Johnny Lee Clary
Johnny Lee Clary (born 1959) is a former Ku Klux Klan leader who becoming a born again Christian traveling around the globe preaching the gospel and also teaching against racism, race hate groups and cults such as the Ku Klux Klan, Neo Nazi's, and Aryan Nation type groups.
Upbringing
Johnny Lee Clary was born June 18 1959 in Martinez, California. Clary father taught him to call black people "niggers" at the age of 5. He looked out the car window and said "Look, Daddy! There's a chocolate-covered man!" His daddy said "That's not a chocolate-covered man, that's a nigger. Can you say, 'nigger' Johnny?" Clary had leaned out the window and shouted, "Nigger!" His daddy laughed and patted him on the back[1]
Clary was surrounded by racist people. His Uncle Harold had ties in the KKK and told Clary's father that "I shot a black man for crossing my property. The police didn't care that I shot him. But they did fine me for firing a gun in the city limits!" The two men laughed until their faces were red.[1]
Although Clary's father wasn't a member of the Klan because he was a Catholic he was known as a racist and pulled Clary out of Sunday school after an and incident where Clary leaned out the bus window and screamed, "Niger!" to a black child on the street. That day, Johnny Lee's Sunday school teacher pulled him aside and taught him a song. "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white...." Later at home, he sang it for his father. Clary's father subsequently found an all-white church closer to home.[1]
Many in Clary's neighborhood despised the Clary family and considered them "white trash." But were suddenly popular when a black family bought a house in the neighborhood. The neighbors came to Clary Sr. and asked him to help them get rid of the family. They were willing to buy them out, if they'd leave. Clary's parents fought all the time. Their marriage ended tragically when, one night, 11-year-old Johnny Lee walked into a room to see his daddy holding a gun to his head. "Daddy, don't!" he screamed, then watched as his daddy take the whole top of his head off.[1]
After the funeral, Johnny Lee went to live with his older sister and lived with his sister and her abusive boyfriend in California. His grandparents also rejected him, seeing Clary as a bad example for his younger brother, whom they were caring for. Because of rejection and the abuse at home, Clary found himself alone and looking for a place to belong. Living in East L.A. he found himself involved in gangs and fighting.[1]
The Ku Klux Klan
He once saw a talk show host interviewing David Duke, the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Remembering his Uncle Harold, Clary decided to contact the Klan. Within a few weeks, a man knocked at his door. At the age of 14 he was seduced by the teachings of David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan and joined the organization. He became so enthralled with the feeling of belonging that he readily participated in KKK events in a security capacity. His exuberance and dedication eventually led to him being appointed as Duke's personal bodyguard. Clary claims that the KKK became like a family to him, a family he never had.
Clary says that the KKK gave him the feeling of belonging that he never got from his real family in his youth. He continued to advance in the organization to become the youngest man to become the Grand Dragon of Oklahoma, which is the highest position of the KKK in the State. The White Knights Of The Ku Klux Klan, originating in Mississippi, are considered the most dreaded division of the KKK of all time and have gone down in history as the most militant and most violent.
Imperial Wizard
In 1989, the Ku Klux Klan appointed Clary, who had also become known as Professional Wrestler Johnny Angel, as it's new national Imperial Wizard, to succeed Sam Bowers, An Imperial Wizard was the highest position of for a Klan member in the entire United States. Clary appeared on many talk shows including Oprah and Morton Downey Jr., in an effort to build a new modern image for the Ku Klux Klan. It was thought that Clary could build membership in the Klan due to his celebrity status as a professional wrestler. Clary tried to unify the various chapters of the Klan in a meeting held in the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan, Pulaski, Tennessee, only to have it fall apart by infighting which occurred when the Klan came together.
As the Klan's national leader, Johnny toured the TV talk show circuit advocating, supporting and defending racism and violence. Appearances included the Oprah Winfrey and Morton Downey, Jr. shows. He spent much of his energies trying to unite America's racist groups such as Neo Nazi and Skinhead groups, and splintered KKK groups.
Resignation
All up Clary spent 16 years in the Klan. [2] After rising to the top of the KKK Clary started to become disillusioned with it. After a false arrest in Tennessee for a weapons violation, being disgusted by internal fighting between the various white supremacist organizations he was trying to unify, and the discovery that his girlfriend was an informant for the F.B.I. led Clary to resign from the leadership of the Klan. Although not planning on leaving the Klan entirely he was subsequently accused of being a race trader after this and had the KKK turn on him. The climax of the film American History X shows many similarities to Clary’s departure from the Klan. [3]
At the time Clary was dealing with the loss of a daughter and the end of a marriage. This combined with his obsessive guilt over the life of prejudice and hatred he had lived led Johnny to alcohol for comfort. Clary felt betrayed by the Klan and concluding that he had once again been rejected by his "family" saw that the only way out was to do what his father did and commit suicide. Sitting on his bed with a gun to his head, he turned and saw a bible nearby. He picked it up and it fell open to Luke 15 and the story of the Prodigal Son. Clary had attended a church until his father died and felt that he had strayed from God like the Prodigal Son. That day he had a spiritual encounter with Jesus Christ. [1]
Surprisingly Clary began to attended a multi racial church for about a year. He eventually met up with Wade Watts, a black gospel preacher, whom Clary had once persecuted and had even set his church on fire. Clary preached his first sermon in Watts' all black church, and traveled with Watt's for seven years, preaching the gospel and exposing racism. After the death of Watts in 1998, Clary vowed to use his life story to help others, especially youth, trapped in race hate groups. [1]
Evangelist
At present, Johnny is a noted Pentecostal Christian evangelist who spends much of his time traveling the world sharing his life story and helping others see the errors of racism. He is the head director of Operation Colorblind. Dispite his fame as a Wrestler and a Klansman, As a Christian and motivational speaker, Johnny has appeared on Billy Graham's Radio show, Geraldo Rivera, Sally Jessy Raphael, Jerry Springer, Rikki Lake, Queen Latifah, Carol and Marilyn Real Friends, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, Rolanda, The Today Show, A Current Affair,NBC's Donny Deutsch The Big Idea, and The 700 Club.
He has been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and also appeared in the nation's top Newspapers and National TV Shows in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales. He has had a full feature article in GUIDEPOST MAGAZINE, Sept. 1998, CHARISMA MAGAZINE April 1999, and Kenneth Copeland's "Believers Voice Of Victory, 1997, and appeared on Kenneth Copeland's TV Show for two weeks, in 1999.He has appeared all over the Nation of Australia on ABC Radio as well as ABC's "Enough Rope" hosted by Andrew Denton.
Johnny has also shared the platform with T.D. Jakes twice, once at Azusa Fellowship Conference and again on TBN's Praise The Lord Show.
Encounters with a Black Preacher
Watts once told Oklahoma State Senator Gene Stipe that if he could have had one prayer answered it would be to meet face to face with the leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Clary attests that he owes his conversion to Wade Watts who was the state leader of the Oklahoma NAACP. Watts was already a target of the KKK but more so after debating with Clary on an Oklahoma City radio station. Clary had refused to shake Watts hand before the broadcast, but Watts shook his hand any way and introduced himself by telling Clary that Jesus loved him. [4] It was the meeting that ultimately would change the heart of Clary 14 years later.
When they were leaving the radio station Watts introduced Clary to his wife and the niece that they were raising and asked Clary how he could hate the little baby girl who was half black and half white, causing Clary to realize at the time that he could not. Watts told Clary that God loved him, even later responding to a threatening phone call from Clary, in which he told Watts that the he and other Klansmen were coming for him, to which Watts responded by telling Clary that it was unnecessary because Watts would meet Clary and buy him dinner.
The Klan marched around his house and burned a cross on his lawn. They had burned one of his churches down and tried to burn another one a few years later. Wade had taken the Klan on in court and won by getting an injunction against the Klan that stopped them from burning a 45 foot cross on the outskirts of McAlester. Watts thought his time might have been up when he was surrounded by 30 KKK members in a rural cafe. Clary snarled, “We’re going to do to you whatever you do to that chicken on your plate.” Wade looked at the KKK members standing about him wearing their KKK t-shirts and calmly picked up the chicken and kissed it! [5]
Needless to say, the men did not keep their promise. Even members of the KKK broke out in laughter over Wade's response to their threats. On another occasion, he went into a cafe in Ada, Oklahoma with his friend, Oklahoma State Senator Gene Stipe, where he was stopped at the door by the waitress. She proceeded to tell them they did not serve Negroes there! Wade told the woman, "Ma'am, I don't eat Negroes anyway, just give me some ham and some eggs!"
Clary's involvement in exposing the KKK and exampleship of amendment is the most notable demonstration of racial restitution by a former Klansman to date. Clary is even Godfather of Wade's daughter, Tia, who was the first person converted through Clary’s preaching, and is also the half black half white baby girl whom Watt's had shown Clary some 14 years before. Clary was the first white man to be officially ordained through Watts' all black church.
Together, Watts and Clary appeared on the national talk shows "Donahue," and "Geraldo," in discussions on racial issues in America and have taken on the KKK in a debate on race issues.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Apostle of Healing by Melanie Hemry
- ^ Not a chance encounter, but a divine appointment by Dana Williamson
- ^ Enough Rope Andrew Denton Clary’s Resignation
- ^ Not a Chance Encounter, but a Divine Appointment With Truth (Word download) by Dana Williamson, Southern Baptist Press
- ^ Wade Watts and the chicken story
Resources
Links
- Johnny Lee Clary’s Home Page
- Segment of Billy Joe Daugherty's "Power of Forgiveness Video with Johnny Lee Clary 3:09
- ABC Radio interview The Conversation Hour One hour audio which has Clary on second half @ 31:03.
- Documentary Video of Clary's life 12:53