The people of the Ozarks were perfectly happy to live there until these unwanted neighbors moved in. Boy, if I were in their situation, I can't say I would be doing anything differently than they are.
This summer the KKK put their headquarters in Harrison, AR. The group even opened up a Klan Camp to recruit young people to join. Horrible.
When community organizer Rachel Luster got wind of this, she decided to do something. After reaching out to organizers at #BlackLivesMatter who were also dealing with the KKK protests in North Carolina, Luster came up with a peaceful way to show the world promoting racism isn't what the Ozarks is about.
I had this visceral reaction and I didn't know what I was going to do, but as a human being and as an Ozarker, I had to do something about this," she said.
The result? People of all colors and walks of life coming together to speak out against racism. The photos remind me a lot of the Charleston photo of a little boy hugging a woman. The people were two different races but in the face of hate, they chose love.
While many people associate more rural areas with "backwards thinking," #NotMyOzarks aims to highlight diversity, open-mindedness, and acceptance.
Ultimately love will always overwhelm all the evil.
See the beautiful photos below and SHARE if you're glad the community isn't tolerating their new neighbors.
When the KKK set up their headquarters in her town, Rachel Luster began the hashtag #NotMyOzarks to show that rural does not mean racist.
"We grow up and we're taught ... it's not polite to talk about race or politics or anything like that, and it's also not polite to judge somebody by what color they are or 'who their momma is'," Luster said.
"We don't really talk about things. But for me in particular ... I just feel like the only way it can get better is if we open [ourselves] up to this conversation — even if it's uncomfortable, even if it is awkward."
"#NotmyOzarks offers the opportunity for people to define their community or region for themselves, pairing positive imagery and messages that offer a counter-narrative to the Klan’s message of hate and violence," she wrote on Facebook.
SHARE if you're glad this community is taking a stance that will leave them on the right side of history.
