Johnny Lee Clary (June 18, 1959 – October 21, 2014) was an American former professional wrestler,

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

, and later preacher. Clary served as a

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

leader before he became a Pentecostal Christian, traveling around the world preaching the gospel and teaching against racism and

hate groups A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. Acco ...

such as the Ku Klux Klan,

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

s, and the

Aryan Nations Aryan Nations is a North American antisemitic, neo-Nazi and white supremacist hate group that was originally based in Kootenai County, Idaho, about miles (4.4 km) north of the city of Hayden Lake. Richard Girnt Butler founded Aryan N ...

. Clary, under the stage name Johnny Angel, also wrestled in the

National Wrestling Federation The National Wrestling Federation (NWF) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Buffalo, New York and owned by promoter Pedro Martinez. It ran from 1970 to 1974. The promotion was then revived in 1986 by Robert Raskin. The revived promoti ...

(NWF) during the 1980s.

Early life

Johnny Lee Clary was born on June 18, 1959, in

Martinez, California Martinez (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Martínez'') is a city in and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Located on the southern shore of the Carquinez Strai ...

. He was reportedly raised in a racist home, where his father encouraged racist language and abusive treatment of black peopleFormer KKK Grand Wizard finds new path
by Frank Wallis. and saw to it that Clary attended an all-white church.
, melaniehemry.com; accessed October 28, 2014. Although Clary's father, a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, was not a Klansman, Clary claimed that his paternal uncle, Harold, was a member and that Harold boasted to Clary's father of shooting an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

man. Johnny's father sent his son on the Sunday school bus every week to the First Baptist Church. According to interviews Clary had given, his youth was marred by a violent and tragic family life and also by a lack of stability. At the age of 11, he watched his father kill himself and was subsequently shunted from one family member's home to another's. Eventually he found himself alone in

East Los Angeles, California East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, ...

, where he became involved in gangs and joined the Ku Klux Klan by the time he was 14.

Professional wrestling career

In 1983, Johnny became a

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

and was trained (along with his brother Terry Clary) by former NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion,

Danny Hodge Dan Allen Hodge (May 13, 1932 – December 24, 2020) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, who also had a brief professional boxing career. He is in both the U.S. amateur wrestling Hall of Fame, for his three NCAA titles and Ol ...

. Terry began his career under the name Sugar Boy, with Johnny as his manager under the name ''Der Kommisar'' after a 1980s new wave song of that name. Terry is best known for almost holding the NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Title for a very brief period. The storyline had Terry defeat then-champion Danny Hodge after Johnny (portraying a

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

managerial character) reached under the ropes during the match and tripped Hodge with a cane, and then had the decision reversed due to Johnny's "interference". Terry continued to wrestle, changing his name to Buddy "Bad Man" Savage. Johnny left wrestling management and began wrestling by himself, using the name Johnny Angel.

Racism and conversion to an anti-racism preacher

While he was wrestling, Clary continued his involvement in the KKK. According to his interviews with several media outlets, Clary became the

Grand Dragon Ku Klux Klan (KKK) nomenclature has evolved over the order's nearly 160 years of existence. The titles and designations were first laid out in the 1920s ''Kloran'', setting out KKK terms and traditions. Like many KKK terms, this is a portmanteau t ...

of the

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

arm of the

White Knights Of The Ku Klux Klan The White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) organization primarily located in Mississippi and Louisiana and active in the United States. The organization is known for using violence against the activists in the civil rights mov ...

. Clary claims to have become increasingly disillusioned with the KKK even as he rose through its ranks. He mentions a first brush with

evangelical Christianity Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

in the mid-to-late 1980s but, he claims, he was scared into returning to the KKK and went on to become the

Imperial Wizard The grand wizard (sometimes called the imperial wizard or national director) is the national leader of several different Ku Klux Klan organizations in the United States and abroad. The title "Grand Wizard" was used by the first Klan which was fo ...

of the whole White Knights organization in 1989. During his leadership the White Knights did not garner much media attention for their activities, but Clary was an active spokesperson for the Klan, defending racism and violence against non-white peoples. In this role he appeared on syndicated talk shows including those hosted by

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

and

Morton Downey John Morton Downey (November 14, 1901 – October 25, 1985), also known as Morton Downey, was an American singer and entertainer popular in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, enjoying his greatest success in the late 1920s ...

.Former Klansman addresses his past
lincolntimesnews.com; accessed October 28, 2014. In interviews Clary asserts that he left the KKK for good in 1990 and joined an evangelical church. This time he stayed with the church and in 1991 he began preaching. He teamed up with

Wade Watts Wade Watts (23 September 1919 – 13 December 1998) was an American gospel preacher and civil rights activist from Oklahoma. He served as the state president of the Oklahoma chapter of the NAACP for sixteen years,The GOP's Great Black Hope'' ...

, a preacher and former leader of the Oklahoma chapter of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

(NAACP) with whom he had previously sparred on numerous occasions during his time in the KKK."Not a chance encounter, but a divine appointment"
by Dana Williamson, johnnyleeclary.com; accessed October 28, 2014. The story of Clary's conversion from a Klansman to an anti-racism preacher has drawn the attention of numerous Christian media outlets and several national

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n talk shows. He appeared on talk shows such as ''

Donahue Donahue is the Americanized version of Irish surname Donohoe, which, in turn, is an Anglicized version of the ancient Irish name "Donnchadh" (sometimes "Donncha"). Donncha was a common “first name” in 9th century Ireland, and when the use o ...

'', and '' Geraldo'', discussing racial issues in the U.S. Clary was an ordained minister under World Evangelism Fellowship and

Church Of God In Christ The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is an international Christian perfection#Holiness Pentecostalism, Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and a large Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi ...

and lived in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. channel; accessed October 28, 2014. In 2009, he joined

Jimmy Swaggart Jimmy Lee Swaggart (; born March 15, 1935) is an American Pentecostal televangelist and gospel artist. Swaggart is one of the most well-known televangelists in America. During the 1980s, Swaggart's crusades were a major part of his ministry� ...

Ministries' Family Worship Center, where his wife is employed and began to preach and teach part-time there. He had been an active member there appearing on their Christian Network

Sonlife Broadcasting Network Jimmy Lee Swaggart (; born March 15, 1935) is an American Pentecostal televangelist and gospel artist. Swaggart is one of the most well-known televangelists in America. During the 1980s, Swaggart's crusades were a major part of his ministry� ...

on occasion.

Death

At his home in

, Clary suddenly died of a massive

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on October 21, 2014.Johnny Angel hated — and was hated — before he preached love
slam.canoe.ca; October 21, 2014; accessed October 28, 2014.

References

External links