John Kasper
Encyclopedia
John Kasper was an American
far-right
activist who took a militant stand against racial integration
during the civil rights movement
.
Educated at Columbia University
, Kasper became a devotee of Ezra Pound
and corresponded with him as a student. After running a bookshop in Greenwich Village
he moved to Washington, D.C.
, where he befriended Pound and set up a company to publish the poet's works, as well as those of others such as Charles Olson
. Imbibing Pound's right-wing ideas, he formed the Seaboard White Citizens Council immediately after Brown v. Board of Education
in order to prevent desegregation
in Washington.
Kasper came to prominence during the integration of Clinton High School in Clinton, Tennessee
. He sought to mobilize the opponents of the desegregation order, and was arrested during the resulting unrest. Kasper was acquitted in the subsequent trial that included a number of jurors who served on the arresting auxiliary police force. As a result of this incident, Kasper became a focal point at a number of such protests across the south, often an unwelcome one. While he was campaigning, Kasper was jailed for crimes ranging from inciting a riot to loitering
. He was a suspect in a school bombing in Nashville
as well as a number of synagogue
bombings — he was a virulent antisemite — although no evidence was provided to link him directly to any of the cases.
He served eight months for conspiracy
in 1957. Upon his release, he called for a return to Constitutionalism
, and the creation of a third party
to oppose the integration that was now supported by both Democrats
and Republicans
. He later became associated with the National States' Rights Party
, and ran in the 1964 Presidential election
with J. B. Stoner
as his running mate. Kasper attracted negligible support: just 6,434 votes in two states Kentucky
and Arkansas
. Kasper returned to his northern roots in 1967 and effectively left politics, settling down to family life and a series of clerical jobs.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
far-right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
activist who took a militant stand against racial integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
during the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
.
Educated at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Kasper became a devotee of Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
and corresponded with him as a student. After running a bookshop in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
he moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he befriended Pound and set up a company to publish the poet's works, as well as those of others such as Charles Olson
Charles Olson
Charles Olson , was a second generation American modernist poet who was a link between earlier figures such as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams and the New American poets, which includes the New York School, the Black Mountain School, the Beat poets, and the San Francisco Renaissance...
. Imbibing Pound's right-wing ideas, he formed the Seaboard White Citizens Council immediately after Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
in order to prevent desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
in Washington.
Kasper came to prominence during the integration of Clinton High School in Clinton, Tennessee
Clinton, Tennessee
Clinton is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 9,409 at the United States Census, 2000. It is the county seat of Anderson County. Clinton is included in the "Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area".-Geography:...
. He sought to mobilize the opponents of the desegregation order, and was arrested during the resulting unrest. Kasper was acquitted in the subsequent trial that included a number of jurors who served on the arresting auxiliary police force. As a result of this incident, Kasper became a focal point at a number of such protests across the south, often an unwelcome one. While he was campaigning, Kasper was jailed for crimes ranging from inciting a riot to loitering
Loitering
Loitering is the act of remaining in a particular public place for a protracted time. Under certain circumstances, it is illegal in various jurisdictions.-Prohibition and history:Loitering may be prohibited by local governments in several countries...
. He was a suspect in a school bombing in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
as well as a number of synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
bombings — he was a virulent antisemite — although no evidence was provided to link him directly to any of the cases.
He served eight months for conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
in 1957. Upon his release, he called for a return to Constitutionalism
Constitutionalism
Constitutionalism has a variety of meanings. Most generally, it is "a complex of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law"....
, and the creation of a third party
Third party (United States)
The term third party is used in the United States for any and all political parties in the United States other than one of the two major parties . The term can also refer to independent politicians not affiliated with any party at all and to write-in candidates.The United States has had a...
to oppose the integration that was now supported by both Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. He later became associated with the National States' Rights Party
National States' Rights Party
National States' Rights Party was a far right, white supremacist party that briefly played a minor role in the politics of the United States.-Foundation:...
, and ran in the 1964 Presidential election
United States presidential election, 1964
The United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
with J. B. Stoner
J. B. Stoner
Jesse Benjamin "J.B." Stoner was an American segregationist who was convicted in 1980 of the bombing in 1958 of the Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.J. B...
as his running mate. Kasper attracted negligible support: just 6,434 votes in two states Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. Kasper returned to his northern roots in 1967 and effectively left politics, settling down to family life and a series of clerical jobs.