C. P. Ellis
Encyclopedia
Claiborne Paul Ellis was a segregationist turned civil rights
activist and trade union
organizer. Ellis was at one time Exalted Cyclops of a Ku Klux Klan
group in Durham.
In 1971 there was a great deal of turmoil in the Durham NC City Schools because of a court-ordered desegregation. Bill Riddick, motivated by fears of violence among the students organized a ten-day community meeting called a charrette
where the whole community came to try to solve this problem. The first step was to create a steering committee that was representative of the whole community. Riddick identified Ann Atwater
, a poor African American welfare mom and civil rights activist and Ellis to co-chair that meeting.
After 10 days of talks the two became the unlikeliest of friends and Ellis came to believe that whites, especially poor whites, could prosper more from the civil-rights movement than from segregation. Atwater and Ellis came to know each other as individuals instead of as stereotypes. They came to see how they, as poor people, were both oppressed and that their children had many of the same issues. It was during this time that they cried together.
During the charrette, gospel music was performed. Ellis could be seen clapping his hands and stomping his feet to the music. Atwater told how she had to teach Ellis how to clap because "white folks clap on the odd beat". At the last night of the charrette, 1000 people participated, including Ellis' fellow klan members. At the microphone, Ellis held his Klan membership card up and said: "If schools are going to be better by me tearing up this card, I shall do so". Ellis thus renounced the Klan that night and never returned. The remaining klansmen threatened his life and never talked to him again for the next 30 years.
Ellis and Atwater formed an enduring friendship. He went on to organize black and white labor unions in Durham, and Atwater continued to empower poor people. Ellis' conversion to desegregation is documented in the book Best of Enemies (1996) and a documentary An Unlikely Friendship
C.P. Ellis died of Alzheimer's disease
in 2005. Ann Atwater eulogized his funeral.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
activist and trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
organizer. Ellis was at one time Exalted Cyclops of a Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
group in Durham.
In 1971 there was a great deal of turmoil in the Durham NC City Schools because of a court-ordered desegregation. Bill Riddick, motivated by fears of violence among the students organized a ten-day community meeting called a charrette
Charrette
A charrette , is often Anglicized to charette and sometimes called a design charrette. It consists of an intense period of design activity.-Charrettes in general:...
where the whole community came to try to solve this problem. The first step was to create a steering committee that was representative of the whole community. Riddick identified Ann Atwater
Ann Atwater
Ann Atwater is a civil rights activist. She also attends Mount Calvary UCC in Durham, NC She was the subject of a 2002 film entitled An Unlikely Friendship, the story of a relationship between Atwater and C. P. Ellis, a former Ku Klux Klan leader.In 1971 there was a great deal of turmoil in the...
, a poor African American welfare mom and civil rights activist and Ellis to co-chair that meeting.
After 10 days of talks the two became the unlikeliest of friends and Ellis came to believe that whites, especially poor whites, could prosper more from the civil-rights movement than from segregation. Atwater and Ellis came to know each other as individuals instead of as stereotypes. They came to see how they, as poor people, were both oppressed and that their children had many of the same issues. It was during this time that they cried together.
During the charrette, gospel music was performed. Ellis could be seen clapping his hands and stomping his feet to the music. Atwater told how she had to teach Ellis how to clap because "white folks clap on the odd beat". At the last night of the charrette, 1000 people participated, including Ellis' fellow klan members. At the microphone, Ellis held his Klan membership card up and said: "If schools are going to be better by me tearing up this card, I shall do so". Ellis thus renounced the Klan that night and never returned. The remaining klansmen threatened his life and never talked to him again for the next 30 years.
Ellis and Atwater formed an enduring friendship. He went on to organize black and white labor unions in Durham, and Atwater continued to empower poor people. Ellis' conversion to desegregation is documented in the book Best of Enemies (1996) and a documentary An Unlikely Friendship
C.P. Ellis died of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
in 2005. Ann Atwater eulogized his funeral.