On July 21, 1966, the Ku Klux Klan held a rally in Overton Park. The chief speaker was Imperial Wizard Robert M. Shelton of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who “told the crowd of about 400 Klansmen, supporters and curious onlookers to work for ‘conservative candidates’ in the coming elections,” according to the evening newspaper, the Memphis Press-Scimitar.
A little over a week later, on July 30, the vibe was entirely different as “all the freaks in town” gathered in Overton Park for the first Memphis Blues Festival, a celebration of Black musical expression that was organized by young white music lovers and that showcased such elder giants-in-our-midst as Furry Lewis, Rev. Robert Wilkins and “Mississippi” Fred McDowell.