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April 18, 2024
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In the Cage
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On Saturday, April 5,1997, forty members of the Ku Klux Klan rallied on the steps of the City-County Building in Pittsburgh.
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While a peaceful rally celebrating diversity went on several blocks away in Market Square, the Grant Street area
tensed as thousands of protesters poured into fenced-in areas designed to separate them from the Klan's venue.
There were differing viewpoints of who was "in the cage." Some vociferous anti-Klan protestors referred to the fenced parking lot across Grant
Street from the City-County Building as "the cage," something designed to inhibit the protestors and protect the Klan. This certainly was the
intent of the fencing which was used not just around the parking lot, but which encircled the whole city block, at the center of which stood the Klan. It's
exactly their position in the center of a heavily patrolled compound on the perimeter of which stood thousand crying for their blood, which
verifies that the Klansmen were the caged animals on this occasion.
The day ended without incident. Credit goes to the police, who handled several potentially explosive situations
with patience and a high regard for public safety. Credit also goes to the protesters,
who vented their anger at the Klan by literally rattling their cage, but wisely drew back from any real
confrontation with the officers who separated them from their target.
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Audio Clips
The following audio clips are available...
 "Klan go home..."--25k
The Star Spangled Banner (anti-Klan protestors--good intentions, lousy pitch)--20k
"KKK has got to go..."--34k
"Become a Klansman, become a Nazi, become a nonconformist, become a revolutionary for God"--29k
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