Back in the 1967 the Black Panthers marched on California’s state capitol in Sacramento with rifles and side arms plainly in hand to protest legislation banning the open carrying of loaded guns. The bill was sponsored by Republicans (!!) and it passed, quickly signed by then Governor Ronald Reagan.
Those were the days of slogans like “black power,” “black pride,” “political power comes from the barrel of a gun,” and similar declarations. Ironically, today that sort of rhetoric has been appropriated by independent radio outlets we generally associate with the right (and beyond). Get ready for Open Carry Radio in Arlington, Texas, where activists film the police and tote guns around while so doing, in some instances AK-47s. The Daily Beast is comparing the tactics to those of the Panthers. But now the Texas state legislature, dominated by a very different generation of Republicans, is considering allowing the open carrying of handguns. There’s even a Huey P. Newton Gun Club in Dallas, organized by self-described “New Black Panthers.” An older Panther isn’t buying it. Bobby Seale recently told Vice News that he thinks the group is getting right wing money, “maybe [from] the Koch brothers.”
Meanwhile, in Harrison, Arkansas there’s much controversy over a poster advertising “white pride” radio, basically an Internet outlet run by the Ku Klux Klan. “It’s not racist to [heart] your people,” the billboard declares. This observation is accompanied by a white girl holding a puppy. A click to the web address gets you to KKKradio.com: “The NEVER Ending VOICE of White Christian Revival!”
“My family loves it,” one endorsement reads. “There are shows for ALL of us, even the kids.” The kiddies can listen to hosts “Tommy Freedom,” a self-described “huge Second Amendment guy” and “The Prepper Bob” show, which will “help teach you the basics of prepping, from bugging in or bugging out and the supplies you may need, to prepping techniques for everyday living, preparing yourself and your families for any eventually that may occur.” Don’t forget to bring the puppy.
