Ugly conflict in Philly

Philadelphia Weekly - Over the last eight years, neo-Nazi skinheads and members of the white separatist group Keystone United, formerly known as the Keystone State Skinheads, have periodically held rallies around the Delaware Valley—most famously, at Fairmount Park every Leif Erikson Day, celebrating white heritage. And, on most of those occasions, they’ve been opposed by anarchists, communist and anti-fascist protesters—particularly, a coalition known as Philly Antifa—who attempt to drown out their message.

So when Keystone United shows up in public, so does Philly Antifa. And vice versa: When Philly Antifa plans to rally somewhere, Keystone United shows up. That’s what happened on the Saturday in question: Philly Antifa scheduled a rally they called “March Against Racists and Rapists.” And Keystone United wasn’t gonna let that stand.

According to the anti-fascist collective, numerous members of white power groups—Keystone United, yes, but also the KKK—live in this part of Northeast Philadelphia. Indeed, in June, actual members of the Ku Klux Klan held a rally at the Tacony Library on Torresdale Avenue. Soon after, Tacony town watch member and GOP committeeman William Waters, a proud Klansman, was kicked off the town watch.

“The KKK stuff was the straw that broke the camel’s back, more-less,” says Daryl Lamont Jenkins, head of the One People’s Project in Philadelphia, a regular at these protests. “Because they’ve been here for years, and they’ve been using this neighborhood as their headquarters.”