For some observers, history repeating itself - Race in America - MSNBC.com

Signs point to revival of racism The Edgar Ray Killen murder case has reawakened one of the most harrowing chapters of the civil rights era. When the Baptist minister and sawmill operator accused of killing three civil rights workers in June 1964 goes on trial Monday in Philadelphia, Miss., it will prove to some observers that the country is working to put old demons of racism to rest. But civil rights activists also see disturbing evidence of America's uglier civil rights history repeating itself, citing what had been an intolerance with roots in the South now asserting itself on a national scale. There were 762 active hate groups in the United States in 2004, up slightly from 751 the year before, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, for decades a leading civil rights advocacy and legal defense organization.