Bennie is Henry Hays’s father and a high-ranking official of the KKK in the 1980s and 1990s. Although Henry has had a major change of heart over the years and now rejects the racist ideologies that his parents instilled in him, Bennie is still deeply racist himself. When Henry proudly declares that Ray is his best friend, Bennie refuses to shake Ray’s hand, clearly discriminating against Ray for being a Black man. On another day, while Bennie is visiting Henry in prison, he has a heart attack and dies.