FORT BELVOIR, va. -- Rev. Johnny Lee Clary learned to hate at a young age. A one-time member of the Ku Klux Klan, he was brought up in a racist household in Miami, Okla., where the mistreatment of blacks was encouraged.
After seeing his father commit suicide, at age 11, Clary's mother abandoned him. He would eventually wind up living alone in Los Angeles, Ca. and join the Klan when he was 14.
He returned to Oklahoma shortly after and spent the next 16 years rising through the ranks of the Klan. Without a stable family life, Clary confessed it was the only family he had at the time.
That was then.
Today, Clary is a born-again Christian who travels around the world preaching the gospel and mentoring youth groups against a life of crime. As the keynote speaker during a celebration honoring the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Thursday, Clary told an audience at Fort Belvoir Officers' Club he has just one thing on his mind these days.
"I'm in constant prayer that people will see one another as God sees them," Clary said. "We need to stop judging and look upon the heart. It's what saved my life."
Clary said he views the human race like a rose garden - one of many beautiful colors. He recalled a meeting with famed civil rights activist Wade Watts, who was a close friend of King's, back in 1979.
As the state leader of the NAACP, Watts was a target of the Klan and was asked to debate Clary on an Oklahoma City radio station. Clary said he refused to shake Watts' hand before the broadcast, but that it had no effect on his rival.
"He shook my hand anyway and introduced himself by telling me that Jesus loves me," Clary said. "He then said there wasn't anything I could do to make him hate me."
As they were leaving the radio station, Watts then introduced Clary to his wife and a niece they were raising. Watts asked him how he could hate the little girl - to which Clary had no response.
"Over time, I learned a very important lesson. People hate what they fear," Clary said. "I then decided that if given a second chance in life, I would make the most of it."
Disillusioned with the Klan, Clary left in 1990 and joined an evangelical church. He later contacted Watts and told him of his transformation. The two became good friends and remained so until Watts' death in 1998.
"Wade Watts believed in me when others didn't. That's something I'll never forget," Clary said. "Just before he died, he told me to keep Rev. King's dream alive. I hope to do that by building a bridge of reconciliation. Everyone deserves a second chance. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't true."
Now 50, Clary said he will continue to challenge people to not tolerate racism and hopes younger generations look to the armed forces for its heroes. For they are the ones sacrificing so much for freedom, he said.
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