a fire engulfs a house in flames

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A Brief History of the KKK

What is the history of the KKK? It all starts with the Civil War. On March 21, 1861, Confederate Vice President Alexander Stevens declared in his Cornerstone Speech: “Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea {of the United States’ Constitution declaring equality for everyone}; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery – subordination to the superior race – is his natural and normal condition.” 

A huge fire consumes a house. Above it in alternating red and black words it says "history of the violent Ku Klux Klan in the United States, pre-Civil war - present"

This strong belief – strong enough to divide an entire country – did not just die when the Confederates surrendered at Appomattox in 1865. Instead, it birthed yet another movement intended to keep the white people in a place of superiority: the white-hooded, cross-burning, Ku Klux Klan. 

The KKK’s popularity and influence ebb and flow, depending on the politics. The Equal Justice Initiative organization in Montgomery, Alabama, has done extensive research to determine the actual number of lynching murders in America. Between 1877-1950, they have determined the number to be almost 4,100. This does not count the many who were killed during the Civil Rights movement, when non-white Americans sought the right to vote. 

You might recall that “Bloody Sunday” occurred on the Edmund Pettus bridge, which was named after a Klansman. This attack left future Congressman and peaceful CIvil Rights activist John Lewis with a skull fracture.

Since the Black Lives Matter movement gained strength, the KKK has returned. In June of 2020, a self-identified klansman leader drove his pickup through a Black Lives Matter protest in Virginia. He was charged with three counts of assault, one count of destruction of property, and one count of hit and run. He was sentenced to almost four years in prison. He was not charged with a hate crime after the courts decided there was “not enough evidence.” 

The KKK is still only listed as an “extremist domestic group,” not a terrorist organization. 

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A white pointed KKK hood against a black background. Across the hood are the words "They called themselves the KKK"

They Called Themselves the KKK by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan

Giant white clouds move over an older-looking line of storefronts. Above this image, in red lettering, are the words "A Fever in the Heartland"
A perfectly square cutout in a wall looks to the outside in a black and white photo. Above the photo in red letters says "Dynamite Nashville"

Dynamite Nashville: Unmasking the FBI, The KKK, and the Bombers Beyond Their Control by Betsy T. Phillips

The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition by Linda Gordon

A black and white photo of a group of hooded klansmen marching in a line with the Washington D.C. Capitol building in the background. Red letters above the picture say "the second coming of the KKK"

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