NAACP protests racist music fest in Paulding County

<p>State troopers planned to be on hand Sunday in rural Paulding County on the final day of Hammerfest 2005, an annual gathering that features white supremacist rock bands.</p><p>On Saturday, more than 50 members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People marched by the roadside bar where the event was taking place to protest it.</p><p>Law enforcement officers _ who outnumbered both sides there _ escorted the NAACP protesters to and from the Georgia Peach Restaurant and Museum, which sits along Ga. 120.</p><p>Some people who were standing and lounging outside the restaurant heckled the protesters but remained peaceful.</p><p>Protesters, including organizer Kimberly Alexander, president of the Douglas County chapter of the NAACP, used a bullhorn to call upon restaurant owner Patrick Lanzo to renounce the gathering being held on his property. Protesters chanted "racism is terrorism." Meanwhile, a loudspeaker set outside the restaurant broadcast racist comments.</p><p>But there were no arrests during the protest, Georgia State Patrol spokesman Larry Schnall said.</p><p>"Overall a successful day as far as public safety is concerned," Schnall said. "Both groups expressed themselves and were protected."</p><p>Troopers planned to monitor Hammerfest participants Sunday, the final day of the event, Schnall said.</p><p>Lanzo, the bar's owner, has allowed racist groups to use his property in the past. He also ruffled feathers recently by posting a sign outside his restaurant that uses a racial slur to criticize singer Michael Jackson's acquittal on child molestation charges.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cd9b7c)</p>