The bogey men

Klan should make this a memorable Masters

There was a time when the mere mention of Augusta National Golf Club conjured up images of massive magnolias, flowering dogwoods and undulating greens. But thanks to Martha Burk, Hootie Johnson and now J.J. Harper, that time is gone.

Think Augusta National now, and two words leap to mind: three-ring circus.

You know all about Burk and her well-advertised plans to demonstrate at next month's Masters in protest of Augusta's steadfast refusal to admit women as members. But if she's Johnson's worst nightmare, Harper is a close No. 2.

Harper, the 39-year-old owner of an electronics shop in Cordele, Ga., on Tuesday mailed an application for his own Masters protest permit. He wants to march in support of Augusta National's all-male membership policy. The only problem? Harper is the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

Just what kind of protest numbers Harper can muster remains to be seen. He says 20 to 25 KKK members -- sans hoods and white gowns -- will be there. But the American White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan reportedly disbanded last January, leaving Harper to appoint himself Imperial Wizard of his splinter group.

Harper says he isn’t much of a sports fan and rarely plays more than 10 rounds of golf a year. When he does tee it up, the Georgia Southern grad (Class of ‘90) generally heads down to the Veterans Memorial Golf Course in Cordele to "swing at a few."

So why does he want to be a player in the ongoing saga at Augusta National?

Well, Harper admits to having political ambitions. He’s also hot about the prospect of the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition marching along with Burk. But the real issue, he insists, has nothing to do with race -- just his and the KKK’s belief in the rights of individuals and organizations such as Augusta National.

In one breath, the Imperial Wizard rants about government-imposed seat belt laws. In the next, he argues for the separation of church and state. Harper says he supports the House of Prayer church, a predominantly black Atlanta church whose members have been charged by authorities over their methods of disciplining children, which include whipping.

“This equal rights stuff has gotten out of hand, and gotten to where it is all rights for organizations such as NAACP and no rights for private business and individuals in general," Harper says. “Our primary goal here is to stand up for the rights of Augusta National. Of course, they are going to deny us because we have a bad [image] or stereotype image. That is not the point. It is not about women and it is not about golf.

“Our primary goal is to stand up for [Augusta National’s] rights or rights in general. The secondary reason is because we feel like Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow Coalition are a disgrace to God."

Harper’s stated problem with Jackson is the fact that he fathered a love-child with a former Rainbow/PUSH staffer. Jackson has also weathered recent scrutiny over his Chicago-based group’s finances.

“Usually you can kind of see what is going on inside a man’s heart," Harper says. “And we just don’t need that kind of man down here in Georgia."

Harper says no one from Augusta National has called asking his group to stay away. Nor should they feel uneasy over the Klan’s support, he says. The KKK may be historically linked to lynchings and bombings, but Harper says his faction is Christian-based. He’s quick to promise there won’t be any cross burnings or hooded protesters.

“Oh no, sir, we’re very professional," Harper says. “We do have our robes and our hoods and everything. That white robe stands for Christianity, purity and the white race, of course. But we’re more of a Christian movement than a white supremacist movement.

“We will wear nice clothes -- suits, maybe some will wear blue jeans, depending on their income and that stuff. We don’t discriminate because you don’t have any money, either."

So how will folks be able to pick the KKK out in the crowd?

“Oh, they’ll know," Harper says with a laugh. “We’ll have signs and that kind of thing that we’ll be holding. People will know."

Oh for those magnolias, dogwoods and undulating greens.

Mike Fish is a senior writer for SI.com.

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