Janet Powell, WNWR 1540 AM
Radio Show Host.
Detroit businessman Jim Burwell supported civil rights groups and worked to heal the wounds from the city's 1967 race riot. But after his death, it was revealed that he had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan, the Detroit News said.
Until then, Burwell had a reputation for reaching out to help his black neighbors. He had an old bus that he used to ferry thousands of black children to church services and field trips. He ran a job program for ex-convicts that was partially funded by a civil rights group. He even donated to the Detroit Black Panther Party, the News said.
But documents found in his old truck repair shop after his death at 62 revealed Burwell had been a member of the KKK. Michigan State Police records also indicate he was involved with the Klan, the News said. His widow confirmed his membership. She said it was possible he was working for police as an informant, but there was nothing in police records to confirm that.
Revelations about Burwell's secret life shocked many who knew him as a rights champion.
"I guess you never really know who you are dealing with," civil rights activist Rob Scott, a former Black Panther, told the newspaper. "A whole lot of black people considered them his friend."
