Former KKK Leader, Bill Wilkinson, Living in San Pedro as Resort Owner

Bill Wilkinson

The Daily Mail, an online newspaper out of the UK, has resurrected what it calls an exclusive story; the content which has already been reported sometime in Belize. It involves the white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan, which is one of three individual organizations in the United States emphasizing racism and demanding purification of the American society.  The KKK, as it is popularly known, dates back to the 1860s when violence against African Americans in the South was first recorded.  This is all to say that in 1975, Bill Wilkinson founded the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and served as Imperial Wizard of the Invisible Empire until 1984.  Unlike his fellow Klansmen, Wilkinson never hid his identity behind the infamous white hood.  During those years, he was described by the F.B.I. as both violent and dangerous, establishing several paramilitary training camps before extending his recruiting campaign to Britain.  That’s when he fell off the map.  But since then, Wilkinson has been residing in San Pedro where he reportedly owns the Seven Seas Resort, a multimillion dollar investment on Ambergris Caye.

Bill Wilkinson

The article in the Daily Mail says one of Wilkinson’s employees was interviewed recently.  The front desk worker described the former KKK leader amiably, acknowledging his controversial past but seemingly unaware of the influence he once wielded.  While the article describes Belize as paradise, it points to the irony of Wilkinson’s relationship with its residents, a majority of whom are of mixed races.  According to the author of the piece, Wilkinson seems friendly with the local black population and was seen fist-pumping with one man while acknowledging others on the island.