Different people have different ways of doing things, including celebrating holidays. Linda Sewell of Alabama wrote this poem in commemoration of the birthday of civil rights martyr Martin Luther King, Jr.

From: LindaLee4dixie (Original Message)

Sent: 1/16/2004 9:19 AM

It is a fright, a horrid shame,
that Monday I will know dismay;
how soon the South has sold her soul,
R.E. Lee for MLK.

It pains me so to see how close,
one honoured, one of low degree;
tis shame to mention in one line,
MLK and R.E. Lee.

A whorish man, decietful (sic) lies,
on bended knee, pretends to pray;
who could not write one paragraph,
but signed them all with MLK.

Compare the honour, duty, strength,
that fills one with integrity,
a Godly man, a Southron son
is what we have with R.E. Lee.

It is a fright, a horrid shame,
so many now have gone astray;
For R.E. Lee is pushed aside
and people worship MLK.

LL

Sewell has been the very energetic doyen of the state's neo-Confederate movement. A member of the Daughters of the Confederacy and associated with the segregationist and secessionist Council of Conservative Citizens, she heads Alabama's Heritage Preservation Association. She and her organization have been adept in obtaining recognition of Confederate holidays and situating Confederate flags and statues around the state, often in predominantly black areas. But, Sewell suffered a setback last year. Despite wearing a disguise, she was photographed accepting an award from the Ku Klux Klan by local media. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which knows her well, shares the details.

Like most latter-day Confederate groups, the Atlanta-based Heritage Preservation Association (HPA) says it cares about preserving history, not promulgating racism. "We do not foster hatred, nor do we tolerate those who do," the HPA's Web site declares. "Our organization is built on the love of our heritage and not [on] hatred or bigotry towards our fellow Americans."

But the president of HPA's Alabama branch, Linda Sewell, has been keeping company that calls the group's tolerant nature into question. On Jan. 25, a clumsily disguised Sewell joined a coalition of hard-line neo-Nazi, Ku Klux Klan and Christian Identity hate groups in a protest outside the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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