Stetson Kennedy, the civil rights activist and folklorist, just passed away at 94. Kennedy wrote the book, I Rode With The Ku Klux Klan, in the 1950s, which was an eye-opener for America, but he was later acccused (rightly, it would seem) of exaggeration and sensationalism. He even brought his anti-KKK struggle to the airwaves while working as a consultant for the Superman radio program. Kennedy ran (unsuccessfully) for governor of Florida, and Woody Guthrie wrote a song about him. Quite a life.
Kennedy interviewed for Freakonomics:
Billy Bragg sings “Stetson Kennedy”:
Tags: Stetson Kennedy, Woody Guthrie