Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is a White supremacy organization in the United States. It is dedicated to opposing civil rights for Blacks, Jews, and other ethnic, racial, social or religious groups. It also opposes Catholicism, and 'left' groups such as the IWW, and the gay rights movement.

The name Ku Klux Klan comes from kuklos, the Greek word for circle. A persistent myth has existed in the United States which alleges that the name comes from the sound of the hammer of a rifle being cocked.

The Klan is associated with acts of terrorism such as lynchings and burning of homes, and a consciously mystical and grandiose aesthetic involving wearing white robes and hoods and burning crosses. In fact, the Klan adopted Christian symbolism throughout their rituals. An account of one Klan initiation ceremony describes a Bible opened to Romans 12, telling Christians to engage in "godly conduct." The fiery cross was accompanied by a sword, representing the battle against the enemies of the Christian way, and an American flag. In a reference to baptism, new initiates were sprinkled with water to "cleanse" them of alien influences. Both the opening and closing prayers declared: "The living Christ is the Klansman's criterion of character."

The Ku Klux Klan was first established in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1866 after the end of the American Civil War by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, to oppose the extension of voting rights to Blacks, and other measures to end segregation, introduced as part of the Reconstruction. But as federal control of the ex-Confederate states was withdrawn, the local white population re-established their power and with it segregation laws. The Klan then faded from existence, its purpose served.

The Ku Klux Klan was re-established during the Great Depression, a feat which arguably would not have been possible without D. W. Griffith's skillful propaganda film The Birth of a Nation, based on the play The Clansmen and the book The Leopard's Spots, both by Thomas Dixon. Many poor whites were drawn to the idea that their economic woes were caused by Blacks, or by Jewish bankers, or by other such groups.

The KKK holds itself to be Protestant Christian organization. From the late early 1900s to the late 1940s, hundreds of thousands of Protestant Christians saw the KKK as a part of their faith. Millions of non-KKK Americans viewed the KKK as incorrect, but nonetheless saw its members as valid Christians. Today this position makes many people feel uncomfortable, but back in that era hating black people, as well as Jews and Catholics, was seen as part of "God's plan". A much smaller number of Americans still have such views today. Many people hold that its members were not really Christian, as they didn't follow the teachings of classical Christianity, which seems to be a valid point. Others hold that this is a case of the "No true Scottsman" fallacy.

The Ku Klux Klan rose to great prominence and spread from the South into the Midwest and Northern states, and at this time counted many politicians among its members. According to some accounts, even future president Harry Truman was briefly a member of the Klan, though he soon left because of their virulent anti-Catholicism. Another supposed former Klansman to rise to national prominence was future Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black. However, with the recovery from the Great Depression and the onset of World War II, the Klan again faded; it has never recaptured the number of members it held then.

The third Ku Klux Klan was established to counter the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. This is the Klan that is still seen today, though as American society has become more racially tolerant the Klan has once more shrunk dramatically and fractured. The major factions currently include the Imperial Klans of America, the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and Knights of the White Kamelia.

Similar organizations include the Aryan Nations, the National Alliance, and the Silent Brotherhood.

Ku Klux Klan

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