In the early 1970s, a period of turmoil and division not so very different from now, the owners of this newspaper awoke one morning to find the remnants of a seven-foot-high burnt-out cross outside the home of our publisher at the time. Emblazoned on it were the letters, “KKK.”

In and of itself, it was a failure in the world of intimidation. The home was built on the downslope of a hill, and though the smell of oil and the evidence of burnt rags gave proof that the cross had been set...