We have all heard or used the phrase, “hit them in the pocketbook.” But did you know that this is also an effective way to attack white extremism?
Many times, we hope for a resolution in criminal court – with accompanying prison sentences – for the reprehensible actions of white extremists. However, that is not the sole means of accountability. Financial sanctions, by way of judgments and civil court, can be an effective tool in disrupting the supply chains that fund the actions of racial terrorists like the KKK, Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, to name a few.
Using civil court to advance civil rights is not a new tactic. In 1984, Beulah Mae Donald successfully sued the Alabama Ku Klux Klan after two of their members murdered her son in 1981. Michael Donald was lynched when local klan members were upset that a trial of a Black man, for allegedly murdering a white police officer, resulted in a mistrial when the jury deadlocked.
After an investigation, the FBI arrested the son of the second-highest ranking official in the state’s KKK. He and another man were convicted, but Donald felt that further accountability was needed. She knew the KKK continued to be an intimidating force against progress and racial justice, not only in Alabama but throughout the South.
Donald enlisted the help of Morris Dees, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Along with Dees and attorney Michael Figures, they successfully sued the KKK. She was awarded damages in the amount of $7 million by an all-white jury in 1987. The sum was so great that the Alabama KKK could only comply by giving Donald the deed to its Alabama headquarters – worth $225,000.
Individual members had their wages garnished and property seized. This was effectively the end of the KKK in the state of Alabama. In 1998, Dees was instrumental in another lawsuit in South Carolina, in which the South Carolina KKK had to pay Macedonia Baptist Church $37 million for a burning that was conducted by four of its members in 1995. Dees moved quickly to secure title to the klan’s assets there. This was the highest verdict to date that Dees had rightfully extracted from the KKK.
Now, in a new century, there is renewed interest in using civil court for justice against a new wave of white extremism. The vehicle is a modern version of an 1871 law known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. Many of us remember the traumatizing events of Charlottesville, Va., in 2017, when a white extremist drove a vehicle through peaceful protesters countering the “Unite the Right” rally, killing Heather Heyer and injuring others. Last November, a jury awarded nine plaintiffs $26 million, finding that the defendants conspired to intimidate and harass in advance of the fatal events. Twelve defendants and five organizations have been directed to pay.
In April of 2021, Metropolitan AME Church was awarded a judgment against the Proud Boys for defacing its church and Black Lives Matter sign in December 2020. While no amount has been specified and the Proud Boys leader was given more time to respond, this case has the potential to bankrupt the group out of existence – as long as investigators can follow the money trail in order to seize all assets.
(Courtesy of Melba Pearson)
Melba Pearson, Esq.
Finally, last December, Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine announced that he is suing the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over the Jan. 6, 2021, attempted coup and riot at the Capitol. Two other similar suits have been filed – one by a group of police officers who survived the attack, and one by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.). What makes Racine’s suit unique is that it's a case of the government suing entities in civil court in order to bring about justice and accountability.
As those who hold racist views in this country become more emboldened by politicians who lack conscience, financial judgments will be a way to right the wrongs that are committed. While it does not bring back loved ones, it can make hate too much of an expensive business. It will not change views, but it will, ideally, affect behavior.
Melba Pearson is an attorney, writer, speaker, wife and expert on criminal justice issues. She previously served as a homicide prosecutor in Miami, and as deputy director of the ACLU of Florida. Follow her on Twitter @ResLegalDiva.