Home in Henderson speaks to Sara Coffey


Home in Henderson had an opportunity to speak with bail bondswoman, private investigator, and former city council candidate Sara Coffey after the Monday, February 13 city council meeting at City Hall.

Coffey showed Home in Henderson pictures of a parade held by Howard Bobbitt on Garnett Street in downtown Henderson in approximately 1996. She claimed the he was charged with parading without a permit as a result of that rally.

Bill White, the self-confessed National Socialist who posted an article about Coffey’s effort to eliminate the KKK’s telephone listing from the directory on his website, called Coffey and left a message on her answering machine in which he called her a “stupid bitch”. According to Coffey, White too has a criminal record that includes assault and carrying a concealed weapon.

Home in Henderson asked Coffey about accusations that have been made about her effort against the Klan as an example of political opportunism on her part.

“I’m not running ever again,” Coffey said. She told Home in Henderson that her hands would be tied by being on the city council. She told us that she is a freelance private investigator and that she does not have to worry about who is sitting next to her on the city council. She is, however, proud to think that many people had faith and confidence in her.

We asked Coffey about whether or not her effort was providing free press for the KKK.

“Any time anything’s out in the public, it’s pretty much free press,” Coffey told us. She reminded us of the saying about keeping one’s friends close and one’s enemies closer and that she believes that it is true. The Klan, Coffey told us, hide themselves. They come in and do what they want to do. They hide under sheets.

“It can be a real eye-opener,” she said.

Home in Henderson asked Coffey what had inspired her to begin her effort against the Klan listing.

Coffey told us that when she first wrote the letter to The Daily Dispatch, she was not specifically talking about black businesses. Reminding us that she is an over-50 white female, she told us that she was speaking of minority businesses in general. Coffey told us that when she found out about the hotline, she thought it was ironic in a city confronted with racial division, that it was a sign that we are living in the past. For Coffey, in order to move forward, we need to get rid of things having to do with the past. We need to get rid of minority biases.

“My own personal thing has been to be above board,” Coffey stated. She also told us that she has made a lot of enemies taking the stand that she has.

When asked by Home in Henderson if she would have done things any differently, she told us, “Not at all. If I had known about it, I wouldn’t have waited so long to do it.”