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Goodloe Sutton, newspaper editor of Alabama, speaks at a awards ceremony in New York, in 1998. (Stan Honda / AFP / Getty Images)
A black woman is the new editor and editor of an Alabama newspaper after her predecessor resigned Thursday as a result of a general condemnation of her Editorial of 14 February calling for massive lynchings, and telling him that the Ku Klux Klan needed to "clean up" Washington.
"It's time for the Ku Klux Klan to come back in the night," reads the editorial of the weekly Democrat-Reporter. The text claimed that Democrats, as well as some Republicans, were considering raising taxes in Alabama. "It looks like the Klan would be welcome to attack the closed communities up there," he said.
When confronted, the publisher and publisher of the newspaper, Goodloe Sutton, was keen about it, telling the Montgomery announcer that angry people could call him, write a letter or boycott the newspaper if they wished. He inherited his father's publication in the 1980s, based in Linden, Alabama.
Thursday, however, Sutton had apparently changed his mind. He entrusted the control of the newspaper to Elecia Dexter, an African-American from Chicago who held the position of receptionist of the newspaper.
"Everything has been a little surreal and a lot of things are happening," Dexter said in an interview on Saturday. "I am grateful for this opportunity."
[‘Time for the Ku Klux Klan to night ride again’: An Alabama newspaper editor wants to bring back lynching]
Dexter is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University where she earned a bachelor's degree in oral communication, according to a press release announcing her appointment. She also earned a Master's degree in Human Services from the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership and a Masters in Counseling from Argosy University.
Dexter, 46, said she only worked for six weeks in the paper and was disappointed when she saw the editorial. She responded to phone calls, questions and emails from newspaper supporters who were appalled by editorial and negative publicity.
Dexter told The Post that she planned to leave if no changes were made. She said Sutton and she had had an "open and honest" dialogue about his comments, in which he had explained his decision to invoke Lynchings and KKK in the editorial.
"[He] took a group that has a lot of negativity associated, especially for people like me, colored, "said Dexter.
"There are different ways to communicate. You wanted Washington cleaned up without using this particular reference, "she added.
Dexter said Sutton had contacted her Thursday to tell him that he was resigning from his duties as editor and publisher. He told Dexter that she could perpetuate the legacy of her family, who has been running the Democratic Reporter for decades, giving the newspaper a new direction.
Sutton, who did not immediately respond to a phone call asking for comments, will retain ownership of the Democrat-Reporter but will no longer oversee his day-to-day operations. Two decades ago, Sutton was hailed by his peers and discussed as a potential Pulitzer Prize nominee.
The news of the editorial has disturbed many readers of the Democrat-Reporter, who "do not want to be identified or defined by what he put in this newspaper," said Dexter. However, long-time readers highlighted that it was not the first time that the editorial page of the newspaper defended extremist or overtly racist views.
In May 2015, an editorial stated that the mayor of a "northern" city had "displayed his African heritage by not enforcing the civilized law." Another article, published in June of this year, called drug traffickers, kidnappers, rapists, thieves and criminals. murderers to hang "on the lawn of the courthouse where the public can watch".
The archives reveal many other examples. The contentious editorials were published without signature. It is therefore difficult to know which ones, if any, were written by Sutton.
Dexter said she did not know the editorials before joining the newspaper, but that she "started hearing little things" as she became familiar with the community. In December, she moved to her father's hometown of Sweet Water, Alaska, and joined the Democratic reporter shortly thereafter.
"When this article was published, I saw what other people had seen years ago," she said.
[Racism isn’t dead. Black Americans still need a ‘Green Book.’]
But the Feb. 14 editorial went viral and sparked harsh criticism from Sutton's peers, lawmakers and the NAACP leader in Alabama, who called for an FBI investigation. Sutton did not move away from his editorial, telling the announcer, "If we could get the Klan out there and get rid of D.C., we'd all have been better off. . . We are going to take the hemp ropes, pass them over a large member and hang them all. "
Dexter described Linden as a small, diverse city with traditional values. To go forward, she said she wanted to expand the scope of the document and start putting her stories online to highlight the "big things happening" in the community.
She knows that it will take time to repair the image of the newspaper and restore confidence to those who read it. An announcement on the leadership change was sent to newspaper subscribers.
"One thing that is important to me in the future is to ensure that members of this community feel that this document represents them and their points of view," she said. "Family, community caring about each other – I would like to advance a personal element, so that people have the impression that it is their paper, what it is."
Antonia Noori-Farzan contributed to this report.
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