A place of peace

COEUR d'ALENE - The passage is carved in stone, white letters on shiny black marble, a permanent reminder that hatred has no place in Kootenai County:

"Justice did roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream."

Paraphrasing a sentence from the Old Testament, the words are etched on the new monument at Ronald D. Rankin Veteran's Memorial Park, next to the Kootenai County Courthouse - an elegant stone shaped like an open book, commemorating the 10th anniversary of Keenans v. The Aryan Nations.

On Sept. 7, 2000, a Kootenai County jury ruled in favor of Victoria and Jason Keenan, who were pursued, assaulted and held captive by security guards from the Aryan Nations compound that formerly stood in Hayden Lake. The jury awarded the Keenans $6.3 million, a decision that bankrupted the Aryan Nations and drove the Nazis from North Idaho.

To celebrate this final verdict, the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations hosted an anniversary ceremony at Memorial Park on Tuesday.

Nine speakers addressed the crowd, including several who played a part in the trial. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the polished memorial - donated by Da Vinci Stone of Post Falls and carved by local artist Julie Wood - was unveiled.

"Ten years ago today, at this courthouse, a jury returned a very important verdict," said Tony Stewart, secretary and an original founder of the task force. "You cannot commit hate crimes in this community without (consequences)."

The Aryan Nations, he continued, was not denied its constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly. But those rights only go so far.

"There is no constitutional right to extend that hate speech into violence," Stewart said.

Following representatives of the Kootenai County commissioners and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Coeur d'Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem remarked on the bravery of the trial's participants, especially those who spoke out against injustice.

"What a great day this is," Bloem said. "Today, because of the heroes standing here, we can celebrate the fact that we don't live in fear. Silence never did win any rights. Silence never did pick up and make us a better place. Today, instead of a place of hate, we have a place of peace."

Upon completion of the trial, the fortified Aryan Nations compound was sold to Greg Carr, a humanitarian and philanthropist who runs the Gregory C. Carr Foundation. The compound was leveled, and a tranquil Peace Park was built in its place.

The park was later given to the North Idaho College Foundation.

"I think what I like most about this victory is the way in which the local community handled it," Carr remarked, saying that Kootenai County's residents made their "own voices louder" than the Aryan Nations'.

"I'm proud to be among you, thank you," he said.

After the Keenans were assaulted near the compound, they contacted the task force, which in turn recruited the Southern Poverty Law Center. Norm Gissel, a lawyer working for the SPLC, and Ken Howard represented the Keenans during the trial.

"We can see that the chapter of American cultural history that took for granted our racism, and all the cultural ills that racism has created, is closing, and when closed will stay closed forever," Gissel said. "Our particular jury (the group that decided Keenans v. Aryan Nations) took it upon itself to send that message. The Aryan Nations heard this message; a number of whom left North Idaho looking elsewhere in America for greener pastures. For them 30 years of advocating, proselytizing, parading and organizing went for nothing."

Christie Wood, vice president of the task force, revealed the new monument.

"The Triumph of Justice Over Hate," it reads, honoring the task force, the attorneys, the SPLC, Greg Carr and the Kootenai County jury.

Not more than 50 yards from the site of the trial, the black and white monument stands proudly, a fine work of craftsmanship that recalls a day 10 years ago when justice rolled like water and righteousness like a stream.