD • THURSDAY, AUGUST I, 2002

Race Continued from JC

hate as soon as you can, ' Stewart said to a crowd of about 40 during a speech Wednesday night at the Unitarian UniversaJist Congregation of Yodc.

Stewart and Marshall Mend another founding member of the task force, and Norm Gissel, an attorney who worked closely with the Southern Poverty Law Center in the lawsuit against Aryan Nations, stopped in York as part of a Pennsylvania tour this week They offered suggestions to live communities on how to light hate groups.

In Idaho, the task force fought some of the same battles waged in York County in the la t eight months. Their neighborhood were peppered with white

supremacist fliers; their public buildings were used as meeting sites; their leaders were asked to debate leaders of the Aryan Nations and other groups.

where they can grow. Don't let them grow, Stewart said In January, racists and antiracist groups clashed in York.

The Kootanei County speakers commended the York City Human Relations Commission and other organization that reacted to the conflict by forming groups to combat the hate and promote diversity.

Another way to deal with these groups is to start at home. ' The first thing we have to do is work on the prejudices and bigotry we have within ourelves,' he said. "We have to get people involved, because this fight in never over."

Lastly, Stewart encouraged the crowd to join the fight for human rights.

'If you believe it deeply, you have to do it, no matter what the consequences, h,e said.

To fight, the task force held mini rallies. The group passed out orange ribbons that told white supremacists the community supported human rights.

They used a "Lemons to Lemonade" campaign that raised money for every minute Butler's group marched. In 1998, the campaign raised $35 000 that went to organizations and programs to promote diversity.

Task force members suggested York's leadership be proactive instead of reactive to hate groups. They also advised the community to take care of their disenfranchised youth and to speak out against bate whenever it surfaces.

"Remember, (hate groups) are on a hopping spree. They Reach Michele Canty at are trying to find a community 771 -2028 or mcanty@ydr.com.

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Saturday, Au01St 3, 2002 The Spokesman-Review Spokane, Wash/Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Activists confronting hate groups in Pennsylvania Nowwhat?

That's what Kootenai County human rights actlvists asked themselves two years ago when the A,yan Nations lost a $6.3 million jury verdict and started leaving town.

The answer wasn't long in coming. Norm Gissel, Marshall Mend and Tony Stewart are busy as ever now coaching communities on how to deal with hate groups. They spent this past week in Pennsylvania, sharing how the Inland Northwest fought the white supremacist movement for years - and finally won. Gissel, Mend and Stewart taught budding human rights activists In Pittsburgh, rural Westmoreland County, York, and Potter County, where the A,yan Nations is t,ying to establish its new headquarters. The following is a final excerpt from a journal Gissel kept during the trip.

Communities coached on how to cope with Alyan Nations

By Norm Glssel Special to the Spokesman-Review

YORK, Pa. - We met in the Unitarian Church.

Civil rights people in the West are aJways meeting in churches. Pennsylvanians are no different. Churches without the occasjonaJ civiJ rights meeting seem hollow; civiJ rights without churches would not exist.

York has had an active civil rights group for years. At this meeting, I explained a little of the history and development of the ideology of the Aryan Nations. It can be best explained by comparing beliefs with that of the Ku KJux Klan.

The Klan is not a religion unto itself. It recruits primarily from different Protes-

tant sects to the Klan, but the members take their originaJ religious beliefs and overlay them with the ideology of racial superiority.

The problem that the Klan has had for decades is that their superiors - the pastors of their churches - disagree with them and are nearly universaJ in their condemnation of the Klan.

The Aryan Nations, like the Klan, counts itself as deeply religious. Its members claim they are Christians.

The question from the York folks that engaged us for some time was a question that we had to answer for ourselves very early in the Kootenai County task force's life. Do you confront racists when they are having gatherings or marches?

We closely studied the history of the civil rights movement in the '50s and '60s, and particularly the strategy and tactics of Martin Luther l(jng Jr. He and bis group

'flee: (208) 765-7100, toll-free (800) 344-6718; fax (208) 344-6718; e-mail newsÂŽspokesman.com

never attended a Klan rally or a Klan march.

King was not in charge of the activities of the Klan, he could not predict what the Klan might be planning or willing to do, and in that sense he would have subjected himself and his followers to the mercy of the Klan.

This was not a good idea for l(jng versus the Klan and it was not a good idea for the Task Force versus the Aryan Nations.

That is why we have not and will not ever confront the Aryan Nations at any of its events.

â&#x20AC;˘ Norm Gissel is a Coeur d'Alene attorney who worked with the Southern Poverty Law Center to win a Ju,y verdict against the A,yan Nations. The hate group now is t,ying to establish Its headquarters in rural Pennsylvania.

Onllne regional news: www.spokesmanreview.com

OUR VIEW Decades ofbattling the A,yan Nations have produced invaluable know-how.

Exporting lessons of fight against hate

"' m UJ (!I

<

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Bill Wassmuth, former chairman of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, regrets he didn't sue the Aryan Nations in 1986 when supremacists bombed his home.

Maybe if he had, the dying human-rights leader has confided to friends, the racist organization wouldn't have survived another 15 years to inspire and propagate hatred and to besmirch North Ic;laho's reputation.

As they say, hindsight is 20-20.

On the other hand, local human-rights leaders didn't have a playbook to consult in the 1980s when bold racists began harassing the county' few minority group members. The human-rights leaders organized. They supported victims. They helped pass laws.

They made mistakes. In the process they became experts on bow communities should react when racists come calling.

Now. they·re exporti ng that knowledge. · Last week, Tony Stewart, Norm Gissel and Marshall Mend, veteran members of the venerable task force, were invited by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to share their war stories and advice in Pittsburgh and elsewhere. Like Kootenai County decades ago, Pennsylvania has been picked by racists as a place of refuge. The annual Aryan Nations congress, held for years on the rim rock above Hayden Lake, took place this summer in Potter County, Pa. The trip gave the three human-rights activists a chance to reflect on what worked and what didn't. We should, too: • Racism flourishes in a vacuum. If ignored. it'll grow rather than go away. Vincent Bertollini, an evangeHst of separatism, confirmed this point before he fled Sandpoint by grousing he'd never encountered such resistance to his message as he did in North Ida ho. , • An education program should be developed to teach schoolchildren that racism and hate are wrong.

• Strong state laws are needed to prosecute racists for wrongdoing and to provide civil remedies for their victims. After a mother and her son were assaulted by Aryan Nations security guards in July 1998, Idaho's tough human-rights laws enabled them lo ue the Aryans into bankruptcy.

• Racism should be resisted peacefully.

For two decades, the task force countered Aryan Nations congresses and parades with its own events, despite pressure from other human-rights groups and outside agitators to confront the racists. It refused to let the neo-Nazis set the agenda. Its Lemons to Lemonade drive, for example, raised $33,000 for human rights by accepting pledges for each minute the Aryans marched during their annual downtown Coeur d'Alene parade.

Pennsylvania doesn't have to repeat the mistakes our area made.

The playbook is written. All that others have to do is adapt it to their own set of circumstances.

D.F. Oliveria/ For the editorial board

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T::...~·e '-":.ts , o ·:iolence in Aorii .vht:1 ..\r:an :'-iatior.s :ounde:· Ricr., :-:.i 3utler - no srr:mger ro the Kootenai ~oup- - v:sitl!d York and 6a•;e a .;peech rn a dozen supnoners in from of the York Councy r ,Jur,house.

Rei.:er.tlv. Yon, Citv offidals reJe~t<?c ..i :-P.4uest from white Su'Jre:m,::ist Richard Barrete. lead;01· .,f ':Jfr:sissiooi-based ~ationali~t ~ovenent. ,o .1oic: a ·'Henry Schaad Da~_., rally, named after the .::r·· oolice officer who sw'fereci ·a fatal gunshot wound durini; the race riots of 1969.

Solidarity ?S key: Stewart, a politic:i.i science professor at ><onh ldaho CoUege. str~ssed rhe importance of commumry -o.iaar:ty.

Eo: sug-~ested that when hai,, ,;:·~~i):, ;;ome to ~own. local ~·e;;iaem"' shoulri not COnO---<>•M[e ' \'~Pl'P ·he\" aro 0 '" eng;g~""-the::{ -!~-- debates' o~ argumen:,ac. ">ut :o organize :i.t another location. something York Citv re:;1dems did when white ~aprem~c·:;ts en.me to York Cit:: ;n Ja:.unry.

"A c'.'lmmuni,:, is like a

fa:nilv - it can be functional or dys functional," he said. "A community can respond to hate and do a great job or they can become apathetic."

Stewart saw that apathy in Kootenai County. in rela~ion to Richai·d Butler: "For rvearsl ... we knew he was there and we just watched."

But that apathy ended in 1998. when Aryan Nations security guards chased and shot at a woman and her son after their car backfired near the compound.

Gissel took the case and brought in ::viorris Dees. the founder of the Southern Poveny Law Center , a civil rights organization based in :'vlontgomery. Ala. Two years later, the center won a $6.3 million jury verdict against the Aryan :1'\ ations, forcing Butler to give up the 20-acre compound.

Since 1979, the center has crippled some of the nation's largest white supremacist organizations by helping victims oi racist violence sue for monetary damages, according to the center's Web site.

"It's the nature of these people co need compounds, and its also their nature to commit egregious acts that give rise to these types of lawsuits." Gissel said. "So there';; always going to be the ootential for serious litigation against the Nazis."

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Communities urged to combat hate activity 8~ Am mdu I 1rom 1 RIBL NF.-RI \ If\\

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Although Pennsylvania ranks high among other states for documented hate cri mes and activities and the Aryan Nation maintains a stronghold in Potter County, the state has not lost the fight against hate.

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That's what three men from the Kootenai Task Force in northern Idaho told a group of about 60 people who gathered Monday night at the Greensburg YWCA at a seminar on how to fight hate in the community.

The group from Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, is in the region this week sharing the tale of bow its community kicked the Aryan Nation, a white supremacist group, out of town. "(Hate groups) can't own your community," said Tony Stewart, a political science professor and member of the Kootenai County (Idaho) Human Relations Task Force.

The task force launched a 20-year can1paign against members of the Aryan Nation, which built a 40-acre compound outside of Coeur D'Alene, said Norman Gissel, an attorney from Coeur D'Alene who helped bring a successful lawsuit against the Aryan Nation in 2000.

Idaho is now free of the neo-Nazis. But the group has since moved eastward to Potter County in north-central Pennsylvania. Last weekend, the group held an international conference on its 22-acre farm .

Van Dyke said hate groups are symptoms of a larger, deeper problem.

Pennsylvania reported more hate activity because some states do not document activity at all, she said.

During the past two years, the state documented activities of 32 white supremacist groups in 71 communities and two black supremacist groups. State poljce reported 43 hate-related crimes during the past two years, according to the Uniform Crime Report.

"It doesn't matter where we stand," Van Dyke said. "We are on notice here that we have a problem."

The three men from Idaho encouraged communities to bring visibility to their stand for human rights, to prosecute criminal offenders early and often and to not remain silent.

Stewart rattled off a long list of active measures the task force employed, including fund-raisers for educational programs, publjc meetings, and steps to encourage law enforcement and passage of tougher state laws against hate crimes. He encouraged the audience to make long-term plans to combat hate activity.

"You've got to saturate your community," he said. "Be creative."

Dan Bolef, 81 of Sewickley Township, said creativity helped rid Yukon of the Ku Klux Klan in 1997.

Members of the unity coalition in Yukon decided to unite the community by having picnics, dinners and concerts. And residents placed signs in their windows proclaiming that love, not hate, lives in Yukon.

The Westmoreland Unity Coalition, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commi ssion and the American Jewish Commission of Pittsburgh co-sponsored the seminar.

Ruth Woods of Greensburg said she learned that community members have to work together.

"We have to find out why we hate," she said.

Amanda Jacone can be reached al aiacone@tribweb.com or.

••••••••••••••••••

O BITUARIES Potter Coµnty Aryan Nations The passing of the Potter County Aryan Nations group was marked over the weekend by a wake held at the onetime "World Headquarters" in Ulys:;es.

A handful of close relations attended along with 75-100 o({lers who came simply for the entertainmem several hi!?h-orofile "skinhead" rock bands who were paid to perform at the event.

The group is survived locally by its erstwhile mouthpiece August Kreis, once dubbed the group's ·'Minister of Propaganda" who is now referred to by experts as simply "a community pest."

The festivities were cut short late Saturday night by a blast from the air horn of a neighbor's dump truck.

Heavy rains further dampened the · enthusiasm of the guests Sunday, and Kreis is now alone again with his family and "Ministe~ of Is lamic Liason" at the end of Cowburn Road, reportedly wondering if skinhead bands accept food stamps.

The Mercury

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Unity coalition sets anti-hate meeting Michelle Karas, mkaras@pottsmerc.com

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July 30, 2002

BOYERTOWN -- It was just five years ago that the Ku Klux Klan demonstrated monthly at the borough's most visible intersection: Reading and Philadelphia avenues.

In an effort to affirm activities that helped put a stop to that hate group's local recruiting efforts, and to keep at bay racist activity that has recently infiltrated nearby communities, the Boyertown Area Unity Coalition and the Reading Berks Human Relations Council are sponsoring a public meeting Thursday from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church, 45 N. Reading Ave. The meeting falls just a few days after the annual gathering of the Aryan Nations in Ulysses, Potter County, where the neo-Nazi group has a complex.

Three men who helped to successfully remove the Aryan Nations from part of Idaho will speak at Thursday's meeting as part of a tour of Pennsylvania towns to share their experience .

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"We need to hear what the guys from Idaho have to say because they got rid of the hate groups," said Susan E. George, education specialist for the Reading Berks Human Relations Council. "Evidently, some of these hate groups are active in Berks County. We must organize and speak out against such blatant hatred of non-whites and other non-traditional groups."

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As recently as March 2, racist propaganda from the National Alliance has been found in Reading Public Library books on such topics as civil rights, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , and Adolph Hitler. The National Alliance , a West Virginia-based neo- nazi movement, makes white supremacist literature available from its Web site, www.natvan.com.

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In Cumru in January, National Alliance recruitment fliers were thrown in yards.

Similar hate literature was distributed in a Blandon neighborhood in September 2001 , according to the Reading Berks Human Relations Council.

"We need people to speak up and say 'We're not going to have this in our neighborhood'," George said. ''You don't have to love your neighbor, but you do have to tolerate his beliefs."

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The council expects a crowd of about 50-100 people to attend Thursday's meeting .

"We expect some people from the hate groups, too," George said.

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Speakers include Marshall Mend and Dr. Tony Stewart, founding members of the human rights task force organized to combat the Aryan Nations in Kootenai County, Idaho. Norm Gissel, an Idaho attorney who worked on a lawsuit against the Aryan Nations will also speak.

Topics include organizing and maintaining a local human rights group, dealing with the impact of hate groups on the local economy, and understanding the hate group's focus on youth recruitment and use of the Internet, George said .

Ann Van Dyke of the state Human Relations Commission will speak about hate in Pennsylvania and what is being done throughout the state to fight bigotry.

"We're hoping to learn a lot from these folks," said Jen Schlegel, co-chairperson of the Boyertown Area Unity Coalition. "If someone with a viewpoint filled with hate does show up, these certainly would be the speakers to address them calmly and rationally. I don't anticipate that happening."

Schlegel noted the Idaho group successfully put to use the unity coalition's idea for Project Lemonade - raising money for human rights work by asking people to pledge money for the duration of a hate group's demonstration.

"Not only did this group make lemonade when life gave them lemons, they made lemon pie, lemon tea, etc.," Schlegel said. "Hating doesn't just go away because the figureheads leave town . These people will be able to help us find better ways to promote diversity." Š The Mercury 2002

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J Activist: Hat red must be rooted out Michelle Karas, mkaras@pottsmerc.com

August 02, 2002

BOYERTOWN -- "What can we do when racists come to town?" asked Marshall Mend, one of three human rights activists who spoke Thursday at St. John's Lutheran Church.

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A Pennsylvania State Police trooper stands by as members of the community turn out for an anti-hate group meeting that was held at the St John's Lutheran Church in Boyertown Thursday. Creighton photo.

"We all have our own prejudices and our own bigotry that we carry within ourselves." Mend said. "We need to search our own hearts and root out the racism and bigotry that we have within us."

Mend, a real estate broker, Norm Gissel, a lawyer, and Tony Stewart, a college professor, all from Idaho, were invited by the Boyertown Area Unity Coalition and the Reading Berks Human Relations Council to share their expertise in dealing with hate groups.

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They are members of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations known for precipitating a $6 million civil verdict against Richard Butler and his white supremacist clan in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho in 1998.

About 50 people attended the 2%-hour seminar, "Promoting Tolerance and Respect for Different Views in Berks County." No hate groups demonstrated against the gathering - an occurrence not ruled out by event sponsors.

If hate groups had shown up, the way to address them would have been through "good and democratic speech," Stewart said.

"We don't come here tonight to suggest to you we have all the answers," stewart said. "One of our greatest successes came from Boyertown."

The Idaho group successfully copied the unity coalition's Project Lemonade, which raised money for human rights work by asking people to pledge money during Ku Klux Klan demonstrations. Stewart's group raised more than $35,000 during a pro-Adolph Hitler march in Coeur D'Alene.

"What a victory - a peaceful victory for our community," he said, noting the community wasn't always peaceful in recent decades.

In 1973, Richard Butler came to Stewart's town and began building the Aryan Nations "world headquarters." In 1980, Aryan Nations members began -:--, committing hate crimes in the town , including bombings of a Jewish-owne.<:_J >( W business and a bi-racial famil'y'..

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In the 1980s, the hate crimes worsened, Stewart said. Aryan Nations members murdered a Jewish talk show host, robbed banks and counterfeited money.

They stockpiled cyanide to poison a major water supply and bombed the home of a pastor who was president of the human relations task force.

In response, the community had celebrations of human rights - picnics to celebrate equality, posters and billboards promoting tolerance. They "turned lemons to lemonade ," Stewart said .

"When these things happen in your community and you search yourself, you can come out of it a better community," he said , noting the hate group members were prosecuted for their crimes, and more than 30 are currently serving life sentences in prison.

"We did a good enough job to make the Aryan Nations move. We didn't do a good enough job to keep them out of Pennsylvania ," said Norm Gissel, the Idaho attorney.

Is there a threat in Boyertown?

"Berks County has a long history of Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nations activity," said Ann Van Dyke, a civil rights investigator for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission .

In Pennsylvania , there are currently 33 known hate groups, down from 56 in 1995, she said. These groups, which include the National Alliance and the World Church of the Creator, white supremacist groups, are very active on the Internet and in racist rock music, she said.

"You need to speak up, speak out," said Mend, the real estate broker. "Market your community. Let people know Boyertown is a community committed to human rights." Š The Mercury 2002

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Anti-hate rally works to stop forces of bigotry T /te (Vt e t" (. C/ Y'l

August 07, 2002

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One might wonder why the Boyertown Area Unity Coalition and the Reading Berks Human Relations Council felt the need to sponsor an anti-hate rally in Boyertown last week.

We've had no reports of acts of bigotry or of white supremacy rallies in this quiet Berks County borough or its surroundings.

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But the reality is that bigotry and racial prejudice are most dangerous when we are complacent.

That's why we commend the Unity Coalition and the county human relations council for sponsoring this event. Efforts to "root out racism and bigotry" begin with knowledge, and the meeting at St. John's Lutheran Church in Boyertown sought to provide knowledge.

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Guest speakers included Marshall Mend, a real estate broker; Norm Gissel , a lawyer; and Tony Stewart, a college professor. All are from Idaho. The three human rights activists talked about what communities should do to combat racism .

"We all have our own prejudices and our own bigotry that we carry within ourselves," Mend said. "We need to search our own hearts and root out the racism and bigotry that we have within us."

About 50 people attended the 21S-hour seminar, "Promoting Tolerance and Respect for Different Views in Berks County."

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"We don't come here tonight to suggest to you we have all the answers," Stewart said. In fact, he told the group that an example from Boyertown was a model for his own group in combating the white supremacists led by Richard Butler in Stewart's town in Idaho.

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The Idaho group successfully copied the Boyertown unity coalition's Project Lemonade, which raised money for human rights work by asking people to pledge money during Ku Klux Klan demonstrations. Stewart's group raised more than $35,000 during a pro-Adolph Hitler march in Coeur D'Alene.

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In 1973, Richard Butler came to Stewart's town and began building the Aryan Nations "world headquarters." In 1980, Aryan Nations members began ~on:1mitting h.ate. ~rim~s. i~ th~ town, including bombings of a Jewish-owned

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ln the 1980s, the hate crimes worsened , Stewart said. Aryan Nations members murdered a Jewish talk show host, robbed banks and counterfeited money.

They stockpiled cyanide to poison a major water supply and bombed the home of a pastor who was president of the human relations task force.

In response, the community had celebrations of human rights - picnics to celebrate equality, posters and billboards promoting tolerance. They "turned lemons to lemonade," Stewart said .

Berks County has a long history of Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nations activity, according to thePennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Recently, the Berks human relations council has become aware of racist threats and literature in parts of the county including Exeter.

While there has been no open activity in Boyertown, such as Klan demonstrations and literature of the past, there are no guarantees it won't resurface. In Pennsylvania , there are currently 33 known hate groups. These groups, which include the National Alliance and the World Church of the Creator, white supremacist groups, are very active on the Internet and in racist rock music.

The danger lurks, even if no one is standing on the street corner passing out leaflets. But Boyertown has proven itself a strong opponent. Last week's anti-hate rally was another way to maintain that strength and keep problems of bigotry out of our towns. Š The Mercury 2002

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AROUND IDAHO aclMm. I Anll-Aryan help Pel-,lvanla ll'OIIP COEUR D'ALENE - A group acclaimed in northern Idaho as crusaders in a decades-long fight agaimt white supremacists Im taken its expertise on the road to help communities in Pennsylvania "It's becoming well-known nationally what has been accomplished here in Kootenai County and elsewhere in North Idaho," said Norm Gissel, an attorney and member of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.

The activists have been in high demand since a $63 million civil verdict against Richard Butler and his white supremacist clan. The case involved a mother and son who sued after Aryan Nations members assaulted them outside the group's compound in 1998. The Southern Poverty Law Center helped with the case.

Gissel, Marshall Mend and Tony Stewart were invited to the state by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Pennsylvania hate groups multiplied in the last decade, from 12 in 1990 to S6 in ]9()5, said Ann Van Dyke, a civil rights investigator for the commission.

The list now is down to 33.

"All of us in this field have watched very closely as the Southern Poverty Law Center worked with the Kootenai County task force to shut down the Aryan Na-

tions compound out there," Van Dyke said. "When I heard that the team in Kootenai County was willing to come to Pennsylvania, not only willing but anxious, we just jumped on it."

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WednesdaY, Aue1St 14, 2002 Toe Spokesman-Review Spokane. Wash./Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

C L OS E T O H O M E • Cynthia Taggart

Rights leaders help in Pennsylvania MARSHALL MEND chilled Jewish Committee in Pittsburgh says he heard from Marshall. " It's because Richard Pennsylvania to its core.

Butler is so good with the media. One person He told listeners at the University of has created a picture of Idaho the whole Pittsburgh that Idaho has one of the most world has accepted."

And, Marshall warned his audience, progressive human rights records of all Pennsylvania could be next if the state stays states, yet people quickJy associate Idaho silent while the Aryan Nations tries to move with militias, racists and white power in.

"That really struck people," David says. groups.

"So why do you guys in Pennsylvania see Idaho this way when it's so different from reality?"" David Shtulman with the American

" People don't know what county Pittsburgh is in, but they know about Potter County now and what they know is the Aryan Nations is there."

Marshall, a Realtor in Hayden, was part of a threesome from the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations that visited Pennsylvania in late Ju ly to share Idaho's experience with white supremacists. He joined human rights activists Tony Stewart, a North Idaho College political science instructor, and Norm Gissel, an attorney who helped bankrupt the North Idaho-based

"The Aryan Nations World Congress in Potter County in July was kind of a nonevent.

But it ran for three days on CNN and Fox News.

fax (208) 344-6718; e-mail news@spokesman.com

Continued: Racism/ BB

Online regional news: www.spokesmanreview.com

Human rights leaders, from left, Tony Stewart, Nonn Glssel and Ma~hall Mend recently returned from a tour of Pennsylvania wflere they shared their experience In deallngwlth wfllte supremacists.

Jesse llnsley/The Spokesman-Review •

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Contact the North Idaho office: (208) 765-7100, toll-free (800) 344-6718:

Racism: Three leaders pass on ·their experiences Continued from 81

Aryan Nation two year ago.

David, the director of Pitt burgh' American Jewish Committee, invited them. Hi organization began a century ago for Jewish defen. e, but quickly expanded to defend human right for everyone.

A national expert on e>.1remi m teered David to Mar hall Tony and Norm after Aryan Nations organizer announced Potter County, Pa., a their new headquarter .

These guys are a national pre ence in their field, ' David ay .

And they bad a passionate tory of outwitting hatred to tell Penn ylvani~ns. , Tony et the cene by describing the peaceful Inland Northwe t in 1973, then the change a hate groups moved in. He talked about the tart of the ta k force in 19 J after a few indignant locals reacted to hate crime.

Norm de cribed the Chri tian Identity church that formed a other Christian churche e chewed the •white upremacist doctrine. He showed photo of the Adolf Hitler bu t in the church and the wall pla tered with Nazi po ter . One of those po ter from 1999 promoted the extermination of American vermin and featured an illustration of an atomic bomb blowing the World Trade Center tower to mithereen .

"People were hocked. Jt got very quiet,' Tony ays.

The North Idaho men urged Pennylvanians to learn from Idaho and ave themselve year of trial error and grief. They carried· their me age to five pot throughout the tate and encouraged potential human rights defender to include college and media a well a churche .

"They haven t reached out to all re ource ,' Tony ays. ' We told them you don 't succeed with two or three people. ' . .

Pennsylvania had 1t own good idea to pas on. Agencie throughout the tate meet monthly with the Human Relation Task Force to hare problem and di cuss olution .

'That really impre ed me, Tony ay . Idaho agencies communicate but not regularly altogether in the ame room. "I think everyone should do that.

David believe Penn ylvanian benefited from North Idaho' me age. .

'Like mo t people, they'll pro~, e them elves they'll act, then forget m a few days he ay . "But a few people will goo~ and that what it take .'

He know he can count on th Kootenai County Task Force for upport.

W came a tranger " Norm ay . 'We left a friend and aUie .

A4 THE PRESS Thursday, August 15, 2002

North Idaho

¡Human rights leaders help .dedicate memorial in Boise COEUR d'ALENE - Two J Coeur d'Alene residents will head to Boise Friday for the dedication of the new $1.5 million Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial.

Tony Stewart will represent North Idaho College and the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, while Mary Lou Reed will take part as board member for the Idaho Human Rights Stewart Education Center.

"It's a thrill to see what the human rights supporters in Boise have been able to do," Reed said. "It will be a stunning monument for human rights everywhere. It reflects a commitment from the entire community to further the cause of human rights that Anne Frank represents."

Gov. Dirk Kempthorne is expected to be at the dedication set for 10 a.m.

More than 3,000 people and businesses contributed to the memorial, which will be open free year-round.

'Toe fact that so many of Idaho's citizens and businesses want this memorial is a positive and encouraging statement about how the state values human rights," said Les Bock, executive director of the Idaho Human Reed Rights Education Center.

Post Falls Middle School was one of 42 schools in the state to raise money for the project The memorial will feature two ponds, three waterfalls, a 90-foot reading circle, an amphitheater and a life-size bronze sculpture of Anne Frank.

"All Idahoans should be proud that the city of Boise will host the first Anne Frank Mem01ial in the United States,'' Stewart said.

Associated Press

Construction worker Marcelino Chavez drills a piece of sandstone as he and others put the finishing touches on the new Anne Frank Human Rights M emorial in Boise Tuesday morning.

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Boise dedicates Anne Frank memorial Life-sized bronze sculpture funded with donations

By BetsyZ. Russell Stuffwriter

BOISE- Hundreds gathered amid waterfalls, reflecting ponds and engraved slabs of stone on Friday lo celebrate human rights and the message of Anne Frank, as the

first permanent memorial to the young Jewish Holocaust victim in the nation was dedicated.

"Look around and see what we have built together,'¡ said the Rev. Nancy Taylor. " We have figuxatively and literally chang~d the landscape

of Idaho's capital city to make room in our lives and in our hearts for human rights."

The new Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial was built through the contributions of more than 3,000 individuals and corporations. including schoolchildren across the state who collected coins to fund a $42,000 life-

sized bronze sculpture of Frank. ft will function as a classroom, a place of contemplation, a tourist attraction, a gathering place and a monument. Carefully selected quotes from human rights leaders throughout hjstory line the stone walls, and there's a writer's table and bronze replica of Anne Frank's Continued: Anne Frank/ A12

Anne Frank: New statue expected to draw 250,000 Continued from Al

diary, benches and reading areas, and the entire Universal Declaration of Human Rights, inscribed on stone.

Mary Lou Reed, a board member of the Idaho Human Rights Education Center, called the event an inspiration for the human rights center that's now being planned for Coeur d'Alene. "What we're seeing here is the culmination of seven years of planning and work," Reed said.

"We're just in our first year."

Greg Carr, the Idaho Falls native and high-tech entrepreneur whose substantial contributions kick-started both projects, said, "We ought to challenge the people of Kootenai County to get involved with Mary Lou's committee and do the same thing." Carr is the philanthropist who bought and razed the former Aryan Nations compound in Kootenai County.

Boise Mayor Brent Coles, who has worked on the Anne Frank project for years and whose city provided the riverbank land for the memorial, spoke emotionally. "We have shown the nation and the world that we as a state can come together around human rights;¡ he told the crowd of 400.

"Instead of being known as a state where human dignity is desecrated, we're a state where human dignity is uplifted."

Coles recalled reading Anne Frank's diary for the first time, when he was a child himself. The young girl detailed her experiences and feelings as she and other Jews hid Crom the Nazis in several cramped rooms above an office for 25 months. Finally, they were discovered and sent to concentration camps, where Anne died in 1945 at the age of 15. Her diary, published two years later, is one of the world's most widely read books, and tells of how, throughout her ordeal, she never lost her faith that people are basically good. " I was so intrigued by someone of my age who would write those words, and that her life would be taken so unjustly, that I never, ever forgot those words," Coles said, choking up.

"My life was never the same."

A traveling exhibit about Anne Frank drew more than 46,000 visitors in Boise in a single month in 1995, nearly 5 percent of the state's population. The visitors included 15,000 children. The outpouring of support led to the formation of the Idaho Human Rights Education Center, which began work on school curriculum, educational efforts and the permanent memorial.

A group of Boise women led by Taylor, Leslie Drake and Lisa Uhlmann thought up the project, and the idea grew. Ln the middle of fund raising for the $1 .5 million memorial, Coles recalled, "Lisa Uhlmann said to me, ' Mr. Mayor, J know of a man who has donated to the cause of human rights. He's from eastern

Idaho. You're from eastern Idaho.

Write him a letter.' So I wrote him a letter."

Coles heard back from Greg Carr two weeks later, with an apology for tardiness and an offer of half a million doUars.

In North Idaho, Carr has donated $1 million, and Reed's committee hopes to raise an additional $1.7 million.

Tony Stewart, a founding member of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, said, "When you build a center or something like this, it's going to last. ... There's a permanence to it. My dream has been that we'd do that in the north, something permanent."

A strategic plan for the North Idaho center has just been developed, with a theme of ''Choosing Democracy.'' The center wiU include information on human rights struggles internationally, nationally and locally, and will serve everyone from schoolchildren to tourists to research scholars. " What's exciting about that process is ifs just beginning," Caq said. . " People have to say, ' What sort of educational center do we want-?' '' ¡

As Carr chatted with a reporter, noted Boise philanthropist Velma Morrison stopped by and told him, "I want to talk to you about northern Idaho." The two set up a meeting for the same afternoon, causing a ripple of excitement among those working on the North Idaho center.

"When I heard that, I was just glowing," Stewart said. "It's contagious, I think."

Carr, who also funded a $3 million museum in bis hometown of Idaho Falls, said the process of building a human rights education center is just as significant as the center itself, because it involves the community in thinking about human rights and taking action.

Gov. Dirk Kempthorne recalled the words of an earlier Idaho governor, Moses Alexander, written in 1915 when he became the first Jewish governor elected in the United States. " My election proves the broad spirit and tolerance .. . and exalts Idaho in the estimation of the world at large as one of the spots on earth where the worth of men and women are equal and where they are entitled to live in the pursuit of happiness and an equal chance and opportunity for everyone."

Said Kempthorne, "This memorial once again proves the broad spirit of Idahoans. This is another step forward."

Carr agreed. "I think we have that heritage of getting along," be said. "I just think this response here demonstrates that!'

The new Boise memorial, which is open to the public for free and lies along the city's Greenbelt and between two popular city parks, is expected to draw 250,000 visitors a year. â&#x20AC;˘ Betsy Z. Russell can be reached at (208) 336-2854, or by e-mail at bzrussell@Rmci.net.

PhOIOS by JON M FlETCHER!The Ga1oesville SI.in

Santa Fe Community College President Jackson Sasser speaks to faculty and staff during planning day on Friday In the college gymnasium.

THE G AI NESVILLE S UN

LOCAL & STATE

SAT URDAY , A UGU~T 24, 200 2

8B

SFCC: Speaker took on hate group Continued from l B

described as "a campus of hate," today has been converted into a human rights center.

During an hour-long talk that transfixed his audience, Stewart recounted Butler's quartercentury of white-supremacist activities. He detailed a list of "vile" activities he said Butler orchestrated from his Coeur d'Alene headquarters, everything from producing racist literature for global distribution to murder and assault.

It was the Aryan Nations' violence directed at Jews , blacks and others in its own back yard that eventually galvanized community resistance to the group, Stewart said.

"From 1973 to 2000, we faced that evil," he said. "(Butler's) dream was to create a white enclave in Montana, Washington, Wyoming, Oregon and Idaho. At first, little was said because he was not very active in the community. But from the start we were researching who he was and what his organization was doing."

About 1980, Stewart said, Butler and 100 or so followers began a campaign of violence against Jews, bi-racial couples and others in the community.

Offshoot organizations, such as Order One, "Declared war on the country," he said, and engaged in murder, bank robbery and other crimes locally and across the country.

Stewart said that over the years the community's human rights committee fought Butler

It was the Aryan Nations' violence directed at â&#x20AC;˘ Jews, blacks and others In Its own back yard that eventually galvanized community resistance to the group, Tony Stewart said. in effective, non-violent ways.

One was the "lemons-tolemonade" strategy.

Whenever Butler and his group held a march in Coeur d'Alene, Stewart said, the community would pledge money for every minute the march lasted.

The money was put into a human-rights fund that sponsored a variety of activities to promote diversity and understanding.

"The first one raised $35,000," he said.

The effect of Butler's hate marches, Stewart said, was that the leader of the Aryan Nations was funding activities to promote human rights and dignity.

After selling the compound, a cell of the Aryan Nations eventually relocated to a county in Pennsylvania. Stewart said the Pennsylvania community is keeping an eye on the group a n d, inspi r ed by Coe u r d'Alene's success, is prepared to fight its racist agenda.

He said SFCC also can play a role in the struggle against hatred.

"All colleges have a moral and ethical obligation to stand up fo~the rights of every individual," he said.

Sasser said the college withheld Stewart's identity for his own protection during his brief

stay in Gainesville.

He said he became concerned about Stewart's safety after being advised that there existed in North Central Florida people sympathetic to Butler's philosophy.

After Stewart's talk - which ended in a long standing ovation - Sasser said he invited the Idahoan to be part of Friday's event because "I like to convene any program around a topic that is real." ¡ "This speaker, more than anyone I know, put his life on the line for a cause greater than any one sect whose goal was to create separation, racism and hatred," Sasser said. "There is no greater challenge a faculty has each day than to unleash the freedoms that the constitution and case law provide."

When Sasser said SFCC would pay him $1,000, Stewart - who charges no fees for his speaking appearances - said he would donate it to the human rights center back home. "l'm no hero," Stewart said~ "I simply did what I and others thought was the right thing to do."

Bob Arndorfer can be reached at 374-5042 or arndorb @

gvil/esun.com.

Weather \" Vol. 96 No. 29

4

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wocommun1 • eaaers 1e

1

a target of hate. Yet he persevered, and because of his efforts, Idaho today is no longer home to groups that espouse hatred and violence."

By BILL BULEY Wassmuth, a former Staff writ er Roman Catholic priest. died Ellensburg. Wash., after a COEUR d'ALENE - Bill Wassmuth, a ' in battle with amyotrophic lathuman rights leader and the man who led the eral sclerosis, or Lou fight in North Idaho against the Aryan Nations Gehrig's disease, which he and other hate groups, died late Tuesday. was diagnosed with about ii He was 61. two years ago.

"Bill was an early voice for human rights Wassmuth and human dignity in our state," said Gov. WASSMUTH continued on A2 Dirk Kempthorne. "He knew what it was to be

Wassmuth led fight against Aryan Nations

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sections

WASSMUTH

continued from A 1

Friends and colleagues recalled him as a determined, compassionate man with a keen sense of humor who was committed to social justice.

Even in his final days, when he was unable to move, he didn't lose his zest for life.

"Bill had a commitment and a passion for social justice, and he used his great talent both intellectually and spiritually to affect the minds, the hearts of many people. He really impacted the whole region," said Tony Stewart, a North Idaho College political science professor.

Stewart met Wassmuth when they started Hospice of North Idaho in 1981. They later served together on the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.

He said Wassmuth will be most remembered for his contributions to trying to end discrimination and promote human rights.

"I think that's his legacy," Stewart said Wednesday.

Wassmuth grew up in the tiny Idaho farm town of Greencreek, the second-oldest of nine brothers and sisters.

He graduated from St. Thomas Seminary in Kenmore, Wash., in 1963, and served in Caldwell, McCall and Boise. In 1979, he became parish priest at St. Pius X in Coeur d'Alene, a post he held until 1988.

Coeur d'Alene resident Ludwina Dime worked with Wassmuth at St. Pius and knew him for 30 years.

"He was a priest for our time," she said. "He could understand what people in practicing of their faith would go through."

Dirne said Wassmuth was a good listener ¡ and his sermons related to the lives of his congregation and provided direction for making the world a better place.

'That gave trust to the people. That's why people lis-

tened," she said. "He had an influence on many people, not only in the church but outside of the church. He was a person who loved people."

It was in Coeur d'Alene that Wassmuth also became an outspoken opponent of the Aryan Nations and organized opposition to the white supremacist group.

He paid a price for his activism.

In 1986, The Order, a splinter group of the racist organization, bombed his Coeur d'Alene home.

The bombing prompted him to move to Seattle, where he went on to head the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment.

There, he would continue the fight against hatred, helping communities raise awareness of human rights.

In 1989, he married artist Mary Francis Dondelinger.

They later moved to Ellensburg and started a publishing and consulting company.

During his career, he received numerous awards, including the Individual Initiative Award by the Justice Department and the William 0. Douglas Award from the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.

He co-authored the book "Hate is My Neighbor," which chronicles his experiences countering the impact of the Aryan Nations.

More recently, he worked behind the scenes to keep a criminal investigation active in the 1998 attack by three Aryan Nations security guards on Victoria and Jason Keenan.

The investigation resulted in the conviction and prison sentences for two attackers and was a precursor to the civil judgment that forced Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler to declare bankruptcy.

Morris Dees, chief trial counsel with the Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama, won that case with the help of a local legal team including Norm Gissel.

"Had it not been for Bill Wassmuth, I seriously doubt we would have ever gotten involved in the case," Dees said.

"I think the Northwest, and especially Idaho, owes him a great debt of gratitude," he said.

Marshall Mend, who also served on the Task Force on Human Relations with Wassmuth, called him a "great leader in the area of human rights."

"I never met a man who was more positive in my life than Bill Wassmuth," he said.

Mend said he will always remember Wassmuth for the quote, "Saying yes to human rights was the best way to say no to racism and bigotry."

He said Wassmuth changed the attitudes of people in the Northwest "He got them to look at things in a different light He kind of got people to search their own hearts and souls, and root out racism and bigotry."

Like Mend, Stewart said Wassmuth changed people's perceptions in and out of North Idaho.

"Bill was a major force in what we call changing culture, in this case to promote social justice," Stewart said.

"He was great at lifting people's consciousness and awareness."

Gissel, who met Wassmuth when they were serving on the human rights task force in 1984, praised him for his tireless efforts.

"I think the history books, when they get written on the Northwest, will say that in the '80s and '90s there was a tremendous revival and great energy in civil rights activists.

And I give a large measure of that to Bill Wassmuth."

Wassmuth will be cremated at his family's request, according to Ellensburg's Affordable Funeral Care, which was handling arrangements. A representative from St Pius said a local celebration of Wassmuth's life may be planned, pending a discussion with his family.

was an absolute joy to be with Ted Fox. I could write several pages about him."

Sue Thilo, who met Fox when she moved to Coeur d'Alene 17 years ago, considBy BILL BULEY ered him a role model and a Staff writer mentor in many ways. He was more than a doctor, she said, COEUR d'ALENE - Dr. E.R W. "Ted" Fox, referring to him as a caring, who served Coeur d'Alene for nearly six compassionate man. decades and was considered a community patriarch, died Wednesday.

"Many would agree he'll leave He was 93. a pretty big hole," she said.

"He was in every way an exceptional per- Fox "He's a fellow that never quit" son," said Dr. Bill Wood, who began working FOX continued on A2 closely with Fox in 1941. "In all those years it

Dr. Fox served region for nearly six decades

THURSDAY AUGUST 29, 2002 AN ED IT ION OF

1HB.5PoKESJIAN-RJMEW

Rights activist Bill Wassmuth dies Priest became Northwests premier voice against racism

By BIii Morlln and Cynthia Taggart Staffwriters

Bill Wassmuth, whose name became synonymous with the crusade against racism in the Northwest, died Tuesday in Ellensburg from complications of Lou Gehrig's disease.

He was 61.

Wassmuth was a North Idaho farm boy who became a well-known Roman Catholic priest and activist. He left the priesthood and Jed the fight against the Aryan Nations and other brands of hatred in the Pacific North-

INSIDE

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west.

''Bill was a brave soldier in the fight against life./A6 hate, " said Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala. Even after falling victim to the debilitating disease two years ago, Wassmuth remained upbeat, challenging others to continue the fight against bigotry and hatred.

"I'm not afraid of dying, and I'm chronicles North Idaho activist's

not afraid of what's in the hereafter," Wassmuth said earlier this year, shortly before he began permanently laking food through a tube.

When the disease later claimed his vocal cords, Wassmuth began writing crudely scrawled notes to communicate with friends, before his Limbs went limp.

He said he'd had "two successful careers" - one as a priest in Idaho and a second as a husband and the founding director of the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment.

Continued: BIii Wassmuth/ A6

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Bill Wassmuth:

Feared bigotry after Sept. 11 Continued from Al

" If I look at my life, and even though it's going to be cut short, I've had plenty of living that I've done," Wassmulh said.

The nonprofit human rights organization, formed under his guidance, now serves Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.

The coalition, based in Seattle, is made up of 100 smaller organizations and 2,500 individual members.

As its director, Wassmuth participated in 1997 in the first-ever White House Conference on Hate Crimes in Washington, D.C. He delivered speeches on human rights throughout the nation, and had a day named after him in Idaho.

Wassmuth retired from the Northwest Coalition in December 1999, but remained active in human rights circles, frequently consulting for others. The following year he learned he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, called Lou Gehrig's disease.

He spent his last days with his artist-wife, Mary Frances, at their modest central Washington home.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept.

11. Wassmuth said he hoped Americans wouldn't open a new vein of bigotry toward Muslims.

He spent time not dwelling on his terminal djsease, but rather on documenting his role in the fight for human rights over the past two decades.

He wrote a book on the subject, gave away many of his personal items and clothing, then helped plan his own memorial service.

IL will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. at St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church in Ellensburg.

At his wish, bis ashes will be scattered-in the Pacific Ocean.

In lieu of flowers, his fami ly asked for donations to local human rights organizations.

Associated Pre~

BIii Wassmuth looks at the damage done to his Coeur d'Alene home by a pipe bomb on Sept. 27, 1986.

Washington Gov. Gary Locke said Wassmuth demonstrated a "tireless commitment to human rights." . "B(II dedicated a great portion of his !1fe. to furthering peace and erad1catt~g .,the f~ces of bigotry," Locke said. In domg so, he demonstrated a tremendous amount of, courage and personal integrity."

Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne called Wassmuth ·'a bright beacon in the gloom of hatred and evil.··

DONATIONS

His cause lives on In lieu of nowers, the family of the late Bill Wassmuth requests that donations be made to "your local human rights organization."

Included on that list, the family says, is the newly formed Gonzaga Institute f6r Action Against Hate.

In central Washington, the family says donations can be made c/o Gallery One, 4081h North Pearl, Ellensburg, 98926.

" Hil> tireless effort , his work to motivate others, and his love of this state continued to the end,'' Kempthorne said.

The Idaho governor called Wa. smuth "an early voice for human rights and human dignity in our state." " He knew what it was to be a target of hate," Kempthorne said, referring 10 the 1986 bombing of Wassmuth 's Coeur d'Alene home by terrorists associated with the Aryan Nations.

Al that time, Wassmuth wa-; parish priest al St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church in Coeu r d'Alene, a post he accepted in 1979 after working as the director of education for the Diocese of Boise.

He came to Coeur d'Alene with an Afro, and became a quick hit with young people.

Al one church outing, Wassmurh arrived on water skis, but quickly donned his religious collar. On another occasion, he played a string bass with a pole stuck in an overturned washtub.

He joined the Kootenai County Ta k Force on Human Relations in

198-i, 1hree year., after ih forma1 ion.

When he announced in June 1988 that he was leaving the priesthood to

marry. his Coeur d'Alene congregation ga\'e him a standing ovation and urged him to ~lay.

Wassmuth said in his early years he held the tradition.ii view that sinncn; reach heaven through redemption. But hi, spirituality later became more holistic, and he said acting on social justice issues should become part of one\ "piritual life.

He married artist Mary Frances Dondclinger and moved to Seanle, where he was named in 1989 to head the human rights organization that he belie,ed could make a difference. ··t tc really left a legacy," said Eric Ward, the current executive director of the renamed Northwest Coalition for Human Dignity. Ward was attending the University of Oregon in 1990 when he met Wa\llmuth and became inspired by him. " I le really was a symbol of what can happen when individuals come together and speak out for what they believe is right. .. Ward said. ··t tc always did it with a grin,'' Ward remembered.

Marshall Mend, a founder of the Kootenai County human righh group, said Wassmuth "did more for civil rights in the Northwest than anyone else'' in modern times.

Norm Gisi.cl. another member, echoed those sentiments. " I don't know of anyone who has done more for his community and asked for le!>S than Bill Wassmuth,'' Gi~el said. ''The growth and vitality of the civil rights movement in the Northwest for the past 20 years was c~~scd in large measure by his v1s1on, energy and leaden,hip...

Task force founder Tony Stewart recalled that Wa,;smuth was in-

volved in founding a I lm,pice group in Coeur d'Alene before he got involved in human rights. " I instantly di!.covered that Bill had plL'ision for human beings and their need!!... Stewart said. '· He was a complete activist in the community," Stewart said. " I looked al him as a priest of the whole population.''

Stewart recalled a phone call from Wa--smuth ahout two years ago, \\ hen he told close frien~ he had the fatal d,..,ea,e. " I le wm, very upbeat," Stewart n.:called. " I le said was going to fight it...

But a, the disea. e progre cd, Ww·,smuth was unable to stand, ~valk.. cat or talk. He was hospital11cd 111 Ellensburg a few days ago with pneumonia. " I le still had a remarkable altitude,'' Stewart recalled. " I lc'd use humor. Al one point, he said, ' I'll sit in the sun. I'm nol woiried about ,kin cancer anymore.' ..

Mend, who abo visited Wassmuth in the last few months, said he joked that eating through a tobe wasn't so bad. " I used to think I wa,; a positive thinker, but he made me look like I was standing still,., Mend said.

Vince Lemus, the human rights ~~cialist for the city of Spokane, said Was.,muth "drew a new blueprint for human rights in the Northwest."

Ann Smart, a pari hioner at St. Pius X. said she visited Wm;..,nmth as he became confined to his home in Ellensburg. " I le was the most spiritual person I've ever met." Smart said. ··His spirituality wa<, um,toppable and he was such an inspiration down Lo the last time we visited him."

Another parishioner, Lidwin Dime, recalled meeting Wassmu1h in 1973 while he was diocesan director of religious education in Boise.

I le wanted to return to a pa~toral poM. When the bishop of Boise asked ~as.<,muth if he'd take the post at St. Pius X, he said he would if the parish council wanted him. " It was unusual." Dime recalled. "lie came to us, said, ' Herc I am, look me over.· Then he went back to the bishop and said, 'They want me, and I want them.'·· " I le was special. He loved people," Dime said. " He was a priest for ou r time. People trusted him because they knew he would under'itand them.''

When she laM visited him, Wassmuth tried hard to talk, hut couldn't.

•• 1tis spirit was so much al ive. But he wall prepared. I le was curiow, about the hereafter."

Page A6

Thursday, August 29, 2002

TIME LINE

Wassmuth's human rights work.

Bill Wassmuth through the years

January 1987 - City of Coeur d'Alene receives the first Wallenberg Civic Award in New York City, North Idaho's first national recognition for Its work to counter racism.

Wassmuth is among North Idaho residents accepting the award.

The life of Bill Wassrnuth. civil rights leader.

July 19, 1941 - Born to Henry and Isabelle Wassmuth, farmers in Green Creek, Idaho, pop. 30.

1963 - Bachelor's degree in philosophy, St. Thomas Seminary.

1967 - Master's degree in theology, St Thomas Seminary.

1972-79 - Works as director of education, Diocese of Boise, after two years as associate director.

1979 - Becomes pastor at St Pius X Catholic Church in Coeur d'Alene.

1984 -Appointed chairman of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, a civil rights group first formed in 1981 in response to harassment of a multiracial family.

October 1985 - Named Citizen of the Year by the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce.

January 1986 - Keynote speaker at Coeur d'Alene's first official Martin Luther King Day celebration.

July 1986 - Along with the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, works to oppose an annual Aryan Nations Congress, held near Coeur d'Alene.

September 1986 - Pipe bomb explodes at Wassmuth's home, causing extensive damage but no injuries. Authorities determine the bombing was carried out by racist extremists in retaliation for

Aprll 1987 - Four other states join the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations to form the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment. ¡ June 1988 - Wassmuth resigns his position as pastor at St. Pius X, leaves the priesthood and moves to Seattle. "I am choosing not to spend the rest of my life as a single person," he says.

January 1989 - Becomes the first . executive director of the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment, based in Seattle.

July 1989 - Marries Mary Frances Dondelinger in Seattle.

May 1991 - Helps stir Bonner County residents to establish their own human rights organization to fight racism.

May 1992 - Receives the Gleisman Award in Washington, D.C., for being a "catalyst of positive social change."

January 2000 - Retires as founding director of the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment.

Fall 2000 - Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.

Oct. 11, 2001 - Boise celebrates "Bill Wassmuth Day" after Boise Mayor Brent Coles calls Wassrnuth "a hero in word and deed."

From: Subject:

"Marilyn Shuler" <mshuler@rmci.net> _Front Page Idaho Statesman 8/29 Bill Wassmuth

CC: Date Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2002 9:35 AM

Human rights 'star' Bill Wassmuth dies Ex-priest formed coalition against Aryan Nations

Shawn Jacobson / The Spokesman Review file photo Bill Wassmuth died Tuesday in Ellensburg, Wash., after a battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. Wassmuth was a former Roman Catholic priest who became a leader in the fight against Aryan Nations and other hate groups . . Our View: A well-deserved legacy

Bill Wassmuth, who persuaded Idaho and regional leaders to confront racism after his Coeur d 'Alene home was bombed by white supremacists, has died.

Wassmuth, 61 , died late Tuesday in Ellensburg, Wash. , after a two-year fight with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig ,s disease.

Targeted by neo-Nazis after he organized opposition to the Aryan Nations, Wassmuth became a critical voice in making human rights a top priority of political and business leaders in Idaho.

After the 1986 bombing, he joined North Idaho College professor Tony Stewart and others in forming the six-state Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment, which Wassmuth directed from 1988 until his retirement in 1999.

On Wednesday, Stewart remembered Wassmuth 's resolve after the bombing.

"He said, Tony, this is very frightening, and I want to live a long life.

But I refuse to give up my work, and I will not live in fear, because that's not true living.' " Wassmuth spoke out against racism earlier that summer during the Aryan Nations , annual conference at the Hayden Lake compound of Richard Butler.

Butler called him "a closet Jew." Wassmuth was a priest living in the rectory at Pius X Catholic Church on Sept. 15, 1986, when a pipe bomb exploded at the kitchen door.

His attackers had planned to toss the bomb through his living room window and kill him, one later confessed. But they changed their minds. Wassmuth was shaken, but not injured.

The attack came after the murder of a Jewish talk-show host in Denver,

armored car robberies in California, a bombing at a Boise synagogue and other crimes that were part of a neo-Nazi movement aimed to make Idaho the center of a Northwest "Aryan homeland." Two weeks later, three more bombs exploded in Coeur d 'Alene businesses.

Wassmuth responded by organizing a rally to reconfirm the community 's commitment to human rights.

"It was a very scary time, and he was just fearless in continuing to speak out for human rights," said Marilyn Shuler, former executive director of the Idaho Human Rights Commission and a close friend. "He was a leader at the right place at the right time."

Soon after that, three of Butler's followers were arrested and later convicted of the bombing.

"Bill was an early voice for human rights and human dignity in our state," said Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, who spoke with Wassmuth last month about ideas for a more centralized human rights effort. "He knew what it was to be a target of hate. Yet he persevered, and because of his efforts, Idaho today is no longer home to groups that espouse hatred and violence."

Democratic candidate Jerry Brady knew Wassmuth well and contributed to the Northwest Coalition.

"Bill was a Christ-like figure," Brady said. "He redeemed Idaho from those who hate and set us on a higher path forward, thanks to his example."

Two years ago, after he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig' s disease, Wassmuth used a cane to climb the tower at the Aryan Nations compound in Hayden Lake, shortly before its demolition after the group was bankrupted by a lawsuit.

In 1999 he wrote a book, "Hate Is My Neighbor."

"Bill will be remembered as a star against discrimination in the state of Idaho for generations to come," said former Gov. John Evans, who traveled to Coeur d 'Alene after the 1986 bombing to boost efforts to oppose the nee-Nazis. "Thex were terrorists. We didn 't call them that then, but that's what they were. , Former Gov. Cecil Andrus said Wassmuth was successful because he forced people to confront their own prejudices. "He made some people uncomfortable.

But that helped, because he made them aware of the bigotry in the back of their heads."

John Purce of Pocatello, a former chairman of the Idaho chapter of the NAACP, was a founding member of the board of the Northwest Coalition. In the 1980s, Idaho's congressional delegation wasn 't doing enough to confront the hate groups in North Idaho, Purce said. Activists wanted to get all of the Northwest states involved.

Wassmuth was key to its success in getting political and business leaders to address racism . "His priestly vow of poverty was why it succeeded," Purce said. "He worked for practically nothing for several years."

Shuler said Wassmuth was tenacious and didn't shy from routine tasks such as compiling mailing lists. "When he'd come to town, I never worked so hard.

I'd say, 'Can we eat?' and he 'd say, 'I think I'll have popcorn.'"

Wassmuth was born in Greencreek in Idaho County, the second of nine children. He served 21 years as a priest in Caldwell, Boise and Coeur d'Alene, before leaving the priesthood in 1988 to marry his wife, Mary Frances.

He won many awards, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Idaho, the Raoul Wallenberg Civic Award from Seattle University, the Individual Initiative Award from the U.S. Justice Department, the William 0.

Douglas Award from the ACLU, the Martin Luther King Jr. Award from the National Education Association and The Idaho Statesman's 1987 Citizen of the Year.

Kathy Yamamoto, a former board member of the Northwest Coalition, was living in Hayden Lake when Wassmuth's home was bombed. A Japanese-American, she was frightened.

"Instead of doing what some people would do - hide under a rock - Bill had the courage to see opportunity in a vile act," Yamamoto said. "He had the courage to stand up and make this a rallying point to raise awareness about human rights in Idaho."

Yamamoto, who is now in Boise as human and civil rights coordinator for the Idaho Education Association, said Wassmuth 's example will live on.

"He leaves a legacy, and we all should take it as a personal responsibility to carry it on," she said.

Wassmuth's funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Ellensburg, Wash.

Edition Date: 08-29-2002

SE CTI ON

B

Wednesday, September 4, 2002 The Spokesman-Review Spokane, Wash/ Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Commitments renewed Bill Wassmuth smourners asked to look to his virtues

By BIii Morlln Staff writer

ELLENSBURG - Bill Wassmuth 's life will best be honored by people renewing their commitment to the virtues they saw in the human rights leader, speakers said Tuesday at his memorial service.

An estimated 500 people who attended the service for the 61-year-old former priest from Coeur d'Alene were asked to write their personal commitments on small pieces of paper.

The hand-written notes will be burned and the ashes commingled with Wassmuth's cremated remains, which will be scattered in the

Pacific Ocean.

Speaker~ remembered Wassmuth for his commitment to human rights, first in Kootenai County, then as director of the Northwest Coalitton Against Malicious Harassment.

Earlier, he fulfilled commitments to humanity as a priest at St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church in Coeur d'Alene, in education service to the Idaho Catholic Diocese and in helping found hospice care.

His sister, Carol Ann, who is a nun in the Benedictine Order, asked those gathered to pause and reflect before writing the notes.

Continued: Wassmuth/ B6

Page B6

Wednesday, September 4, 2002

REGION

Wassmuth: Refers to a bible verse Continued from Bl

She referred to a Bible verse, read to the audience, which urges each person to act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly.

"Each one of us needs to ask, 'What is my commitment? How do I live out these virtues? How do I love tenderly?' " Wassmuth died at home last week under hospice care after a two-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 61 .

In the final months of his life, he visited the ocean and gazed into the universe, recalled his friend, John Boonstra, executive director of the Washington Association of Churches.

As the two men discussed spirituality, Boonstra said Wassmuth adopted "wu wei," a philosophy to live more simply, letting go of ego and willingly floating into the unknown.

Another speaker, Gary Severin, said Wassmuth liked to talk about the essence of life. " His illness put a particular spin on that question," said Severin, who was ordained into the priesthood with Wassmuth in 1967.

After two violin solos, including " Amazing Grace," those in attendance were asked to come forward and reflect on Wassmuth.

" We're a better world because of Bill Wassmuth," said Tony Stewart, a founder of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Rights. " I've never known anyone so committed to humanity."

Before his involvement with human rights, Wassmuth worked with deprogramming young people involved with cults. " His work changed North Idaho," Stewart said, "and Bill Wassmuth became the spiritual leader of the Northw~t."

Buzz Arndt, of the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force, recalled Wassmuth's eagerness to come to Sandpoint several years ago to get that group formed.

"Within a month, we had the community

on fire," Arndt said of Wassmuth's grassroots organizing help.

Arndt said many people believe they are lucky if they meet a few good people. " We were enormously lucky to have had the opportunity to meet and work with somebody like Bill." ¡ Similar praise for Wassmuth's work came from Jim Perkins, of Colville, and Eric Ward, who now heads the Northwest Coalition.

The service concluded with Dusty Seyler, a member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, playing a solo drum and offering a Native American spiritual chanr.

"Thank you for saving our area from the hatred," Seyler said, looking skyward.

"Thank God for Bill Wassmuth."

The Spokesman-Review

MEMORIAL

Mass planned COEUR d'ALENE - St Pius XCatholic Church in Coeur d'Alene will hold a memorial mass for BIii Wassmuth at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12.

Wassmuth died Aug. 27 from complications of Lou Gehrig's disease. He served as pastor at St. Pius Xfrom 1979 to 1988.

Unveiling

Associated Press

Children pull the cover off a bronze statue of Holocaust victim Anne Frank at the dedication of the memorial In downtown Boise on Friday.

SATURDAY, AUGUST

Section 8: Obituaries 48

24, 2002

â&#x20AC;˘ Business 98 â&#x20AC;˘ Weather 128

TheGainesvilleSun

SFCC speaker helped to oust Aryan Nations

By BOB ARNDORFER Sun staff writer

peculation on the Santa Fe Community College campus about who Friday's mystery speaker would be ranged from Barbara Bush to John Travolta.

But during SFCC's kickoff for the fall semester, school President Jackson Sasser introduced Tony Stewart - not the NASCAR driver, but a bespectacled, balding man Sasser called "the bravest faculty member I've ever met."

Stewart is the political science professor from a smalJ Idaho community college who, after a 27-year struggle and threats on his life, helped drive the Aryan Nations hate group out of Idaho.

"In 1973, darkness came to us, evil came to our community," Stewart told an audience of about 500 faculty and staff gathered in SFCC's gym Friday during the college's planning day in advance of Monday's start of classes. "My message to you today is: Never remain silent in the face of hate.

Surely we learned that from Adolf Hitler."

Stewart teaches at North Idaho College, a 4,200-student campus in Coeur d'Alene in northwest Idaho. Long active in the human rights movement, he helped lead the opposition to the Nazi organization, which founder Richard Butler had established on 20

Tony Stewart, a politlcal science professor at North Idaho College, speaks Friday at SFCC to explain how he led a 27-year fight to disband an Aryan Nations hate group in Idaho. acres outside Coeur d'Alene in 1973.

Two years ago, through the persistent and often dangerous efforts of the Human Rights Task Force Stewart helped organize at North Idaho College, Butler's enterprise was forced to sell the compound - whose 10 buildings included a "church" where the

most prominent feature was a bust of Hitler.

After a lawsuit that resulted in a $6.3-million settlement that bankrupted the Aryan Nations, the compound ultimately became the property of the college. The former Aryan Nations headquarters, which Stewart once SFCC on Page BB

Fred Glienna says the world isgetting too crowded

to reject those who are different from us.

Embrace tolerance and welcome change Special ro Hmu/le fauo

T

heword "racism" entered the English language in 1936. according to Merriam-Webster Fred and Richard Gllenna Butler.

This may be the only correct point the discredited, displaced and bankrupt former leader of the Aryan Nations has made in more than 50 years. Ousted by his own followers, for whom there will never be a shortage of new nutcases to follow, and abandoned by his deep-pocketed backer who fled the country when faced with legal troubles of his own, the self-proclaimed '·pastor's" silence is a quiet relief to virtually everyone else m the Panhandle.

There is scant point in picking on Butler now. A wave of tolerant humanity. which could not subscribe to his nonsense and hatred, rejected him, and anyone remaining here who agrees with him maintains a very low profile.

Still, his observation about the word ··racism" is worth looking at.

Amid all tbe slaughter dotting humanity's bloody history- tribes wiped out. clan feuds, wars for territory, waves of hatred and despair - the English language found only fewer than 80 years ago a word to

represent the nonsensical be.lief that people vary in their worth, humanity and ability according to their genealogy, heritage or ethnicity.

We've certainly acted like racist~. even though we didn't have the precise word for the behavior.

We cannot airbrush Idaho's history, recent or not. Settlers and soldiers betrayed the indigenous people who bad lived here for thousands of years, and aspects of racism underlay their actions, even if the language did not have that precise word. It may be that we have some tendency in us to look at anyone different as a threat, a trait which has lost most of the value it had cons ago. Perhaps it does take a veneer of civilization to cause us to look beyond exterior differences.

But as that veneer coalesces, so do we continue to airbrush. Despite the enthusiasm with which local law enforcement went after the racist thugs in the '90s, there was still, to put it politely, some foot-dragging in the initial responses when the first supremacist incidents occurred to businesses and people. For that matter, the community response, of which we arc now so prideful, took its own time to awaken.

Idahoans tend to he tolerant, al least in so far as allowing people a wide sense of privacy. so if you want to be a fanatical separatist, go ahead and be one as long as you keep to yourself. This is the reason the cult of thugs wasn·1 run out of town five

minutes after it arrived. It perhaps is also the reason that vigorous opposition to the hate and stupidity was so long in coming, even when the racists turned to criminality, including vandalism, bombing and attempted murder.

It is easy to pound on the disgraced loons now but it was not so easy io earlier times, when quiet heroes like Norm Gissell, Tony Stewart and others spoke up in opposition, attending presentations wheQ they were greatly outnumbered by haters who would have gladly done them in if they could have done so and gotten away with it.

These champions of tolerance deserve the sublime satisfaction of speaking, as they have of late, to people who want to learn instead of audiences that want to scorn.

We must not forget their courage or the courage of others who stood so alone so few years ago.

At the same time we need to assess our latent tendencies to shrink from difference, to fear the strange and to bond with what is familiar. The world is too crowded and our interactions too complex to allow intolerance and rejection of people who have different cultures, colors, or religions.

The Panhandle gets less ·'white,. every year, and we can avoid bigotry and hatred by embracing tolerance and welcoming change. Then if, or when, another group of haters plants itself here in darkness, sunny humanism will cause them to wither.

There arc always new hatemongers who try to vacuum up dollars by spreading venom.

Economic and other social causes of racial strife are too complex to address here, but we will all do well to remember that we have much more in common than we have separating us.

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Memories flower

Brian Plonka photos/The Spokesman-Review

Holding flowers from the Wassmuth family garden, longtime friend Louise Lamontagne greets a friend before the service. Below, mementos of BIii Wassmuth's life and passion against racism.

A4 THE PRESS Friday, September 13, 2002

North Idaho

Remembering Wassmuth Friends to continue

for social justice."

Stewart urged the crowd to pay tribute to Wassmuth by ''You were his family in a very, very real continuing his life's work.

By BILL BULEY way. Bill became the person he was because "I hope you will make him Staff writer happy by working for human he had a loving community with him." rights and never, never stay COEUR d'ALENE - One - Carol W assmuth silent in the face of prejudice," by one, they stood to share he said. their stories of Bill Wassmuth.

The Rev. Roger I.a Chance They spoke of his spirit, his About 300 people filled the and helping communities raise said Wassmuth, through his compassion, his humor and pews at St. Pius X Church awareness of human rights. life, inspired people "to help his dedication.

Thursday for a memorial serHe co-authored the book, make the world a better place They talked of his commit- vice for Wassmuth, who died "Hate is My Neighbor," which to live in." ment to human rights, his Aug. 27 after a lengthy battle chronicles his experiences "Our friend Bill gave us fight against injustice and his with amyotrophic lateral scle- countering the impact of the many gifts," he said. battle for equality. rosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Aryan Nations.

I.a Chance said Wassmuth While Carol Ann He was 61.

His efforts will not be for- would call on his community Wassmuth said she appreciatWassmuth served as parish gotten. to use those gifts of love, kinded the love and respect shown priest at St. Pius X from 1979 "I'm the most lucky person ness, friendship and justice. for her brother, she said he to 1988. It was in Coeur to have spent so many years "Bill had a way of gently would want something more d'Alene where he became an together with Bill," said Tony challenging us to truly be betthan accolades. outspoken opponent of the Stewart ter human beings, to truly be He would call on his Aryan Nations and other racist Stewart, a North Idaho sisters and brothers to one friends, family and commu- organizations, to the point College political science another," he said. nity to continue doing what where his home was bombed teacher, served with Carol Wassmuth praised he showed them they could by his enemies in 1986.

Wassmuth on Hospice of the parish and the community do: Stand strong against In 1989, he moved to North Idaho, the Kootenai for supporting, loving and carprejudice. Rise up against Seattle, where he went on to County Task Force for Human ing for her brother. bigotry. Refuse to yield to head the Northwest Coalition Relations and the Northwest ''You were his family in a racism.

Against Malicious Coalition. very, very real way," she said.

"Bill would want us to roll Harassment There, he would He said Wassmuth "will "Bill became the person he up our sleeves and get to continue the fight against smile every time if you will do was because he had a loving work," she said. hatred, winning many awards what he wants you to do, fight community with him."

fighting injustice

OBIT(; \RIES

1LOS ,'\.'<GELES TIMES

*

SATURDAY. AUGUST 31. 1002

Bill Wassmuth, 61; Ex-Priest Led Anti-Hate Group, Helped to Bankrupt Aryan Nations By £LAINE WOO TIIIEHTAfF WRmlt

Bill Wassmuth. a former pnest who created one of the country's leading anti-hate orgaruz.iuons after members of the Aryan Nations firebombed lus Idaho home. died Tuesday tn Ellensburg, Wash. He was 61.

The cause of death was amyocropluc lateral sclerosis. the debilitating disorder commonly known as Lou Gelmg's disease.

Wassmuth was a Roman Catholic priest active 10 human ngbts campaigns when bis rectory-home and three other Sites in Coeur d'Alene. were bombed by members of the white supremacy group m 1986. No one was inJured. but four Aryan Na:ions members were convicted of the crim.es.

Undaunted by the attack.

Wassmuth heloe<I found the :-.ronhwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment. a six-state network of groups devoted to combating prejudice.

He played a central role in turrung public opiruon against the Aryan Nations. and was a key force behllld the 2000 civil lawsuit that bankrupted the group and closed Its compound in the north Idaho wtlderness. ·Jn mv book. he's a true hero." said Moins Dees, the legendary c:Vll n;:hts lawyer who tried the

case.

Wassmuth was raised on a farm 111 tmy Greencreek. Idaho. one of rune children m a devout Catholic fanuly. In Greencreek. be once Joked 111 an 111terview with the Seattle Times. "the only people of color I ever saw .. . were during the summer when the wheat farmers got tanned from riding their tractors.· He learned about tolerance and the difference one person can make from his father. who managed a community skating nnk. Some black ciuldren assigned to work at a r.earby Job Corps facility had lried to ,kate at t.he rink, but the townspeople

protested. The elder Wassmuth stood up to friends and neigh· bors and refused to discnnunate.

Wassmuth entered seminary tn eighth grade and was oniam~ in 1967, durmg the post-Vatican ll era of reform in the Catholic Church. After a penod serving in church posts around Idaho and worlong 111 religious education. ;ie wound up In 1979 as pansh priest at St. Plus X Church in Coeur d'Alene.

It was plam to his parishioners that be was no ordinary pnest.

Be was a bearded white guy who wore his hair Afro-style and fa. vored cowboy boots and a leather iacket over black robes and a clencal collar. He rode a motorcycle and water-skied with the town ·s youths.

Although not especially tall or physically commanding, be was a chansmauc speaker with a clear, resonant voice. His sermons attracted new worshipers. doubling the me of the parish to 800. Soon, a larger church was constructed, with mauve walls and pews built III a semicll'Cle around the altar.

While Wassmuth was buildmg lus parish. Richard Buller, founder of the Aryan Nations, was strengtherung lus operation.

Based at a 20-acre compound near Hayden Lake that he estal>ushed m the 1970s. the former Southern California aerospace worker was recruiting ex-felons to help him foment Jus war of hatred. He atlr.lcted supporters who agreed with his views: that Jews were descended from Sa· tan, that blacks were soulless descendants of ·mud people· and that white women who marned outside their race should die.

By the aud-'S0s, Butler's adherents were bemg arrested for an array of cnmmal act1Vtty-111· eluding bank robbenes and counterie1tmg-committed to support lus racist agenda.

In 1984. Wassmulb became head of t.he Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.

Onder lus leadership. the low-

8 I L L W .\ S S :\I U T B

The human rights activist was target of a 1986 bombing by Aryan Nations members.

He helped found a six-state netw0r1< of groucs dedicated to fighting prejudice.

profile group became a 'l!Slble force opposing the white su· premac1sts. Buller began railing against the task force-and Wassmuth 111 ;>articular-after the group r:illled against an annual cross-burrung at Butler's compound tn July 1986.

Two months later. on Sept. 16.

Wassmuth was tallong <ln ·he telephone when an explosion rocked the ranch-;cyle house that served JS the St. Pius rectory and lus home. He knew someone had JUSt tried to klll Jum. ·t had never m my life had anyone be angry enough to raise a fist at me. much less attempt to kill me; he told the Seattle 1'imes earlier this vear. ·t said to God: 'Now what?'~ "Man·: f~l: 1t '"'';l!! a u:ne to ludo." S:u,J ,Janlvn Shuler. former rlJrector oi the Idaho Human

'In my book, he1s a true hero. ... l had tremendous admiracion for

him. 1 Morris Dees. co-founder cf the Southern Povertf

Law Center Rights Comm1ss1on. who had met Wassmuth a few years earlier. "He Just said, ·~o. no. no.

We are gomg to conunue to soeak.' And he dJd that. even though he was targeted.· Striking out agamst Wass· muth "Was the worst mtStake [the Aryan Nauons] ever made: said Tony Stewan. a political sc11:mce professor at ~orth Idaho

College in Coeur d'Alene and Wassmuth's longtime fnend.

"Not only did it galvaruze t.'us commuruty. but it made Bill promme!lt uound the country.

He became a priest for ... people all over the Northwest. promoting social jusuce.• After the bombing. Wassmuth 1DV1ted Dees to Coeur d'Alene to discuss tht poSStbillty of legal ac· uon agamst the Aryan Nations.

Dees decided that he did not have enough eV1dence to !mk Butler to the crime, but he stayed in touch with Wassmuth over the ne.rt dozen years.

Wassmuth remained bead oi the county task force until 1988. when he made some dramatic personal changes. He left the priesthood and married a local arust. Mary F'rances Oondelln· ger. She survives him. along with seven siblings.

He also began discUSSions With other acaviSts about the need ior a broader alliance to Of>pose organized bigotry. He rooved to Seanle and became the first director oi the Northwe!t Coaliuon Agamst Malicious Harassment. It later merged with another group. becommg the ~orthwest Coalition for Human D1grur;y, covering Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Mon.tana, Colorado and Wyoming.

In 1998. a Native American woman named Vlctonan Keenan was tem)rized and her son, Ja. son. -;vas beaten by Aryan Nations secwity guards outside Butler's compound. They agreed to lend their names to a lawsuit intended to put BuUer and his group out of business.

Dees came back to Idaho from his Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery. Ala. "It was the memory of Bill Wassmuth and lus fight over the years against BuUer that made me want to come out there and fin· ish the fight." Dees told The Times this week. "l bad tremendous adnuration for him: The Keenan.s' lawsuit contended that Buller and t.he Aryan Nauons showe<l neg!.i· 6er.ce .n lunng and trammg :;ecunty ;uards. In late 2000. a iW'7 awarded ,J:e Keenans S6.3 million. wluch was believed to be the largest punitive damage award 111 Idaho lustory. Butler's compound was dismanUed and is bemg converted into a peace park.

Wassmuth retired in 1999, planning to do some public speaking on tole.ranee and renovate an old Victorian house he and lus Wlle had bought in Ef. lensburg. But the following year. he was cbagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, which atrophies the muscles and usually bnngs death ',Vlthm two to five years.

Although rapidly losing strength. he attended BuUer's tnal and savored the victory. ·He was so pleased." Shuler said. ·that justice was served.·

8 23

BILL BU LEY/ Press

Don and Mary Andersen take part in the opening procession for Bill Wassmuth's memorial service Thursday at St. Pius X Church in Coeur d'Alene.

New CD promotes area to businesses C9

â&#x20AC;˘I

I.OCGI North. Id.~ o

'!be Press, 'Ibursday, Sept. 19, 2002

For news or story ideas: Call City Editor Bill Buley at 664-8176 ext 2006; E-mail: bbuley@cdapress.com

Delegation seeks federal grant Money would help eliminate stigma COEUR d'ALENE - Idaho's congressional delegation is backing a $108,000 federal grant request from the Human Rights Education Foundation.

The foundation is working to undo years of negative publicity that the white supremacist Aryan Nations brought to the area.

In a letter to Leonard Smith, regional director of the Economic Development Administration in Seattle, U.S. Sens. Larry Craig and Mike Crapo joined U.S. Rep. Butch

Otter in expressing strong support dents and adults in North Idaho and for a $108,000 technical assistance throughout the Northwest grant being sought by the Human Greg Carr, a former Idaho resident Rights Education Foundation. and businessman, announced in "Economic development would January he was giving $1 million to the be greatly enhanced by the elimina- Human Rights Education Foundation tion of the undeser ved racist stigma to establish a human rights center in that has plagued this region for Coeur d'Alene. years. There is no better way to "The potential economic impact accomplish that goal than through of a world-class human rights ceneducation and the human rights ter in the Inland Northwest is moncenter would be at the forefront of umental," the congressional delegathat effor t," the delegation wrote. tion wrote in its letter to Smith.

The grant money being sought In seeking support for the effort, would enable the foundation to hire foundation board member Freeman personnel to develop a human Duncan said organizers anecdotal rights cen ter and broad-based edu- evidence suggests that many peocation programs available to stu- ple still avoid visiting or moving to

Idaho because of the racist label."

Tony Stewart, president of the board of directors for the Human Rights Education Foundation, said support from political, business and community leaders would be invaluable in making a reality of the project slogan, "Choosing Democracy."

"A lot of good companies have diverse work forces and it's very hard to recruit them because of the false image we have," said Stewarl, a political science professor at Nor th Idaho College. "When we become known for our human rights work, it will have an impact economically as well as philosophically and in people's beliefs."

The Press, Tuesday, Oct 8, 2002 For news or story ideas: Call City Editor Bill Buley at 664-8176 ext. 2006; E-mail: bbuley@cdapress.com

C7

Humanrights grouplooks for home Foundation considers former cultural center for education uses

By KEITH ERICKSON Staff writer COEUR d'ALENE - The former Coeur d'Alene Cultural Center adjacent to City Park may soon be home to the Kootenai County Human Rights Education Foundation.

Members of the foundation on Monday were given the go-ahead to pursue a feasibility study to occupy

the historic railroad substation adjacent to City Park.

"It's a wonderful location," said Tony Stewart, presiden t of the Human Rights Education Foundation board of directors.

Members of the foundation's site-selection subcommittee told the city's General Services Committee they would like to find a site by the end of the year and be operational in three to five years.

The vacated Cultural Center is among three of four sites being considered, said task force member Mary Lou Reed, who chairs the site selection committee.

The Human Rights Task Force

would use grant funding from the Carr Foundation and raise matching funds to renovate the building, Reed said.

The Carr Foundation last January gave the local human rights group $1 million to help establish an education center. The funding is spread over five years.

Human Rights Education Foundation member Sandy Emerson said the 5,000-square-foot building offers adequate space and a premium location.

Stewart agreed.

"Wherever we wind up, we need some visibility because we will be trying lo serve the people of the

Inland Northwest," he said.

In its dissolution notice to the city, Cultural Center board members said they hoped another organization "would carry on with the work of providing arts and culture for the community."

General Ser vices Committee Chairman Chris Copstead said the historic building would be a good home for the education foundation.

"My :first thought is that it makes sense - I like the idea," Copstead said.

The education foundation is consulting with a local engineer and contractor RIGHTS continued on C3

RIGHTS

continued from C1 to determine whether the building is structurally suitable.

University of Idaho architectural students have offered to perform an interior design review as a class project, Reed said.

Students would offer ideas for an exhibit hall, meeting rooms and administrative offices, Reed said in a letter to the city.

Formed in 1998, the Human Rights Education Foundation has temporary offices at the Coeur d'Alene Mines building, 505 Front Ave. The Human Rights Education Center is a "sister organization" of the Kootenai County Task Force on

Human Relations, Stewart said.

"In a very wonderful way, it's taken over the educational components of the task force," he said.

In other action Monday, the General Services Committee endorsed a draft law regulating development on hillsides.

The council in August passed an emergency law prohibiting developments on slopes greater than 15 percent. It expires in December.

The proposed ordinance, expected to be presented in December to the City Council, provides regulations to ensure development does not create soil erosion, slide damage or flooding problems.

Keith Erickson can be reached at 664-8176, ext. 2012, or kerickson@cdapress.com

Ex-priest led fight against ha~e groups in Northwest regret at not having taken legal action against those who attacked bis home, saying that he later groups in the Northwest, died at came to realize the importance home here on August 27 from court decisions have in destroycomplications of amyotrophic ing the power of hate groups. lateral sclerosis, also known as In the late 1980s, be left the Lou Gherig's Disease.

3 priesthood to marry He was 61. ~ and moved to Seattle, Wassmuth, a native where he became of Idaho and former director of the NorthCatholic priest, became west Coalition Against Malicious Harassment, pastor of St. Pius X now known as the Church in Coeur d'ANorthwest Coali tion lene in 1979, shortly before the Aryan for Human Dignity.

Nations and its leader Bill Wassmuth Throughout the years, Richard Butler established head- Wassmuth often collaborated quarters in nearby Hayden Lake. with Center staff to counter the From the beginning, the priest menacing influence of the Aryan was an outspoken critic of the Nations in the Northwest. He group and its presence in the also chaired a st ate advisory area. Appointed t o lead the committee for the U.S. Civil Kootenai County Task Force on Rights Commission, served on Human Relations in 1984, he the board of the Institute for helped mobilize local residents Action against Hate at Spokane's against growing hate activity in Gonzaga University and helped the area. He was also a strong fo und Idaho's Cult Awareness supporter of the Center's lawsuit Ce nter an d th e Hosp ice of against Butler and the Aryan North Idaho.

Nations, attending the Septem"We're a better world because ber 2000 trial each day and of Bill Wassmuth," said Tony encouraging community back- Stewart, a founder of the Kooteing for the Center's efforts. nai human relations task force.

"I've never known anyone so Wassmuth was 'brave soldier' committed to hum anity. H is "Bill was a brave soldier in work changed North Idaho, and the fight against hate," said Mor- Bill became the spiritual leader ris Dees, Center co-founder and of the Northwest." lead counsel in the Aryan The Northwest Coalition, Nations case. which Wassmuth directed until Though Wassmuth's actions 1999, continues to thrive today made him a target of hate activi- and is an active presence in Washty, including the 1986 bombing of ington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, his home, he continued to fight Wyoming and Colorado. His separatist groups and promote family asked that donations be human rights up until his death. made in his memory to a human In recent yea rs, he expressed rights organization.

LLENSBURG, WASH. -

Bill

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Monday, OctDber 28, 2002 The Spokesman-Review Spokane. Wash./Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

'Peace park' press beats Nazi press any day HUCKLEBERRIES 111e Spokesman-Review

V

al Anderson was pleasantly surprised while being treated at the National Cancer Institute to open the Washington Post- and read an uplifting story about our D.F. new"peace park." You know Ollverla it as the old Aryan Nations compound. Writer Timotby K. Beal visited ex-Hate CentraJ shortly after it was razed in 2001 and again last summer. In his piece, Beal describes a service to rededicate the ground to God and a participant's claim "she could hear the blood of countless victims of racial violence crying out from the trees, as though the place somehow bore the sins of the entire history of white racism." Sure, it's touchy-feely. But HuckJeberries'II take this kind of press over what we used to get when neo-Nazis were out there. Any time.

Shrinkage

HuckJeberries told you about AJbertsons new policy not to refer to chicken legs and thighs as "dark meat." Now, let's tum our attention to that white meat seen by the late shift running from Post Falls Super J on Oct. 19. Seems checkers heard a scream and saw two bare butts racing across the parking lot to a waiting rig.

E-mails a HuckJeberry Hound: "We think they were men. But it was cold out. So, it was hard to tell."

War Injury When the campaign is over, Dwight Smith plans to apply for a Purple Heart. He was knocking on doors in the Hayden Point area for commish wannabe Chris Copstead last Sunday when a dog raced from an open garage and bit him on the right hand. E-mails Dwight: "After the situation caJmed down, I wondered to myself if it was because I said the word, 'Independent,' and didn't say 'Republican.' " Good thing be didn' t say " Democrat."

1heBanl "The leaves faJJ aJways in this season/And it's not ours to know the reason/We can but hope it's no mistake/fhat sends us yearly out to rake" -The Bard of Sherman Avenue ("Autumn

Leaves").

Fan mall AJbertsons new P.C. policy re: "dark meat" didn't sit well with readers: "The breast should now be called 'chest meat.' Thighs should be called ' leg extension parts,' and the old reliable 'drumsticks' for legs. After all, we don't want to offend anyone by offering body parts" - Ron Hunt,.Sandpoint. . . "I wonder if the girl behind the counter would like it if someone said, 'Give me a little thigh, baby'?" - Mark Soderling, Hayden Lake ... "What are we suppose to say when the sun goes down?" greddoor49@aol.com. (Ah, it's unlight outside?)

Hear ye, hear ye Huckleberries hears . . . That CPD Blue Chief Tom Cronin crowed at the last staff meeting: "When I came here, these meetings were fi lled with gray heads. Now, most of those are gone, and this pleases me." (Wonder if the chief has looked in a mirror lately?) . . . That some goof has bolted signs for wannabe Charles Eberle to trees at Spokane and Poleline, about 8 feet off the ground. (Where's the sign police when you need them?) .. . That Repubs for

Demo It. gov. wannabe Bruce Perry don't have to sneak under the election radar by doughnating only $49.90. (The law, according to Shawn Keough for Senate treasurer Esther Gilchrist, allows turncoats to kick in a full $50 without disclosure) ... That maintenance workers at the new McEuen Terrace know when they find soap in the condo waterfalls that vandals have been around- again.

Huckleberrtes Ever mindful of his fiduciary duties, CEO Steve Battenschlag saw an opportunity when a large stink bug made a guest appearance at a recent Lake Pend Oreille School Board meeting: " Does that count as an ADA?" (Ah, mebbe Huckleberries shoulda told you ADA stands for "average daily attendance.") Onward ... Boundary County dispatchers got a kick out of the caller who wanted to know what night you are supposed to go trick-or-treating. (Hey, quit laughing; there are people out there who believe the Space Needle is now in Moses Lake) ... At Ul, Debbie Gray spotted this bumpersnicker: "My governor is dumber than your governor" ... Sez Commish Ron Rankin Continued: Huckleberries/ A7

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DECEMBER 2002

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Former Aryan property serves as educational lab to rest, to heal," said Tony Stewart, board member AYD EN LAKE, ID - The site where the Aryan Nations once taught their philosophy of bate of the Kootenai County Human Rights Task and violence is now used by North Idaho College Force. "The people who live nearby have been through so much for so many years to educate students about the region's i natural environment. When the head- i they're having peace now."

13 q uarters of Richard Butler's white By using the land as an outdoor labosupremacist group were burned to the ratory, NIC bas fowid a way to respect the ground last year, only native wildlife sanctity of the peace park, while also using it to meet students' educational needs. remained - creating what college officials envision as the perfect place for "Our students need learning laboraan outdoor laboratory. tories and we don't have a lot of proper"It is really exciting to use this for eduty offsite," said RayeUe Anderson, execucation because the things it's been used TonyStewart tive director of the NlC Foundation. for in the past haven't been very positive:' said Pam "Anytime we can have a natural setting where proGomes, a forestry and biology teacher at Coeur ductive research and training can occur, it's anothd' Alene's Lake City High School. Gomes joined a er benefit for our students." group of officials from North Idaho College (NIC) The land is currently being used in a botany who recently toured the property, looking for possi- course, and in the future it may be used by biology ble educational opportunities. and ecology courses, as well. The college also plans to teach political science students the history of the site.

Center's lawsuit lead to compound's closing Since the 2000 verdict, human rights activists in For over 25 years, the Aryan Nations used the the Coeur d'Alene area have made great strides in 20-acre site to hold annual congresses, shooting countering the effects of the Aryan Nations' prespractice and Sunday services where leader Richard ence in the region.

Butler delivered vitriolic white supremacist ser" Because of the Center and the trial, we're closing mons. Butler was forced to hand over his group's one chapter and opening a new one," Stewart said. property in September of 2000, after a successful That new chapter developed significantly with Center lawsuit resulted in a $6.3 million verdict the unveiling of Boise's Idaho Human Rights Anne against him and the Aryan Nations. Plaintiffs Vic- Fr ank Memorial in August. In addition, the to ria and Jason Keenan, area residents who were Human Rights Education Foundation plans to shot at and threatened by security guards at the build an edu cational center in Coeur d' Alene, compound, took possession of the land after the thanks to a million-dollar donation from Carr. jury awarded them damages. .

Other donations from Carr have also made possiGreg Carr, human rights advocate and former ble a University of Idaho lecture series, as well as chairman of Prodigy Inc., bought the compound an l L-foot granite monument depicting the Unifrom the Keenans a nd donated the site to the versaJ Declaration of Human Rights, donated to North Idaho College Foundation. ln a unique the city of Coeur d'Alene. training session last year, local fire departments set "It's like lifting a cloud from the area; locally, a series of fires to the compound, ultimately burn- people are feeling we don't have to read daily about ing all of its buildings to the ground. what's going on at the compound;' Stewart said of Carr stipulated that the donated land must the removal of Butler's compo und. "It's such a remain an undeveloped "peace park" for the next long, long struggle, and the Southern Poverty Law 20 years. "During that 20 years we want the land Center has been helpful aU the way through."

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Southern Poverty Law Center 400 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104 phone 334/956-8200 direct 334/956-8264 fax 334/956-8491 www.splcenter.org

HOT POTATOES

Rulnn snews- even in death 171e pokesma11-Review

I

n the end, Jewi h Defen e League crazy lrv Rubin lit his throat and threw himself onto a cell block 20 feet below. He liked to make a big pla h whether it came to killing him elf- or confronting the Aryan Nations at its Hayden Lake HQ with a bullhorn.

Rubin never regained consciou ness and died last week while awaiting trial on charge of plotting to blow up a D.F. mosque and a congressman's office. A loose cannon who Ollverla alienated main tream _Jew RubiJJ popped up in Kootenai County occa ionally to dis the Aryans- and to denounce the Kootenai County Ta k Force on Human Relation for not fighting racism harder. Now Rubin and the Aryan Nations are gone. But the ta k force lingers, like a good melody.

Did bomb scare relieve terrors of taking test?

Show me a student facing a make-or-break test and I II how you the culprit who called in the campu -clearing bomb scare at EWU Wedne day ... What would you get if you cro ed Newt Gingrich with Hillary Clinton?

A Libertarian who doesn't wear makeup ... French Frie (or, 5 U.S. Hou e Demo who oppo ed under God' pledge and wonder why their party is melting like Wicked Witch"): 1 Barney Frank of Massachusett ; 2, Michael Honda of California· 3 Pete Stark of California· 4, 'Baghdad Jim" McDermott of Washington; and 5 Bobby Scott of Virginia. F' hame.

D's answer prayers by lurching further left The election of lib-lefty U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelo i of Frisco a Hou e minority leader is proof that God answers prayers- for Repub . And that the D s are clueless in their analy i of the midterm election re ults that banded control of the federal government to Dubya & Co .... From the Peanut Gallery (and Ruthie John on of Hayden Lake re: my criticism of Tom Luna, the only failed GOP wanna-be who ran for a tatewide Idaho office): 'Where' Oliveria' compa ion for and understanding of a wonderful minority candidate? Kick them when they re down' eem to be Oliveria motto." Hot Potatoe : And your point i ? ... This edition of Hot Potatoe was brought to you by the No. 6. Or, the number of 15-year-old Boundary County boy who were cited last week for poaching. Or if these young lob bunters are chips off the old block the old block i rotten, too.

• D.F. Oliveria can be contacted at (800) 344-6718 or (208) 765-7125, or daveo@spokesman.com.

1111 1111

Leca North Idaho

The Press, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2002

I

For news or story ideas: Call City Editor BilJ Buley at E-mail: bbuley@cdapress.com

Activists want movement taken to next level diversity training for members of the Legislature and the executive branch.

Tony Stewart of the Kootenai

By BOB FICK County Task Force on Human Associated Press writer Relations said Idaho has made great achievements for human COEUR d'ALENE - Activists rights, including rejecting the believe Idaho's human rights con- white supremacist Aryan Nations. sciousness has been raised during But a few insensitive statements the past two decades as some of by a small minority of elected or the toughest anti-djscrimination community leaders can detract criminal laws anywhere were from accomplishments, Stewar t enacted. said.

But the state's nearly all-white For instance, one legislator said cadre of policy makers s till does he could identify gay men on s ight not reflect Idaho's population, they because they wear earrings, he say. said. Other lawmakers indicated "They don't seem to really know they don't see anything wrong with how offensive what they have said the word "squaw'' which many conis, " Lee Flinn of th e Idaho sider to be derogator y to American Women's Network said during Indian women.

Monday's human rights sympo"The bully pulpit should be used sium. to promote human rights - not go Flinn and others called for against them," Stewart said.

Community members call for human rights legislation

Les Bock of the Idaho Human Rights Education Center said Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has expressed support for the sensitivi ty sessions.

Kempthorne, who has made human rights and Idaho's fight to assure them a centerpiece of bis first term in office, participated in the sympos ium but because of another commitment left just as the focus turned to the problems that still must be addressed.

The community leaders, linked by video conference from Idaho Falls, Coeur d'Alene, Moscow and Boise, generally agreed to renew their attempts to extend coverage of the state's anti-discrimination and malicious harassment laws to the disabled and homosexuals and secure s ubpoena power fo r the Human Rights Commission in civil discrimination cases.

ACTIVISTS continued on C3

ACTIVISTS continued from C1

'The white population in this country is diminishing, and the need for workers is there," said Hector de I.eon, chairman of the Hispanic Education Task Force. 'This is reality. We need to deal with it."

Citing statistics showing Idaho has low wages, especial-

ly for women, and high poverty and hunger rates, the activists said economic inequity fuels bias and that emphasizing discrimination and race falls short of dealing with broader issue of human dignity.

'Toe underlying conditions that often prompt the display of hate and discrimination are often economic conditions," said Gary Payton, a member of the Bonner County Human

Rights Task Force.

The debate over how high the minimum wage should be should give way to efforts to establish a living wage that would be a major step toward reducing poverty, they said.

"It's amazing how few problems people who have good jobs have," Bock said. "So much of it turns on economics."

This winter, however, the activists will be :fighting policy

makers, faced with $160 million state budget deficit - or more - and little stomach for raising taxes.

But, Kelly Buckland of the Council for Independent Living said, "It's not just elected officials who are leading the community. It's business officials, CEO. We need to get business involved."

Staff writer Mike Mclean contributed to this report.

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Sports/Page 10

Nov. 26 ,2002

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Public Forum celebrates 31st vear Stewart broadcasts l,500th episode

by Shel Langan-Bailey - Staff wnter -

The NIC TV Public Forum celebrated its 31st year on the air in October. The halfhour show, which is filmed in Boswell H all, airs locally at 10 a.m. Sundays on KSPS - TV Channel 7.

The broadcast is also carried o n six other PBS regional sta tion, and can be seen all over the state of Ida ho, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Nevada, and in portions of Montana, British Columbia and AJberta.

"We've now done 1,500 shows," said Tony Stewart, the show's co-host a nd creator. The goal of the show is to simply inform the public. Every Sunday. Stewart a long with Coeur d'Alene attorney J anell Burke and Steve Schenk, former VP of College Re lations and D evelopment at NIC, sit down and talk with different guests. Burke has been on the forum for 29 years and this is Schenk's 17th year.

"Over the years we've talked to lots of

po litical people, poets, psychology experts. people in healthcare, even Pulitzer Prize winners," Stewart said as he looked over the forum's current schedule. "We've covered everything from civil rights to features on UFOs and Bigfoot."

Several years ago a portion of the NIC TV Public Porum about veterinary medicine aired on the national television program "That's lncredible."

"The fi rst off-spring of the famous horse Secretariat had a weak spine , so the doctors at Wasl1ington State University put a metal rod in the horse's back half." Stewart said. It was the first Lime this kind of surgery had . been successful.

Stewart said the most interesting show that he's ever done was in 1990 when he and the panel interviewed all five Idaho Supreme Court judges.

"This was the only time in history that all five judges sat down for a televised interview.

It was a unique moment," Stewart said with a smile. The e pisode commemorated the 100th anniversary of the court and can be checked out at the library.

Molstead has most of the shows o n video for students to watch. Not all of the episodes are cataloged; more than 1,000 a re on tape.

My focus is always students," Stewart said. " I just want them to know that if they're doing a project, papers, or research, they can use the show as a source."

NIC television production students use the foru m as a behind the scenes learning experience.

"It's a great opportunity for students to see what television studio production is reaUy all about," said J eff Crowe, the forum's director of production. Andy Finney is the show's executive producer.

"The whole idea of the show is two fold," Stewart explained. "A lot of neat people come through this area, and we can sha re them with the rest of the Northwest."

SecondJy, Stewart stressed that the forum serves as a research tool for the students.

The program, which is monitored by Nielsen ratings, appeals to students and professiona ls alike. According to Judy Schultz, a sales representative for KREM and KSPS, in July alone 2,000 persons age 18 and over in the Spokane/ Kootenai metro watched the forum.

Stewart concluded, "I don't know how much longer I'U be doing this, but I'm really proud of what we've done."

Robert Page/The Sen11net

Tony Stewart, moderator, and Janell Burke, panelist (right) enjoy a light moment with guest Denise Clark before taping the 1500th show of NIC's Public Forum.

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North Idaho

The Press, Friday, Jan. 10, 2003

For news or story ideas: Call City Editor Bill Buley at ~176 ext 2006; E-mail: bbuley@cdapress.com

College prepares holiday events Artist from Ireland to highlight program for human rights COEUR d'ALENE -The 18th annual celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr., holiday is scheduled 9:30 a.m. Jan. 17 at North Idaho College.

This year's theme is "Remember, Celebrate and Act" About 1,200 Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene fifth-graders are expected to attend the children's program ~t NIC. Artist Patrick Dunning of Dublin, Ireland, will highlight the program and will spend next week in the Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene school districts using art, music and technology to demonstrate human rights principles.

Dunning is the creator of the Signature Project, a large, digital mural that when displayed includes a musical performance that brings the tapestry to life with stories and images in the tradition of Irish artists. When completed in 2012, the mural will include more than 1 million signatures signed in acrylic paint expected to last hundreds of years.

A live performance brings the 76by-36-foot mural to life as the tapestry incorporates art and technology.

EVENTS continued on C2

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religious service celebrating the life and works of Dr. King. continued from C1 The church is at 625 E. Haycraft in Coeur d'Alene. A The live performance of the reception will follow the proSignature Project includes an gram and the service is free opportunity for audience and open to the public. members to add their signaAnother community event tures to the more than 300,000 designed to honor Martin people who have already Luther King, Jr., is the Kootenai signed the canvas.

County Task Force on Human The project will be on dis- Relations' gala at the Clark play at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at St Pius House Mansion in Hayden X Catholic Church and 'tVill Lake on Jan. 20. Tickets are coincide with the fifth annual available by calling 765-3932.

LiCill

The Press, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2003

For news or story ideas: Call City Editor Bill Buley at 664-8176 ext. 2006; &mail: bbuley@cdapress.com

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Tapestry weaves art, social message Signature-filled mural depicts images of life

By RICK THOMAS Staff writer COEUR d'ALENE -The Skyway Elementary School gymnasium rumbled and vibrated with the sound of rocket engines lifting the space shuttle into orbit Monday.

The roar launched fifth-graders into a world of sound, color and technological marvel.

"Isn't that an awesome sound?"

Patrick Dunning asked.

Dunning, originally from Dublin, Ireland, is the creator of the Signature Project, a digital tapestry that's been 10 years in the making, with another 10 to go.

"A signature is a work of art," said Dunning, who is showing portions of bis art this week to fifth-graders in Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls.

When completed in 2012, the 76by 36-foot digital mural will contain 1,008,016 signatures of those who have seen the presentation - signatures which themselves will be a component of the work.

The mural will be made up of 171 four-foot-square canvasses.

The signatures, in acrylic paint Dunning expects to last about 700 years, are enhanced by Dunning with additional layers, some only visible under ultraviolet light or X-ray.

Enhanced by music, the images change with the light. A picture of his father is made of Morse code dots and dashes which Dunning created aboard a Navy submarine

in Portland, Ore., where he now lives. The code spells out the recipe for Irish soda bread.

Other hidden images show the music score being played. One can-

vas i~ a few rays of the huge sun ~at 1s the work's centerpiece, and 1s made of the names of passengers TAPESTRY continued on C2

TAPESTRY continued from C1

aboard the jetliners that crashed into the World Trade Center.

"It was like I was trying to reach out to them," said Dunning.

Another canvas hides a device which picks up the magnetic field of his body and resonates sounds rang-

ing from deep to screeching, and he simulates a motorcycle running through the gears.

"The music touched me," said Stefanie Wolf, a fifth-grader visiting from Ramsey Elementary. "It made me think about things Jong since forgotten."

Fifth-grade teacher Linda Isaacson believes the kids who signed will be buying the CD version of the final

product in 10 years.

"He taps the potential of things I didn't think we had," she said. "It was inspiring."

Dunning will show his work to students at North Idaho College Friday morning during the celebration of the life of Martin Luther'I{ing Jr., and again at 7 p.m. at St Pius X Catholic Church at 625 E. Haycraft for the community to view and sign.

Left: Patrick Dunning shows student Samantha Sowinski, 10, where to sign her name to a canvas that will be used on the Signature Project as classmate Bethany Smith, 11, left, waits for her turn.

Below: Patrick Dunning stands in front of a projected version of the Signature Project.

JASON HUNT/Press

Kathy Plonka/The Spokesman-Review

Skyway Elementary fifth.grader Stephanie Crumb, front, signs the tapestry created by Irish artist Patrick Dunning, right, Monday after an assembly at the school In Coeur d'Alene.

CLOSE TO HOME â&#x20AC;˘ Cynthia Taggart

Illuminating art form shows universal spirit THE EARTH, SUN, MOON AND STARS need more than 1 million people to exist, at leas~ in Patrick Dunning's universe.

Patrick colJects signatures and, with the help of computers, stacks them tightly to create an image of the heavens. The color-coded signatures are invisible without the right technology, and the celestial scene isn't there without the signatures.

The mysterious artwork is Patrick's way of showing bow important the human spirit is to the universe despite how different.people are.

Pam Pratt, principal of Coeur d' Alene's Skyway Elementary, was astonished when she saw Patrick's Signature Project at a conference in Boise. She had to get him to Coeur d'Alene. " He shows how beautiful life can be," Pam says.

She convinced tbe Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations and its Human Rights Education Foundation that Patrick bas the perfect message for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. She was right.

"He touches everybody's heart, shows different cultures. that everyone's unique," says Shawna McFarland. She attended Patrick's program Monday at Skyway, where her daughter, Kaylee, is a fiftbgrader. Shawna's eyes were wide as silver dollars at the end the program, and she shook her head slowly in awe. "He teaches kids they can always find good in life."

Patrick regaled children in Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls schools all this week with his Signature Project.

He's also taking his creative talents to the public. He'll exhibit his work tonight at St. Pius X Catholic Church.

It's no wonder Pam couldn't resist Patrick's presentation. He's a natural-born Irish storyteller with a fascination with technology. He lives in Portland now but began Life in Dublin. A wee l rish lilt clings to his speech. His brother and mother are still in Ireland.

Patrick wanted to create a new art form and collaborate on a project with a million people. He found his chance in 1992 with digital scanning. lt opened up his world.

He produced a picture of the heavens, then had a computer subdivide the work and figure out how many signatures it would take to re-create it. The computer printed out 600 pages of directions and color codes.

As Patrick collected signatures, he gathered images - the butterfly breeder with his specimens of metallic ¡ blue and sunshine yellow; the paleontologist with her dinosaur skull; the woman who invented a camera for the space shuttle.

Patrick incorporated the images and sounds in a multimedia presentation be made even more riveting Contlnued: Close to Home/ BS

Page B8

Friday, January 17, 2003

REGION

Close to Home: Ultraviolet light

makes images visible at Skyway Continued from 81

with bis enthusiastic storytelling. He made everyday people captivating, and the children watching his presentation at Skyway were impatient to meet them all.

Then he added another twist. He painted an image of himself in phosphorous paint over the celestial scene. It's invisible until he shines an ultraviolet light on it. Thousands of snowflakes and flowers merge to create his image.

Patrick used the dots and dashes of Morse code in liquid metal to create an image of his father on one of the 171 segments that comprise the space scene. As an ultraviolet

IF YOU GO

Signature Project Patrick Dunning will present his Signature Project at 7 p.m. today at St Pius XCatholic Church, 625 Haycraft, in Coeur d'Alene. The public is invited. A religious service celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. will follow the presentation. Admission is free.

light exposed the image at Skyway, children gasped.

Then Patrick amazed them further by calling his brother, Brian

Dunning, a mus1c1an in lreland.

Brian and Patrick performed an Lrish luJlaby together on flute and guitar with studio-like sound as people's faces flashed on a screen next to Patrick. The 8,000 miles between the brothers seemed no separation at all. The kids were spellbound.

Patrick figures he'll collect the 1,008,016 signatures he needs for his tapestry by 2012. Some ohhose will come from the people he visits this week in Kootenai County. "l've never seen anything like it," says Shawna, who plans to attend Martin Luther King Jr. Day activities this morning at North Idaho College. "He's truly a gift from God." â&#x20AC;˘ Cynthia Taggart can be reached at 765-7128 or by e-mail at cynthiat@spokesman.com.

AN EDI TI O N OF

lltE .5Pc>lwilM.N-RfflEW

-REVIEW

SATURDAY JANUARY 18 , 2003

Kids honor King's memory, vision Program urges the principles ofdignity and respect toward others

By Marian WIison Corresponde/1/

Nervous chatter and tapping feet filled the North Idaho College auditorium Friday morning as 1,200 fifth-graders prepared for the 18th annual Human Rights Celebration.

A program of song, dance and speakers was prepared by students and faculty from 14 Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls schools to commemorate

the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. Sponsored by the Human Rights Education Foundation, the goal of the day was to emphasize the principles of dignity and respect toward others.

For Brianna Loper, 11, the day was a chance to enjoy representing her school with a speech and a dance and help make her school a more peaceful place.

"lt takes a great deal of courage to stand up for what's right," she said in her '¡I Believe'' statement, which was selected by her peers to be read in front of the packed auditorium.

Along with a group of Skyway Elementary classmates, Loper participated in an interpretive dance. Giving up recess for two weeks, waking up early and meeting before school to practice was worth the sacrifices, students said as they waited for their turn in the spotlight. Covered from head to toe in body stockings, the students shuffled Continued: Human

rights/ A9

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Spokane, Wash./ Coeur d'Alene. Idaho

FRO M THE schools, music speciaJist SaJJy Sorenson said that the annual program makes the teachings of King more reaJ for the students. Rather than reading about what he stood for, her classes have been singing and talking about his life's mission since before Christmas.

Continued from A1 Songs presented in the program, across the stage wearing shades of such as "Don't Laugh at Me" and turquoise, indigo and gold. They "Don't Say it Can't be Done," noted how different all of the colors remind children not to tease people were, just as each person is differ- who are different.

Eleven-year-old Katy Krieger ent. stayed calm as she waited for her Kathlene Withycombe, 11, said that although there is not much tum to represent Hayden Lake ethnic diversjty in her school, there Elementary with her speech. She is still trouble for kids who have was glad to share her idea to make her school more peaceful by creatproblems or disabilities.

"They get made fun of," she said. ing a workshop where people of "Our school tries to step in and stop different races can gather to talk and play. it."

She said that her school's peer A program at Skyway to combat bullying has given Withycombe and mediation program has given her her friends the tools they need to the courage to act when she witspeak up when name-calling or acts nesses acts of discrimination. ''When I see something, I try to of discrimination occur, she said.

The human rights celebration em- step in," she said. " I feel like I made phasized values that the school tea- a difference." ches, such as respect, dignity and For others, speaking out doesn't peaceful mediation. come easiJy. Charise Sarff, 10, was Leading a chorus group from chosen to represent Prairie View Winton and Sorensen elementary Elementary, but she admitted she

Human rights: Student given confidence to act

doesn' t care for public speaking.

She told the roomful of fifthgraders that people should strive to make others feel superior, not inferior. Sarff hoped that her experience on the stage would help her become the kind of person who is comfortable taking action when she hears name-calling or sees fights.

An estimated 21,000 fifth-graders have been through the human rights event to date in Coeur d' Alene.

Skyway's physical education teacher, Teri Hamilton, has helped with the program for the past six years and collaborated with her students to create this year's interpretive dance routine.

Since the younger generation didn't live through the civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s, Hamilton said that the teachers try to make King's lessons apply to today's world. She tells her dancers to recall those who came before them to make the world a better place and to use the day's energy to celebrate and act.

"It's the one thing you hope they remember from the fifth grade," she said. "We leave here and then say 'What are we doing next year?' "

-

Waiting to watch

Tom Davenport/The Spokesman-Review

Ponderosa Elementary fifth-grader Josh Sheppard waits for the 18th annual Human Rights Celebration to begin Friday at North Idaho College. Students from all over Kootenai County attended.

The Press, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2003

Champions of Freedom North Idaho students celebrate life, values of civil rights legend

By RICK THOMAS

Staff writer

COEUR d'ALENE - A celebration of freedom and diversity for and by kids marked the 18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Friday at North Idaho College.

Boswell Hall filled with about 1,200 fifth-graders from Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls for "Peaceful Works of HeART' to honor the life of the slain civil rights pioneer.

"It doesn't matter what color we are or what country we come from," said Bob Shamberg, principal of Sorensen Elementary.

"It doesn't matter if we have one or two, or four, or no parents," said Pam Pratt, Skyway Elementary principal. "Each of us is different The reason we are here today is that Martin Luther King preached nonviolence."

The students sang songs honoring King and danced to Irish music by Brian Dunning, brother of Patrick Dunning, whose "Signature Project" was shown to the children thls week.

Dunning said 1,400 people, mostly kids, in the area signed the work, which when finished in 10 years will be a 76-by-36-foot digital mural containing 1,008,016 acrylic signatures.

The project has been under way for 10 years.

"Persevere in all you do, even if it takes 20 years," said Shamberg.

'That is the message of Patrick Dunning."

Fourteen students stepped to the microphone with "I believe" statements.

"I will try to treat others the way

JASON HUNT/ Press

Fifth-grader Howard Lee stands with Judy Drake, assistant superintendent of the Coeur d'Alene School District, as he lights his candle from the Friendship Flame on Friday during the 18th annual human rights celebration, ÂťPeaceful Works of HeART," at North Idaho College.

I want to be treated," said Evan Lantzy.

"Martin Luther King fought with love, not hate," said Jami Cox. "Continue his work, fulfill his dream."

A Powerpoint presentation accompanied by the song, "I Have a Dream," told of King's dream of

equality for all and the troubled times in which he lived.

"He never lost sight of his dream," saidJ. Hagler. ''He used peaceful words of wisdom.

Everyone should take the time to be kind."

DIVERSITY continued on C8

DIVERSITY continued from C1 The children were encouraged to stand up for what is

right "He was the greatest man who fought for desegregation," said Katy Krieger.

The human rights celebration was sponsored by the

Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, the Human Rights Education Task Force, the Coeur d'Alene School District, the NIC Popcorn Forum and the

Coeur d'Alene Inn. On Monday there will be a gala at the Clark House Mansion in Hayden Lake to honor King. Tickets are available by calling 765-3932.

A4 THE PRESS Saturday, January 18, 2003

North Idaho

City, groups team up to target grant writer Position could raise up to $400K per year

By BILL BULEY Staff write r

COEUR d'ALENE - Toe city plans to join with two other groups to hire a grant writer who could bring in more than $1 million over the next three years for economic development, human rights and city services.

Victoria Bruno, project coordinator for Coeur d'Alene, said the position could be filled as soon as next month.

'There will be an opportunity

for all of us not only to have the expertise of someone who is ''We love being completely dedicated to grant writing, but who can help with able to do it in finding places to look for concert with the grants." she said.

The City Council on Tuesday city and the LCDC." will be asked to approve the - Mary Lou Reed, three-year agreement between chairwoman of the Human the city, the Lake City Rights Center Committee Development Corporation and the Human Rights Education Foundation. even the expertise to do grants," Bruno said none of them she said Friday. have a dedicated grant writer.

But an expe1ienced grant 'They are involved in so writer could provide the skills to many other things that they get federal, state and private don't have the time or really grants that could total in the range of $300,000 to $400,000 a year - money they are currently missing out on.

"1l1at would be more than 10

1

times this person's salary," Bruno said.

The city, LCDC and the foundation would pay a grant writer an annual salary of $35,000. The yearly cost, however, would be $47,250, including administrative expenses.

In the first two years, the LCDC, which focuses on economic development, would pay $18,900, the city $16,538 and the foundation $11,812. In the third year, costs would be determined by a formula tied to grant proceeds received by each party.

All three would vote on which projects the writer would work on.

The Panhandle Area Council would hire and house the grant writer, and administer the grants.

Tony Berns, LCDC executive director, said a grant writer would help acquire "unknown, unforeseen funds to help us on our mission. The LCDC does not have that expertise on staff."

He said the proposal has been in the works since last summer, and was the idea of Jim Elder, LCDC board member.

"He worked hard to make this happen," Berns said.

Bruno said the city has applied for and received grants in the past "However, due to the time needed to prepare grants, many funding opportunities are lost to the city, because not enough time can be dedicated to the needs of this specialized activity," she wrote in a memo to the council.

Mary Lou Reed, chairwoman of the Human Rights Center Committee, said the group wants to go after foundation grants to help put together a human rights program that would include a director and a new center. ''We love being able to do it in concert with the city and the LCDC," she said. ''This is a great arrangement It means we will all share the costs and we certainly hope that we will be rewarded by some foundations who feel we have worthy causes."

If the City Council approves the agreement, Bruno said PAC will advertise the job next week and could hire someone next month.

The council meets 6 p.m.

Tuesday at City Hall.

COIUR

LINI Tuesday Jan.21,2003

Social prog needs growth King's legacy serves as catalyst for civil rights By scan REEVES Staff writer HAYDEN- Dr. Martin Luther King laid the foundation for great social progress, but each step forward reminds us of how far the nation

must yet go, members of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations said Monday.

Task force members and supporters gathJASON HUNT/Press ered at the Clark House to reflect on the meaning of King's life. The informal evening includ- Tony Stewart, center, a member of the board of directors ed a silent auction to raise money to support the of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, task force's projects, including educational pro- talked with fellow board member Michelle Fink and Bill grams, scholarships and field trips for students Douglas, Kootenai County prosecutor, M onday at a silent auction held at the Clark House in Hayden.

PROGRESS continued on A3

PROGRESS

cont inued from A 1

as well as teachers.

"In both word and action, Dr. King taught us about the dignity of all hwnan beings," said Tony Stewart, a political science instructor at North Idaho College. "He taught us that people should not be judged on factors such as race or gender, but by the content of their character.

We must strive to eradicate bigotry and prejudice worldwide."

In short, we have not yet arrived at the Promised Land that King dreamed about "If Dr. King were alive today, I think he'd appreciate that we've made serious efforts to educate people from all backgrounds," Stewart said.

Norm Gissel, an attorney and task force member, said King's message has great meaning in the Inland Pacific Northwest "For us, the legacy of Dr. King is that we will define people as Americans regardless of race

or religion," he said. ''You can't parse out one group in prefer-

ence of another and have a healthy democracy and culture.

We must include everyone.

That's Dr. King's legacy."

King was born Michael Luther King on Jan. 15, 1929, one of three children of Martin Luther King Sr., pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and Alberta King, a former school teacher. He was renamed Martin when he was about 6 years old.

After completing divinity schooL King served as pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala He organized a 382-day boycott of the city's segregated bus lines. The U.S. Supreme Court later declared segregated public services unconstitutional.

In 1957, King organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and became its first president He traveled to 1ndia fu 1960 and upon his return became co-pastor with his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

King preached - and prac-

ticed non-violence. His "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" defined his beliefs and goals.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

King may be best remembered for his "I have a dream" speech delivered Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C. In part, King said: "I still have a dream. ''It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream.

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. ''We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal...

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character...

"When we l_t;t freedom ring, when we ~ i q from every teliement',IW;tfery hamlet, from~~ d every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews

and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing the words of the old spiritual, 'Free at last, free at last Thank God Almighty, we are free at last' " King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn.

He had traveled to the city to support striking garbagemen who sought union representation and higher wages. King's murder sparked nationwide rioting and looting.

Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., introduced legislation for a holiday honoring King four days after he was shot President Reagan signed the bill into law in 1983.

In a compromise, the holiday was moved to the third Monday in January. King's birthday, January 15, was considered too close to Christmas and New Year's Day. Arizona voters approved the holiday in 1992 after a l'hreatened towi~ poycott In 1999, New ~ changed the nan1e to Martin Luther King Jr. Day from Civil Rights Day.

Rights events

begin Wednesday

By Kevin Taylor Stuff writer

The first of several events scheduled to mark Human Rights Month in North Idaho will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, when the Human Rights Education Foundation hosts an open house in its new office in Coeur d'Alene.

The foundation is the educational arm of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, the group that was instrumental in confronting violent activities by the Aryan Nations. The open house will be at the foundation's office in the Coeur d'Alene Mines Building, 505 Front Ave. The foundation has been working on plans to build a human rights center in Coeur d'Alene, made possible by a $1 million gift from the Gregory C. Carr Foundation.

Later in March, North Idaho College's 33rd annual Popcorn Forum also will have a human right,; theme.

The weeklong Popcorn Forum, with events at NIC and Gonzaga University in Spokane, will explore the topic "Confronting Hate: Humanity's Greatest Challenge" with events March 22 and March 24-29.

The events, which are free, will include concerts, dance, theater, workshops, panel discussions and speakers from around the country. A detailed program of events is available by mail from NIC's College Relations Department. Call (208) 769-7764 for information.

The theme of the sixth annual Human Rights Banquet, scheduled for 6 p.m. March 29 at the Coeur d'Alene Inn, will be "Promoting Diversity in Corporate America."

Mike McGavick, CEO of Seattle-based Safeco Insurance, will be the keynote speaker. Tickets for the banquet are $25. CaJI (208) 664-3564 or mail checks to P.O. Box 2725, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83816.

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tion, concert, dance performance, and luncheon for Inland Northwest college student body government leaders.

All events are free and open to the public. A detailed program of the week's events is available by mail by calling the NIC College Relations Office at 769-7764. â&#x20AC;˘ Sixth Annual Human Rights Banquet, 6 p.m.

Thursday, March 29, The Coeur d'Alene Inn. The Human Rights Education Foundation and the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations are co-sponsoring this evening which is dedicated to celebrating human rights achievements throughout the Inland Northwest. Several individuals and organizations will be recognized for their contributions.

The theme of this year's banquet is "Promoting Diversity in Corporate America."

Mike McGavick, CEO, president and chairman of the board for SAFECO, will be the featured speaker. He has been the leader in designing and implementing a new and successful diversity program for the $7 billion insurance company based in Seattle.

The Human Rights Banquet will begin at 7 p.m. following a no-host reception at 6. Tickets are $25 per person with open seating. Tickets are available by calling 664-3564, or mailing a check to P.O. Box 2725, Coeur d'Alene, 83816. â&#x20AC;˘ Benefactors' Reception, 5-6:30 p.m. March 27, at The Coeur d'Alene Resort.

In conjunction with the Sixth Annual Human Rights Banquet, the Human Rights Education Foundation is hosting a Benefactors Reception for individuals, businesses, and organizations that pledge $500 or more to the foundation.

Proceeds from the reception will benefit the Human Rights Education Center.

Rights_gro_ up _blasts Aryan gatherjng plans -

-

-

-- - - -

-

-

Leader says 'it is lnfonnation clear' Idaho rejects After a year without an Aryan Nations gathering in North message of hate Idaho, the racist organization is

By MIKE McLEAN

Staff writer COEUR d'ALENE - Aryan Nations is calling on its hateful past to deny its fading presence, a human rights leader said Wednesday in Coeur d'Alene.

Tony Stewart learned of the racist group's plans for a June 20-22 gathering on the day the Human Rights Education Foundation had a community open house to embrace tolerance. ''We are here to celebrate the future with the prospect of a new human rights center," said Stewart 'They are trying to bring up hate from the past" Stewart is a founding member of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations and a political science instructor at .

North Idaho College. He is also a trustee for the Human Rights Education Foundation - the fund-raising arm for the pr<r posed Human Rights Center in Post Falls.

cent," he said. "It could be a wake-up call."

Stewart said the task force started with a gathering of less than 10 people 22 years ago in planning to revive its "World the basement of the First Congress" and have a march in Christian Church on Fourth dpwntown Coeur d'Alene.

Street. They were being The gathering is planned for watched by a similar number of June 20-22.

Aryan Nations members.

The group has approval for Last year the task force drew reservation of a campground about 500 people to its annual June 20-22 at Farragut State Human Rights Banquet The Park.

North Idaho College annual Von Baron, chief of staff of the Aryan Nations, said he plans weeklong Popcorn Forum, dedto apply for a parade permit in icated to studying and counterCoeur d'Alene. ing hate, is attended by thouSeveral speakers and at least sands. one skinhead rock band are In contrast, the Aryan planned for the event, Von Nations presence has been Baron said. dwindling - especially since The 2001 World Congress the group and its leader. drew about 30 people, said Rick Collignon, director of the Idaho Richard Butler, lost all assets to Department of Parks and bankruptcy in 2001 following a Recreations. $6.3 million jury verdict awarded to a Coew¡ d'Alene mother About 100 supporters of the and son assaulted by Aryan task force and the foundation security guards. ''It is dear that the people of attended the first hour of the Idaho reject their message," open house in the Coeur Mining Stewart said. ''In a 12-0 verdict, a building on Front Avenue. jury spoke very forcefully Bob Potter, retired president against violence." of Jobs Plus, also heard word of Stewart said the foundation the Aryan plans. may be within two months of "We don't want to be compla- announcing an agreement on a

A4 THE PRESS Thursday, March 13, 200~

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JASON HUNT/Press

People sign in and mingle during the Human Rights Education Foundation open house Wednesday at the Coeur d'Alene Mines building.

new site for a per manent Human Rights Center in Coeur d'Alene.

"With its own home open every day, we can do some things we've never done before in 22 years with the task force," Stewart said.

The center will have the theme: Choosing democracy. Its

mission statement 'The Hwnan Rights Center program exists to promote human rights as an essential element of a just and successful democracy."

The foundation and proposed center were started with a $1 million grant from benefactor Greg Carr, chairman of the Carr Center for Human Rights

Policy and former Idaho resident ''We still have to raise more money," Stewart said. "But having such a generous donation helps."

Mike McLean can be reached at 664-8176, ext 2011 , or by e-mail at mmclean@cdapress.com.

'

•

0 U R VI E°W No need to fret about Butler's announcement.

The Aryans are

coming! Yawn Chances of the Hate Group Formerly Known As the Aryan Nations staging another downtown Coeur d'Alene parade are less than 50-50. Even in his glory days, racist Richard Butler failed to follow through on his march plans half the time. ln 1989 Butler called off a parade with the lame excuse that he didn't want his subordinates coming into contact with AIDSinfected counterdemonstrators from Portland and San Francisco.

In July 1994 he annou nced that "500 uniformed, disciplined marchers" would parade on Sherman Avenue the following summer.

That parade was also called off.

Why are we reminding you of this?

We don't want you to overreact to news that Butler's planning a "bigger and better" Aryan Nations World Congress in mid-June at Farragut State Park- and a possible Coeur d'Alene parade.

If this dinosaur of the hate movement can attract a few racists for one last congress and march, so be it. The beginning of the end for the North Idaho supremacists took place when Butler and his organization lost a $6.3 million.lawsuit in 2000 and later his 20-acre compound. What's left isn't worth fretting over.

North Idaho has rejected Butler. His few disciples have deserted him. His fai ling health is limiting him. The key here is not to give Butler a last laugh by allowing him to manipulate us again.

In the past, Butler has succeeded with his parade pronouncements in dividing human rights groups and making Coeur d'Alene city and civic leaders look foolish.

In 1999, for example, the city of Coeur d'Alene squandered money on a constitutional law expert who was hired to revise parade rules to prevent the Aryan Nations from marching. Predictably, the Aryans took the matter to court and easily won a ruling that restored their right to march.

Now, Butler is trying to resurrect his world congress after a oneyear hiatus by attracting up to 200 racists from the fractured supremacist movement. He'll be lucky if a few dozen show up. Even if he does succeed in drawing a crowd of American racism's leftovers, however, it should be small consolation.

The local human-rights movement has overwhelmed his.

Last year, the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations attracted 500 to its annual banquet in Coeur d'Alene. The attendees were almost aU local people. Butler's motley sympathizers aren't.

Moreover, the task force, which began 22 years ago in the basement of a Coeur d'Alene church with fewer than 10 people, continued on even after the late Bill Wassmuth, its respected leader, moved.

Butler's movement will officially die when he does.

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Banquet speaker: Small groups can advance civilization

A4 THE PRESS Friday,

Says embracing diversity is the key to world peace

By RICK .THOMAS Staff writer

COE UR d'ALENE - Optimism and laughter blended with sadness for about 350 people at the sixth annual Human Rights Banquet 1llllrsday night at the Coeur d'Alene [nu. x;uest speaker Mike McGavick, ciro, president and c hairman of Safeco Insurance, said bate is the fuel powe1ing the trouble in the world today. ,"How s hall we get beyond these ancient hatreds?" he said. ''Th ey th1:eaten our humanity. War is the syfoptom of profound change. We cannot help but be affected by what we're watching 24 hours a day on tel~vision.''

Small groups such as the Kootenai County Task Force on

H u m a n Relations and Hwnan Rights Educ at i o.n F o u n d a ti on , M G vick sponsors of the c a banquet, can advance civilization, said McGavick.

It needs to be done now, he said, because of technological changes, changes in the face of democracies across the world and because the tools of violence are now so powerful they are beyond the control of government.

"We found that out on 9/11," said McGavick.

He asked why a businessman would be called on to find ways of

lhe

-

bringing people together in understanding and harmony. .

The answer he said, is the reality that in this lifetime those now in the majority will become a minority. Hispanics will control $900 billion in spend ing, and blacks $860 billion.

"Safeco cannot sell insurance to diverse people without internal diversity," he said. "It's also the good thing, the right thing to do."

Safeco has reached out to diverse populations by adapting to the realities of the market, said McGavick.

That includes creating community centers that can be used in safety and peace in urban markets, opening bilingual service centers, and on the advice of a Safeco employee, printing policies in Spanish.

"Haven't you read your policy lately?" he said was his response. "It's already in Greek."

McGavick's levity carried a point

March 28, 2003

.

...

when he told the story of a senator dents. Mary Lyndzy Crowell, Caleb with an abused, oyerworked and Thoniasori, Andre Domebo arrd . underpaid speech writer. The senator Joanna Enriquez· received th9se was o.ne day handed hjs s~h at the awards. , · •· last minute, and beg{lll telling his. · ·Proclamations we1;e annmµ1ced by constituents of the. plans h~ had to the citi_e~ of fast Fall~,.Coeur d'.Alen~1 • solve all the troubles of the world in. H;iyden, Moscow, Pullniaii., and . short order.

Spokane naming March 23-29 as.

"He said, "This is pretty good "Hwnan Rights Week." , .. stuff.'". ~d McGavjck, until he got to ·1"This is a reflection of. the cooperthe ~ond yage, ;which read simply, ation between friends," said ~ .

"OK. jerk, you're on your own."

Sanchez of the University of Idaho in · treating others fairly i~ th~ way to Mosc9;w, who br~ught the p.r~Jamapeace, he said.· . ~. · · · tions from there and Pullman, "Oolr "Hate and violence Will rfot lie con- on the foundation of comriiunrty.£aD trolled.by nations/' he said! "lbey will human rights lJe built,; ' . come,froni us." ' .,~ · ·. . · . . Coeur d'Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem •. ' Folloyirng, ' a' stancliiri ' ovation, - thanked, Poiorn Forum o r ~ r McGavick: was 'presented with a I spe- · Tony Stew'artfor his passion. • · cial human rights award from the · Stewart thanked Dennis Wheeler groups. .· · · of Coeur d'Alene Mines for providing· •,. '.Also recognized was ·tlie 'Gonzaga.. ~ tempo~ •h,ome . for the hlµllaD University-for Action Against Hate. · rights of:fi~e for 6nly $12 per year.

Scholarships for a ~mester at NIC 'Thank you for being a friend of were awarded to ·four minority. stu- human rights," he said.

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Aryan Nations plots a comeback at Idaho campout I

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Aryan Nations founder Richard Butler on Saturday at Farragut Slate Park.

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Aryan Nations plots a comeback at Idaho campout

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But critics say civil suit made racist group irrelevant

By Kari Huus MSNBC

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Amid a stand of pines in the Idaho panhandle, Richard Butler sits slightly hunched in a camp chair, a large swastika affixed to the wall of the campground bathrooms behind him. He is surrounded by a loyal coterie of men, some in full Nazi uniform, others in skinhead garb. At 85, the founder of the Idaho-based Aryan Nations is frail, but still influential in racist circles, and extremely tenacious. "What you're seeing today is the prelude to the awakening of the white race," he says. But others say it' s more

FARRAGUT STATE PARK, Idaho, June 22-

http://www.msnbc.com/news/927968.asp

6/25

Aryan Nations plots a comeback at Idaho campout

like the death rattle for the umbrella organization of white-supremacy groups.

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BUTLER AND HIS followers admit this is not the heyday of his annual Aryan Nations World Congress, which was long held in the organization s own compound near here and drew hundreds of white supremacists from around the country.

On this day, there are perhaps 75 people gathered including children, women flipping hamburgers on a grill and half-seen security guards in the trees at the perimeter of a campground in Farragut State Park.

Others have come and gone before the program got under way because of an icy rain in the morning. ' Help us fund our war," urges one speaker calling on the participants to buy Confederate flag T-shirts and Nazi pins. On one unmanned table there is an Adolf Hitler doll in a box on a table, apparently a raffle prize.

"It s kind of like the flat-Earth society, a dying group," says Dick Cottam, media relations officer for the Spokane Police Department, where the authorities were planning their surveillance of the annual event as were the local police and the FBI. 'They ll be out there with the animals and bugs " says Cottam.

The comment reflects views of many people in the area who saw civil rights activists and lawyers deal what seemed to be the final blow to the Aryan Nations here. In 2000, a jury voted 12-0 that the Aryan Nations were responsible for the assault of Victoria Keenan and

http://www.msnbc.com/news/927968.asp

Aryan Nations plots a comeback at Idaho campout

Bradley Jenkins. the Imperial Wizard of the Aryan Nations Knights of the Ku Klux Klan out of Alabama , speaks to a gathering at Farragut State Park on Saturday.

her son by guards at the organization' s compound. In the civil suit pressed by local activists and lawyers and bolstered by the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center' s civil rights attorney Morris Dees - the organization was hit with a $6.3 million penalty, which bankrupted the organization and took away its compound.

The key message, according to civil rights activists, was that the communjty did not welcome the racist groups, and did not want to be seen as a haven fo r white supremacists. "It was a unanimous guilty verdict of Butler' s peers, regular people of the community," says Norman Gissel, a local attorney who worked to prosecute the case. "That's as close to a political statement as you can make. That judgment is a far more important cultural document than judicial document because of what it says about our community."

But it was also risky, says Gissel, because a loss would have sent a message to racists that Idaho was a state where they could beat the top guns in civil rights law.

It was a breakthrough for local activists who had been trying to fight the Aryan Nations' influence and presence in the area for decades, with limited success.

Though they firm ly believed that Butler's preaching against non-whites, Jews and the U.S. government had inspired many crimes, including murders, the forums were protected by the First Amendment. The Keenan case, says prominent civil rights activist Tony Stewart, was the "smoking gun."

DOWN BUT NOT OUT

Aryan Nations founder Richard Buller, right, and his successor Ray Redfeaim salute after Redfeairn is formally named the next leader of the racist organization on Saturday.

And yet, the fight is not over for Idaho.

"After the lawsuit, the Aryan Nations took a hit - a big one," says Ray Redfeairn, whom Butler formally designated as his successor on Saturday. "Even in the movement, a lot of our comrades thought we were down and out, we were gone. But we weren' t. We knew we weren ' t going

http://www.msnbc.com/news/927968.asp

Aryan Nations plots a comeback at Idaho campout anywhere .... This may come as a shock to Morris Dees," he adds.

Indeed, this year's congress, which pulled together a full menu of racist leaders from around the country, suggests the Aryan Nations has crept back from the brink. In the lineup: • Redfeairn, the newly anointed successor to lead Butler' s Aryan Nations. In taking over the white supremacist organization, his greatest enemies are Jews, and he proclaims that the Bible demands their genocide.

Group members also preach hatred of all non-whites and see the federal government as a betrayer of the "white race," which in their view is endangered with extinction as a consequence.

• Bradley Jenkins, the Imperial Wizard of the Aryan Nations Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, an Alabamabased group focusing most of its wrath against blacks and all non-Western European immigrants. His presence was the result of an alliance spearheaded by Redfeairn early this year, drawing together one of the more powerful of the dozens of Southern KKK clans with the Aryan Nations. Jenkins said the deal had breathed new life into his group.

• Billy Roper, leader of a new group called White Revolution, which he started after losing a power struggle for the leadership of the neo-Nazi National Alliance last year. Roper's group, which mixes a rare brand of genetics with a white supremacist interpretation of Christianity, is attempting to be an umbrella group for the white movement. Roper is in his 30s, a former high school teacher with a history background. Watchdog groups say he doesn 't have the stature yet of some of the other leaders, but his sty le may appeal to more mainstream young people.

• Hal Turner: A surprise guest from New Jersey, Turner is a talk show host who does a daily broadcast of fiercely anti-immigrant, anti-Jewish and anti-federal rhetoric via shortwave radio and the Internet. Turner has the cachet of show business and draws easily on the politics of the day to support his case.

• Jeff Schoep and Tim Bishop: Leaders of the Minneapolis-based National Socialist Movement, a neoNazi organization that appeals to young skinheadvariety racists. Watchdog groups say he is gaining influence, in part benefiting from factionalism in other groups.

• Notably absent from the gathering, say watchdog groups, was Tom Metzger, the current leader of the White Aryan Resistance and a guru for the skinhead movement. Metzger was listed as a "special guest" speaker but was not present.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/927968.asp

Aryan Nations plots a comeback at Idaho campout

Ray Redfeaim, the next leader of the Aryan Nations.

MOVEMENT IN DISARRAY The Aryan Nations is emblematic of the disarray seen throughout the white supremacist movement, civil rights watchdogs say. They note that within Aryan Nations, factionalism has been rife, and Redfeairn himself has been named successor before, and then split with Butler before having a prodigal son-type reunion.

A splinter group started in Pennsylvania under a former member, and competes for prominence.

The death of neo-Nazi William Pierce last July took a toll on the movement, they say, as did the arrest of Mathew Hale, the self-proclaimed "Pontifex Maximus" of the racist and I I •, I anti-Semitic World Church of the Creator. Hale was arrested in January 1•. • ••••• /! .. and charged with soliciting the murder of a federal judge and obstruction of justice.

More broadly, in the post-Sept. 11 security environment, both the white supremacists and their detractors say they have been tracked more closely by federal agents who are better funded and more vigilant about potential domestic terrorists.

"The white supremacist world is in flux," says Marilyn Mayo of the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors the movements of anti-Semitic groups. " It' s very hard to say who will emerge."

But she warns: " What happens in situations like this is that you get people leaving these groups and maybe starting more radical groups or going underground. " Meanwhile, Redfeairn disputes the notion that local activists have ended the reign of the Aryan Nations in Idaho. He says the state will remain the headquarters even after Butler dies, and that he will eventually move to the area from his current home in Ohio. He says the group hopes to have the funds to buy new property in the area by next year' s congress.

The Aryan Nations will continue to recruit through the Internet and increasingly through increasing cable access; Redfeairn envisions one day setting up a white power show along the lines of televangelist programs.

The group will also continue its prison outreach, which has brought many convicts into its fold.

Redfeairn, who served 12 years for shooting a police officer portrays the prison ministry as a way to get convicts to clean up their act: " We give them direction. A lot of people don ' t like the direction we give them, but we' d rather have them working for the

I

http://www.msnbc.com/news/927968.asp

'

Aryan Nations plots a comeback at Idaho campout race ... doing something positive."

IDAHO'S HEARTS AND MINDS The Aryans are counting on tacit sympathy or at least apathy from the area's nearly all-white population.

They appeal to the working poor in the area and argue that even many new arrivals in the area have moved to Idaho to flee mixed-race cities on the coasts. As they see themselves, they are the warriors willing to fight off the incursion of racial minorities and Jews. Meanwhile, they have succeeded to the extent that they have helped create the reputation of the state as a bastion of white racism, deserved or not.

There is clearly a contingent of people in northern Idaho fighting the image and the influence. In the wake of the lawsuit against the Aryan Nations, the former compound was razed and made into a Peace Park, while in the capital of Boise, funds poured in for an Anne Frank center to teach human rights. A gaggle of human rights groups are active in the state, and the university branches have special courses on hate groups.

Stewart, a professor at North Idaho College in Coeur d' Alene, also lectures around the country about Idaho ' s success in beating back the Aryan Nations. He counsels other communities to "never, never ignore the movement of a group like this into the community, and never remain silent."

Apart from law enforcers and activists, few local residents were aware or seemingly concerned about the congress of white supremacists.

Business people here are quick to declare the group dead. Gatherings of radicals, especially ex-convict radicals, are not good for the tourism business, which is key to the local economy.

And attitudes among the general public are mixed: "I despise them," said a barista at an espresso stand when he learned that the congress was under way a few miles down the road.

"To each his own," shrugged an older man waiting for his take-away order at Silly Chile' s, a Tex-Mex stand down the road. "Whatever trips their trigger, I guess," he said of the event, which turned out to be within earshot of his house.

"My impression is that people of Coeur d' Alene don't like Aryan Nations because it is a fringe group and because it was bad for business," said Tim Gresback, an attorney in Moscow, Idaho. "It bothered me that they didn' t seem as disgusted by what (the racist groups) were saying."

A call to City Hall in Coeur d' Alene produced no comment from the mayor, but a spokeswoman pointed

http://www.msnbc.com/news/927968.asp

Aryan Nations plots a comeback at Idaho campout out that the Aryan congress could not get a parade permit this year. "They are outside city limits," she said, bringing the conversation to an end.

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Group rents building for rights center

By Taryn Brodwater Staffwriter

Institute envisions place for community events, diversity training, artwork

COEUR d'ALENE- If a $6.3 million verdict against the Aryan Nations and the razing of the racists' compound weren't enough to erase lingering questions about racism in Kootenai County, Mary Lou Rec.:d ha., one more .i~-wer.

A human rights center.

The Human Rights Education Institute announced Wednesday that it will lease a century-old, city-owned railroad substation next to City Park for the center. The 4,400-square-foot old battery building is situated at Nonhwest Boulevard and Mullan Avenue, on one of downtown's busiest intersections.

"The visibility is going to be ab olutely terrific," said Reed, chairwoman of the institute's human rights center committee.

Financed partly by a $1 million gift from Idaho Falls philanthropist Greg Carr. the center will include interactive and educational exhibits, classroom and meeting space and torage for research materials and archives.

The center will hold public forums, speakers, community gatherings, multicultural events, art exhibits and workshops, and diversity training.

School and community groups will be able to take field trips to the center, or the center will bring educational Continued: Center/ A7

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Tony Stewart, president of the Human Rights Education Institute board, walks Wednesday Into the old battery building In downtown Coeur d'Alene. The building wlll become a human rights center.

Center: Won't be just a museum Continued from Al programs to them. rt could be a year or more before the center opens.

"This is going to be a center to celebrate all human rights, celebrate diversity and educate, too,'' said Freeman Duncan, a member of the institute's board.

The theme of the center is "Choosing Democracy."

Duncan said Carr paid for board members to visit human rights centers across the country. Many have become museums, with little more than exhibits, Duncan said.

That's not how Duncan envisions Coeur d'Alene·s center. " It's not going to be an Aryan Nations artifact museum," said Duncan, who was raised in the South and experienced segregation fi rsthand. " I think that was a concern from some people in the area. Keeping that sore open is definitely not our goal.''

The site of the former Aryan Nations compound was once considered for the center, but Duncan said the downtown location is better for many reasons. ·' It's so far off the beaten trac.k," Duncan said of the compound, which is now a peace park. ''Who wants to glorify that, anyway?"'

Tbe center will include some relics seized from the Aryan compound, possibly including a poster of an African-American woman and a Cauc.asian man that the Aryans used for target practice. ·'The whole theme is about teaching human rights," said Tony Stewart, president of the institute's board." At some point, that means showing the dangers of hate versus going down the road of human rights."

Renata McLeod, project manager for the city, spent eight months sorting out land-use issues with several entities before the city and the institute could sign the lease.

Because the building and City Park are funded with grants from several different agencies - all with differ-

Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

Coeur d'Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem takes a break from the heat In the old battery bulldlng In downtown Coeur d'Alene on Wednesday. The City Council wlll lease the bulldlng to the Human Rights Education Institute for a human rights center.

ent land regulations and restrictions - McLeod said it took "a lot of research and a lot of time to make it all legal and correct."

The lease is about $12,000 a year.

Payments can be waived based on improvements the institute makes to the aging building.

First off. McLeod said the institute is considering straightening one of the building's brick walls- a project that could co t $60,000, or five years' rent.

Mayor Sandi Bloem said the agreement will benefit the city and the institute.

The institute gets a building basically rent-free. The building and its improvements are in the public hands forever.

The building was designed to house huge batteries that powered electric trains that ran Crom Spokane to Coeur d'Alene in the early 1900s.

The property was deeded to the city in 1989.

It opened as the Coeur d'Alene Cultural Center a few year later.

After a half-dozen years of financia l struggle , the center closed.

Duncan said one of the challenges will be making the building, which is on the National Historic Register, more aesthetically pleasing and less institutional-looking.

" It kind of looks like a prison," Duncan said, pointing to the building's barred windows. "We're going to have to compete with the attractiveness of the park."

A committee has already formed to work with architects and contractors to revamp the building's interior and design signs and landscaping. About $350,000 has been budgeted for the project.

The institute plans to hire an executive director and other staff members for the center as fundraising allows. ll1ey're looking for volunteers to help staff the center. which will be open year-round and up to six days a week.

Stewart wants it to be a tourist destination, just like the center named for civil rights leaders such as Rosa Parks and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Stewart said the center will be a way for North Idaho to overcome its past.

• "Many times when you have a dark cloud, coming out of that cloud is a rainbow;· Stewart aid. " I think that's what happened to us:· • Taryn Brodwater can be reached at (208) 765-7121 or by e-mail at tarynb@spokesman.com.

North Idaho

The Press, Thursday, July 24, 2003

For news or story ideas: Call City Editor Bill Buley at I E-mail: bbuley@cdapress.com

Historic Deal

JASON HUNT/Press

Tony Stewart, president of the Human Rights Education Institute, speaks during a press conference Wednesday in front of the institute' s new building near the Coeur d'Alene City Park.

Rights on the Spot Institute signs deal to lease building from city

By RICK THOMAS

Staff writer COEUR d'ALENE -A 99-yearold building holds the future for the Human Rights Education Institute.

The institute, formerly called the Human Rights Education Foundation, will expand its activities when it moves into the building near Coeur d'Alene City Park The signing of a lease between the institute and the city was

announced Wednesday.

"Our dream and desire will be a world-class center," said Tony Stewart, president of the institute.

A $1 million grant from philanthropist Greg Carr in 2001 provided seed money for the foundation, formed in 1998 as a sister organization lo the Kootenai County Task Force.

"Greg Carr changed our lives," said Stewart He said the 4,400-square-foot building was built in 1904 to store

batteries for the electric railroad that ran from Spokane. Most recently, it was home for cultural arts activities. With the latest change, it will house permanent exhibits and traveling displays and offer space for classrooms and archive storage.

The institute is based in donated office space in the Coeur d'Alene Mines building, and will remain there for about a year while structural repairs and other renovations to the building are completed.

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Coeur d'Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem joined with about a dozen community members to announce the agreement and turn over the keys to Stewart.

Stewart credited attorney Norm Gissel with suggesting the theme of the center, "Choosing Democracy."

Gissel represented Victoria and Jason Keenan when they won a $6.3 million judgment against the Aryan Nations for assaulting them near the Aryan compound. That judgment bankrupted the white supremacist organization and resulted in the property being purchased by Carr for $250,000.

Carr paid to have all the buildings on the site demolished and the property cleared, then gave it to North · Idaho College. . "In our 25-year struggle to ::peal with Nazis, we had a great . yictory, too," said Stewart. :·!The compound does not exist. :·tt is now a beautiful peace ··park." · Gissel said the site is a wonderful location, convenient for ,tourists and locals. ;: "In civil rights there is no ;beginning or end, just mile'.

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posts that demonstrate progress," said Gissel. 'This is a significant part of that progress."

The lease of the property is the result of 1 1/2 years of negotiations between the institute and the city, said Mary Lou Reed, a member of the organization.

'This is an incredibly exciting time for all of us," she said. "Any lingering thoughts of racial discrimination can be put to rest."

She honored the memory of Bill Wassmuth, a Coeur d'Alene priest who was part of the early human rights movement in the region and who died last year.

"I feel that Bill is perching on our shoulders," said Reed.

'The issue is deeper than image, and broader than the Aryan Nations."

The brick building between the railroad tracks and the park on Mullan Road is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and can only be used by a nonprofit organization, said Sandy Emerson, an institute board member.

Under terms of the lease, money spent on improvements to the building will apply to the payments. The institute will lease the building for $1,012 per month for two years, with five-year renewal options at the same rate through ,2035.- - ~

OUR VIEW Human rights center a welcome addition.

:Concrete example

of the good fight In Coeur d"Alene, a rainbow of human rights has replaced the dark cloud of racism.

Activist Tony Stewart used that appropriate analogy last week as the Human Rights Education Institute announced plans to open a human rights center at a busy downtown Coeur d'Alene intersection.

The center will be everything the old Aryan Nations headquarters on the rim rock above Hayden Lake wasn't: popular, visible, supported by Kootenai County residents, a community gathering place, a beacon of hope, enlightenment and inspiration for people of goodwill to visit and to learn how to overcome hate.

It will also be a reminder of what has been.

Who could have imagined in the dark days of the 1980s when racist Richard Butler's group was at its peak that it would be leveled - literally-by a Catholic priest and his persistent band of humanrights activists? At the time Butler's compound was a national hangout for supremacists who made headlines by commitring violent crimes, including bank robbery, domestic terrorism and even murder. And few residents in the surrounding communities seemed to care.

Butler had scouted North Idaho well. It was monocultural. Rural.

Its phi losophy was live and let live. The region was a perfect setting for his "territorial imperative" - a cockeyed dream shared in racist circles to transform the Pacific Northwest into a whites-only homeland. He didn't count on the stiff resistance from Father Bill Wassmuth and bis Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.

The rest is history.

For every action taken by the Aryans, the task force reacted sensibly. When the racists harassed the area's few minorities, human-rights activists comforted them and successfully sought laws against such thuggery. When Butler staged his annual gatherings, the task force celebrated human rights at Coeur d'Alene's City Park. When the hatemongers bombed Wassmuth's house, the community awoke and rallied around the ban ner of human rights.

That's when the rainbow first began to appear.

Ultimately, in 1998, when Aryan Nations security guards chased down and shot at a mother and her son who had done nothing but drive pass the compound, task force members he.lped launch a civil suit. Butler was hit with a $6.3 million verdict and lost his compound.

In the end, philanthropist Greg Carr bought the compound, razed it and donated it to North Idaho College to be used as a peace park. He also gave $1 million to open the human rights center downtown. In a year, the center, dedicated to bringing people together, will open to tell the story of how a community conquered racism. And to ensure that an organization like Butler's never gets another toehold here.

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By SARAH KERSHAW HAYDEN, r Idaho - A difficult history of '-â&#x20AC;˘ ~ racial friction lurks here in northern Idaho. It is a history that the ailing leader of a dwindling band of white supremacists is proudly promoting as he makes one last grab for notoriety.

"We want to keep it white," Richard G. Butler, founder of the Aryan Nations, said of the place be has made home for more than three decades.

Mr. Butler, who created the group in 1973 and a religious arm of the organization a few years later, the Church of Jesus Christ Christian, is 85 now and fragile. But he is running for mayor here nonetheless, seeking perhaps his last chance to preach the Aryan Nations doctrine that has defined his life and his work.

It is known as Christian Identity, and among its central tenets are that Jews are satanic and AfricanAmericans are subhuman. Running for mayor, said Mr. Butler, a longtime area resident known as Pastor Butler to his followers, is a way to spread his message and have " a lot of fun" besides.

Few except Mr. Butler and his few, fiercely loyal followers take his candidacy seriously.

"He's slowly disappearing into the sunset," said Ron McIntire, the current mayor, who besides Mr. Butler has no other opponents in the November election. " This gives him an opportunity to speak up again, but I don't think it's a serious thing at all."

Still, Mr. Butler remains steadfast in his devotion to peddling his white supremacist platform - long after he moved to this comer of the country known for its remote mountain terrain, ethnic homogeneity and live-and-let-live credo.

His campaign is a reminder to Idaho residents that it is hard to shake the area's image as a major center of the white supremacist movement.

"He's been a factor in the life of this larger community for a long time," said Mary Lou Reed, a former state senator and the founding president of The Human Rights Education Institute in Coeur d'Alene, a resort city a few miles from Hayden. "And we always have to ask ourselves: Why did this happen here? What is it about our community?"

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In Idaho, an unwanted image is hard to shake.

Even as Mr. Butler has continued to push his platform in recent years, much has changed here, beginning with a $6.3 million civil judgment against the Aryan Nations in 2000 that bankrupted him and forced him to turn over his sprawling compound in the hills east of here to a local woman and her son. They had sued Mr. Butler's group for shooting at them one night in 1998.

Human rights activists eventually gained control of the 20-acre compound and turned it into a "peace park," after allowing the fire department to burn its 10 buildings to practice firefighting.

"There has been a 50-year movement to try and reinstate the Nazi doctrine, and Richard Butler was

the grandfather of that movement," said Tony Stewart, a professor of political science at North Idaho College who has been Mr. Butler's nemesis for decades.

Mr. Stewart moved to Coeur d'Alene in 1970, three years before Mr. Butler moved to nearby Hayden Lake from California, and helped start the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, which became the local organization for battling the Aryan Nations.

The task force, which began with 10 people in the basement of a Coeur d'Alene church, successfully fought for state antidiscrimination laws in Idaho and took up the cause of some local minority members who had been harassed by Aryan Nations members.

Mr. Butler's group held its annu-

al World Congress in the area for more than two decades, drawing several hundred people a year at the height or its power. The last gathering, in June, drew 75 to 100 people. Some experts on the Aryan Nations said the group was able to draw that many people only because many figured it would be Mr. Butler's last World Congress.

The dwindling crowds at Aryan Nations events, and plans to build the center, indicate just how much progress has been made to rid the area of the group's racist views, Mr. Stewart and others say. " A big, big chapter is finished," he said.

What the next chapter entails and what will happen to the white supremacist movement in northern Idaho when Mr. Butler dies is not clear. But for now, he carries on, living in a home given to him by a follower on a narrow residential street in Hayden, not far from the former Aryan Nations compound.

His breathing is labored - he has been hospitalized several times for congestive heart failure - and he is not always lucid. But he managed to speak for almost two hours

PhotogTDphs by Jell T. Gre<m lor The New York Times

Richard G. B utler, the 85-year-old founder of the Aryan Nations, is running for mayor of Hayden, Idaho.

Mr. Butler moved t o northern Idaho three decades ago. "W e want to keep it white," he said.

in a recent interview in his living room, which is adorned with crosses and religious relics and filled with books about Christianity, the United States Constitution, Hitler, Jews and the Holocaust (one is titled "Anne Frank's Diary: A Hoax").

He insisted that his health was fine. He also insisted that the Aryan Nations was as strong as ever, with as many as 40,000 "card-carrying" members. He said that locally his group was rebounding after the civil judgment. " The trial broke us financially," he said. "But we' re now coming back financially, so I want to get this word out as best as I can."

He added, "We're experiencing a resurgence now."

But experts at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., which monitors white supremacist groups and brought the lawsuit against Mr. Butler, said the Aryan Nations had become deeply fractured over the last few years.

" I don't think we'll ever see the Aryan Nations reach the kind of power and influence it had in the 1980's, not even close," said Mark Potok, editor of the center's intelligence Report, a quarterly investigative magazine about radical right-wing groups.

Mr. Butler remains single-minded in promoting his beliefs, however, and has named a successor, Harold Ray RedÂŁeairn, an Aryan Nations leader in Ohio. It is possible that once M r. Butler dies, the movement's center could shift to Ohio or another state, or fade away, Mr. Potok said.

"It's a waiting game until Butler dies and we see what happens next," he said.

PAGE 86

Saturday, 5ept8mber 27, 2003 The SPokesman-Review SPokane, wasn,/Coeur d'Alene, ldano

OUR VIEW Think ofit as a political dunk tank.

Hayden voters can take stand On second thought, we're glad racist Richard Butler has decided to run for mayor of the city of Hayden.

Stay with us on this.

By campaigning for the top spot of his adopted community, the Aryan Nations founder bas given neighbors one fina l chance to repudiate him. Rather than get mad when they find Butler's foul campaign fliers in their newspaper tubes and mailboxes, Hayden voters should get even. They should turn out in record numbers in November to vote against Butler and two followers wbo are running for City Council.

Three years ago, a Kootenai County jury made quite a statement by leveJing a $6.3 million civil verdict against Butler and his organization. As a result, By encouraging a big Butler was forced into bankruptcy and off his 20-acre turnout, Hayden compound above Hayden community leaders will be Lake. Now, Hayden can add following a tried and true an exclamation point to that disavowal by voting for Mayor local practice ofturning Ron McIntire en masselemons into lemonade. and encouraging neighbors to doso, too.

The voter total to shoot for is 1,159. · That's the number of voters who turned out in 1999 to overwhelmingly elect McIntire as mayor - the highest in the last three Hayden elections, according to the city clerk, and possibly a record. By encouraging a big turnout, Hayden community leaders will be following a tried and true locaJ practice of turning lemons into lemonade.

The Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations showed us how to make lemonade in 1998 when members transformed the Aryan Nations parade in Coeur d'Alene into a fund-raiser. Rather than fret about the parade and media circus, task force members collected pledges for each minute of the march- and raised about $35,000 for human rights. In the process, they took the focus off the Aryans by giving the national media something novel to report.

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