Idaho's only African-American lawmaker, who had a cross burned on her lawn at the age of seven, is speaking out after she said she received a hand-written invitation to join the the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
On Saturday, Democratic state Rep. Cherie Buckner-Webb used her Facebook page to share photos of the KKK "application," which asked for $35 and a proclamation that she was "a White Christian man or woman."
"Check out communiqué from the KKK received this week in the mail," she wrote. "Newsletter, Application...Really?"
"(It) was addressed by hand," the lawmaker noted. "Something a little unsettling."
This week, Buckner-Webb revealed that the mailing had reminded her that age the age of seven, "[s]omeone burned a cross on our lawn," according to the Idaho Statesman.
"Initially, I wondered what was someone’s thought process in sending that to me. My first inclination was someone wants me to know the Klan is still around," she explained.
“I am really concerned about the climate of intolerance in a lot of different areas. I see a lot of intolerance toward gays, toward women," the Boise Democrat said, recalling recent legislative battles over LGBT rights, abortion and contraception.
“I would be a fool not to take note and govern myself accordingly,” she added. “It was a sign for me to remain vigilant, to remain careful and to remain thoughtful.”
Photo: votecheriebuckner-webb.org
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