this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2024
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250
A small city in Oklahoma elected a white nationalist. Will it be able to vote him out? (www.nbcnews.com)
submitted 8 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
28 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Judd Blevins, a city commissioner in Enid, Oklahoma, marched in the 2017 white nationalist Unite the Right rally. Now he faces a recall vote.

The photo of Judd Blevins was unmistakable.

In it, Blevins, bearded and heavyset, held a tiki torch on the University of Virginia campus, on the eve of Unite the Right, a 2017 coming-together of the nation’s neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups.

Connie Vickers had found the photo online along with others showing Blevins marching alongside an angry mob — a crowd of men recorded throughout the night spitting and shouting “Jews will not replace us!” Vickers had it enlarged at a local print and copy shop. On a January night in 2023, she and Nancy Presnall, best friends, retirees and rare Democrats in a deeply red Oklahoma county, brought it to a sparsely attended forum where Blevins, a candidate running to represent Ward 1 on Enid’s six-seat City Council, was making his case.

They had hoped to get a question in while Blevins was on stage, but settled for confronting him after.

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[–] kumatomic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 61 points 8 months ago (2 children)

After growing up in Oklahoma I won't be shocked if they don't vote him out. Although the OKC area is one of two more liberal areas in Oklahoma so that might work against him. In the small town I grew up in our library had a closed door Confederate and KKK museum until the 90's. African Americans weren't allowed in town after dark until nearly the 80's.

[–] MrPoopbutt@lemmy.world 21 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Do you mean weren't allowed by law, or do you mean that it would be dangerous of them to be out after dark?

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 24 points 8 months ago

Yes

[–] diverging@lemmy.ml 17 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

For all its faults (I liked it well enough), Lovecraft Country pretty accurately portrayed Sundown Towns.

[–] kumatomic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 8 months ago

These guys thankfully filled in the info, but the signs on the roads into the town I grew up in said they would hang them if found after dark, but in more racist wording. They didn't come down until 1978 in my town.

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

What's a "closed door museum?"

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It depends. Are you white?

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 11 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Yes, but I am a Northern Aggressor

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

You best just keep on drivin’

[–] kumatomic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Prior to the 80's it was more of an open affair, but at some point they just put a door with no windows on it and you had to be asked to go into the "heritage room". Even into the late 90s before it was remodeled.

[–] otp@sh.itjust.works 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I read this comment a few times, and googled it, but I still don't know what a closed-door museum or a heritage room is in this context. What are they, and what happens in them? Lol

[–] kumatomic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It was a room full of racist moron paraphilia where they believed they were preserving history although it was set up as a shrine to "The South will rise again" style bullshit. I doubt you will find anything on those search terms since they were just how I described it. I don't know if such things even existed in other towns, but ours had a room no bigger than 15x15' enshrined with Confederate, KKK, and even white supremacist paraphernalia. It's not a part of the towns history it would admit to now.

[–] otp@sh.itjust.works 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Wow. Thanks for the info. Can't say I'm surprised, but I'm definitely disappointed that those places exist...ed? I hope they don't exist. But again, I'd be disappointed, but not surprised...

[–] kumatomic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 8 months ago

No problem! My understanding is it's gone now, hit it's been a few years since I have been back. I wouldn't be surprised either.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 28 points 8 months ago

Oklahoma is such a weird state. A bunch of conservatives and a bunch of indigenous reservations.

But since we killed so many of them off, the indigenous only represent about 10% of the population.

[–] SeaJ@lemm.ee 24 points 8 months ago

The question assumes they actually want to vote him out. People voting for him will just excuse it by pretending the Unite the Right riot was not a white supremacist really despite it being organized by white supremacists. Hell, here in Washington we had a white supremacist terrorist in our state House. It didn't matter that it was publicized that he beat his wife for having the audacity to wake up before him or that he published a manifesto calling for gays to submit our be killed or that he helped organize the Bundy standoff. He was re-elected for 10 years and left on his own accord. And then went on to traffic children in Ukraine.

[–] agitatedpotato@lemmy.world 23 points 8 months ago

Voting out fascism, good joke.

[–] kyle@lemm.ee 14 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Might be worth noting, most of Enid's money comes from a Koch plant there, one of the largest in the country.

Enid's politics and people are definitely influenced by the Koch's.

[–] TheMightyCanuck@sh.itjust.works 8 points 8 months ago

What a koch sucker

[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The name “Judd Blevins” sounds like character in Anchorman.

[–] Beldarofremulak@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

"I love lebensgesetzlich" - Judd Blevins Channel 4 News Team

[–] InvaderDJ@lemmy.world 7 points 8 months ago (2 children)

What blows my mind is that the only black councilmember forgave him and basically torpedoed a censure of him.

Would really like to pick his brain to see what he was thinking at that moment considering the guy essentially admitted he was still a member of that white supremist group.

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 3 points 8 months ago

Why not do so? His email’s probably public.

I contacted the person involved in some small town story once and he got back to me the same day.

[–] Weslee@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

I would like to ask all the black and gay republicans what the hell is going on in their minds.

I mean it's obviously money, but still, I'd love to hear them justify it.

[–] oxjox@lemmy.ml 5 points 8 months ago

That was a great read!

[–] carl_dungeon@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why would they? From what I hear of Oklahoma, he fits right in.

[–] kyle@lemm.ee 3 points 8 months ago

I'm from Oklahoma, and Enid is definitely a small, backwoods town that has nothing but a Koch plant.

Trump won that county in 2020 with 77% of the vote.