In June 1996, the KKK announced plans for a rally in Ann Arbor,
Michigan. On the day of the rally a fenced area was set aside for peaceful
protest. At some point one of the protestors announced there was “a Klansman in
the crowd.” A middle-aged white man wearing a Confederate flag T-shirt and an
SS tattoo was knocked down as he tried to run. The crowd began to kick and beat
him with their signs. Keshia Thomas, an eighteen-year-old African American, shielded
the man from the protestors and screamed at them to stop, saying, “You can’t
beat goodness into a person.” Shortly afterward the police arrived and put an
end to the violence. Keshia said she acted as she did because she knew what it
was like to be hurt. The man never thanked her for saving his life, but some
months later his son commended her for her courage and compassion.
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