Stetson Kennedy, speaking at the Literary
Landmark ceremony at Beluthahatchee
Landmark ceremony at Beluthahatchee
Stetson Kennedy was born in 1916 in Jacksonville, Florida.
When he was very young, Stetson says, his family employed a
maid named Flo who was almost like a mother to him. Flo, an
African American, was brutally assaulted by white racists for
"talking back" to a white bus driver who refused to give her
the correct change. Kennedy never forgot this. As he later
said, "I joined the Klan in the hope of breaking it up."
At the risk of life and limb, Kennedy joined the KKK as a spy,
to report their illegal activities to the police. Kennedy's
classic 1954 book, The Klan Unmasked, has recently come
under fire because it attributes all of the undercover work
to the first-person narrator of the book, when in fact,
Stetson has freely stated that some of the events happened
to him, while other events happened to one of his
associates. The book's publisher recommended the rewrite
that would focus all the action on one central character. In
spite of this, no one disputes that Kennedy did, in fact,
infiltrate the inner circles of the Klan and incurred their
deadly wrath by revealing secrets of the organization and
bringing certain members to justice. At one point, the Klan
even placed a bounty on Stetson Kennedy's head.
It was often an uphill battle to get the police and the FBI to
take direct action against the Klan, and Kennedy also had
trouble finding a publisher for his books. Before The Klan
Unmasked, he had written a book called The Jim Crow
Guide, which covered the shameful segregation rules in
America which required, among other things, for blacks to
use separate water fountains and eat in different
restaurants from whites. That book was finally published in
France by Jean-Paul Sartre. It's not really surprising that
Sartre would be interested in Kennedy's work. It was Sartre
who said, "Existence precedes essence," meaning that we
have the ability to shape what we are by our actions.
I recently had the opportunity to ask Mr. Kennedy some
questions, first by phone and then in person on April 15th,
2004, at a ceremony in which his homestead,
Beluthahatchee, was officially designated a Literary
Landmark by the Friends of Libraries USA, in part because of
Kennedy's work and in part because Woody Guthrie wrote so
many songs there. The crowd mingled, old friends greeted
one another, young people got involved, refreshments were
served, all backed by excellent acoustic guitar and singing .
Also present was Woody Guthrie's daughter Nora Guthrie
(sister of Arlo), and MaVynee Betsch, known as "The Beach
Lady" because of her efforts to secure Federal legislation to
preserve American Beach.
When he was very young, Stetson says, his family employed a
maid named Flo who was almost like a mother to him. Flo, an
African American, was brutally assaulted by white racists for
"talking back" to a white bus driver who refused to give her
the correct change. Kennedy never forgot this. As he later
said, "I joined the Klan in the hope of breaking it up."
At the risk of life and limb, Kennedy joined the KKK as a spy,
to report their illegal activities to the police. Kennedy's
classic 1954 book, The Klan Unmasked, has recently come
under fire because it attributes all of the undercover work
to the first-person narrator of the book, when in fact,
Stetson has freely stated that some of the events happened
to him, while other events happened to one of his
associates. The book's publisher recommended the rewrite
that would focus all the action on one central character. In
spite of this, no one disputes that Kennedy did, in fact,
infiltrate the inner circles of the Klan and incurred their
deadly wrath by revealing secrets of the organization and
bringing certain members to justice. At one point, the Klan
even placed a bounty on Stetson Kennedy's head.
It was often an uphill battle to get the police and the FBI to
take direct action against the Klan, and Kennedy also had
trouble finding a publisher for his books. Before The Klan
Unmasked, he had written a book called The Jim Crow
Guide, which covered the shameful segregation rules in
America which required, among other things, for blacks to
use separate water fountains and eat in different
restaurants from whites. That book was finally published in
France by Jean-Paul Sartre. It's not really surprising that
Sartre would be interested in Kennedy's work. It was Sartre
who said, "Existence precedes essence," meaning that we
have the ability to shape what we are by our actions.
I recently had the opportunity to ask Mr. Kennedy some
questions, first by phone and then in person on April 15th,
2004, at a ceremony in which his homestead,
Beluthahatchee, was officially designated a Literary
Landmark by the Friends of Libraries USA, in part because of
Kennedy's work and in part because Woody Guthrie wrote so
many songs there. The crowd mingled, old friends greeted
one another, young people got involved, refreshments were
served, all backed by excellent acoustic guitar and singing .
Also present was Woody Guthrie's daughter Nora Guthrie
(sister of Arlo), and MaVynee Betsch, known as "The Beach
Lady" because of her efforts to secure Federal legislation to
preserve American Beach.
Left: Christine Lepkoske
of the Bartram Trail
Friends of the Library,
opening the ceremony
All photos by Bill Ectric
except upper left picture
of Stetson Kennedy
talking to Bill. I'm still
trying to find out who
took that one.
of the Bartram Trail
Friends of the Library,
opening the ceremony
All photos by Bill Ectric
except upper left picture
of Stetson Kennedy
talking to Bill. I'm still
trying to find out who
took that one.
Carol Fitzgerald of the Florida Center for
the Book introduces Stetson Kennedy
the Book introduces Stetson Kennedy
BE: What were you doing in France at that time?
SK: I had heard that there was a convention in Geneva,
Switzerland in 1952 regarding forced labor. I contacted them
because I knew that forced labor was happening right in this
area. But when I called them, they said I was too late. The
meeting was already adjourned. But finally they said if I was
willing to pay my own expenses and get there in ten days,
they would hear what I have to say. I told them, "Great! I'll
bring people who can testify" and they said, "No, no, don't
bring a bunch of people!" So I went out and recorded
accounts of people who lived around these parts and who
worked in the turpentine factories. They were required to
buy all their supplies from the company stores, which cost
more than the wages they were paid, so they were
dependent on the turpentine companies and could never
leave. Or if they left, they were hunted down and arrested
for the debts they owed to the company.
SK: I had heard that there was a convention in Geneva,
Switzerland in 1952 regarding forced labor. I contacted them
because I knew that forced labor was happening right in this
area. But when I called them, they said I was too late. The
meeting was already adjourned. But finally they said if I was
willing to pay my own expenses and get there in ten days,
they would hear what I have to say. I told them, "Great! I'll
bring people who can testify" and they said, "No, no, don't
bring a bunch of people!" So I went out and recorded
accounts of people who lived around these parts and who
worked in the turpentine factories. They were required to
buy all their supplies from the company stores, which cost
more than the wages they were paid, so they were
dependent on the turpentine companies and could never
leave. Or if they left, they were hunted down and arrested
for the debts they owed to the company.
~ ~ ~
This land that Stetson has named Beluthahatchee is both old
and young. Old because the palm fronds and swamp roots
sway back through dark rivers of time to the primordial age.
Young because every spring, new flowers bud and egrets lay
eggs in tree-top nests. I'm not overly religious, but a verse in
the New Testament says, "We do not lose heart, for while the
outer man is aging, yet our inner man is being renewed day
by day."Talking to Stetson Kennedy I saw that joy of renewal
in his smiling eyes and disarming grin.
Later that night, after singer/guitarist Lars Din finished his
version of Woody Guthrie's song Pretty Boy Floyd, Stetson
remarked, "I haven't heard it played that good since Woody
played it!" and those of us who never had the pleasure to
hear Woody in person had to agree that Lars did, indeed, do a
powerfully satisfying job on the classic. This is the song that
includes the lines, "Some will rob you with a six-gun, some
will rob you with a pen."
But some men, like Stetson Kennedy, have used the pen and
typewriter to enrich our lives.
This land that Stetson has named Beluthahatchee is both old
and young. Old because the palm fronds and swamp roots
sway back through dark rivers of time to the primordial age.
Young because every spring, new flowers bud and egrets lay
eggs in tree-top nests. I'm not overly religious, but a verse in
the New Testament says, "We do not lose heart, for while the
outer man is aging, yet our inner man is being renewed day
by day."Talking to Stetson Kennedy I saw that joy of renewal
in his smiling eyes and disarming grin.
Later that night, after singer/guitarist Lars Din finished his
version of Woody Guthrie's song Pretty Boy Floyd, Stetson
remarked, "I haven't heard it played that good since Woody
played it!" and those of us who never had the pleasure to
hear Woody in person had to agree that Lars did, indeed, do a
powerfully satisfying job on the classic. This is the song that
includes the lines, "Some will rob you with a six-gun, some
will rob you with a pen."
But some men, like Stetson Kennedy, have used the pen and
typewriter to enrich our lives.
BE: When I read in The Klan Unmasked that President
Eisenhower refused to ratify the Convention against
Genocide, which many other countries voted in favor of, it
reminded me of the current Bush administration's
disagreement with the United Nations on Iraq. Why do you
think our leaders sometimes take this path?
SK: You'll have to ask someone besides me for that answer. I
don't know why our government does some of the things
they do! What is your interest in all this?
BE: Well, I'm a writer, or at least I want to be one. I want to
make my mark as a writer but I want to write about things
that are important, like civil rights.
SK: Well, I don't recall so much wanting to be a writer. My
goal was to lay stuff on people and make them think. Things
needed to be told.
BE: Were there times in the Klan that were really scary?
SK: Pretty much all the time! Whenever I thought I had been
found out. Or when I had to sit in a room full of Klansmen at
the courthouse, waiting to be called as a witness.
BE: Do you ever listen to bands like Rage Against the
Machine?
SK: I've heard so many things, I can't remember them all. If
they are politically active, the "more the merrier" I say. We
need all the help we can get.
Eisenhower refused to ratify the Convention against
Genocide, which many other countries voted in favor of, it
reminded me of the current Bush administration's
disagreement with the United Nations on Iraq. Why do you
think our leaders sometimes take this path?
SK: You'll have to ask someone besides me for that answer. I
don't know why our government does some of the things
they do! What is your interest in all this?
BE: Well, I'm a writer, or at least I want to be one. I want to
make my mark as a writer but I want to write about things
that are important, like civil rights.
SK: Well, I don't recall so much wanting to be a writer. My
goal was to lay stuff on people and make them think. Things
needed to be told.
BE: Were there times in the Klan that were really scary?
SK: Pretty much all the time! Whenever I thought I had been
found out. Or when I had to sit in a room full of Klansmen at
the courthouse, waiting to be called as a witness.
BE: Do you ever listen to bands like Rage Against the
Machine?
SK: I've heard so many things, I can't remember them all. If
they are politically active, the "more the merrier" I say. We
need all the help we can get.
MaVynee Betsch, known as "The
Beach Lady" because of her efforts
to secure Federal legislation to
preserve American Beach.
Beach Lady" because of her efforts
to secure Federal legislation to
preserve American Beach.
Below: At a different ceremony, October 28, 2005, Cyndi
Stevenson, Karen Roumillat, Nancy Sikes-Kline, Senator
Tony Hill, Sr., Bruce Maguire, and Stetson Kennedy,
unveiling the Beluthahatchee Historical Landmark Marker
Home of Stetson Kennedy & the Stetson Kennedy
Foundation
Stevenson, Karen Roumillat, Nancy Sikes-Kline, Senator
Tony Hill, Sr., Bruce Maguire, and Stetson Kennedy,
unveiling the Beluthahatchee Historical Landmark Marker
Home of Stetson Kennedy & the Stetson Kennedy
Foundation
| Nora Guthrie cuts the ribbon leading into Stetson Kennedy's house |
Russ Davis (above)
and Lars Din (right)
performed at both
ceremonies
and Lars Din (right)
performed at both
ceremonies
Bill and Eli Perras, the duo known as "Blues Got Us,"
performed at the Historical Landmark ceremony
performed at the Historical Landmark ceremony
Bill Ectric: How did you become friends with Woody Guthrie?
Stetson Kennedy: I wrote a book called Palmetto Country in
1942, and Alan Lomax, the music historian, read it and liked
it, so he passed it on to Woody. Woody sent me some fan
mail. He wrote this one long letter on the back of the dust
jacket of the book. [laughs] All written out on the back of
the dust cover! The original letter has turned up in
someone's possession in North Carolina.
BE: I thought the letter was here among your other archives.
Stetson Kennedy: I wrote a book called Palmetto Country in
1942, and Alan Lomax, the music historian, read it and liked
it, so he passed it on to Woody. Woody sent me some fan
mail. He wrote this one long letter on the back of the dust
jacket of the book. [laughs] All written out on the back of
the dust cover! The original letter has turned up in
someone's possession in North Carolina.
BE: I thought the letter was here among your other archives.
SK: The people who own the letter were
nice enough to send a full-sized color copy of
it for display here, but we're still in
negotiations for the original.
BE: How did it come about that Jean Paul
Sartre published your book, The Jim Crow
Guide?
SK: Well, I happened to be in Paris, and
nobody in the United States wanted to
publish it. You know, it was fifty years from
the time I wrote it before it was published in
the U.S. But while I was in France I met
Sartre and he liked it.
nice enough to send a full-sized color copy of
it for display here, but we're still in
negotiations for the original.
BE: How did it come about that Jean Paul
Sartre published your book, The Jim Crow
Guide?
SK: Well, I happened to be in Paris, and
nobody in the United States wanted to
publish it. You know, it was fifty years from
the time I wrote it before it was published in
the U.S. But while I was in France I met
Sartre and he liked it.
| Nora Guthrie (Arlo's sister) |