25 August 1967: The death of George Lincoln Rockwell

[struggle4progress]

1. "On 28 August 1963, the day Martin Luther King Jr delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech

on the national mall, an American Nazi arrived early.

George Lincoln Rockwell, the media-savvy, pipe-smoking founder of the American Nazi Party, was blatantly racist, homophobic and antisemitic. Just 17 years after the US and its allies had defeated Nazi Germany, he had tried to hold a rally celebrating Hitler’s birthday in New York.

In the capital, Rockwell had predicted that 10,000 angry counter-demonstrators would join him to protest King’s March on Washington. He had also been spreading fears about black mobs attacking Congress. Instead, the Washington DC police department, which Rockwell assumed would be on his side, had denied him a permit to demonstrate.

More than 200,000 Americans joined King for a peaceful event that would reshape American history. Rockwell and fewer than 90 followers were surrounded by about 100 police officers, the Guardian reported. When one supporter attempted to give a speech, he was arrested ...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/27/george-lincoln-rockwell-american-nazi-party-alt-right-charlottesville