The Ku Klux Klan, Homegrown Terrorism - Essay Example

The Ku Klux Klan, Homegrown Terrorism Terrorism has been at the forefront of American’s collective consciousness and the subject of seemingly endless political rhetoric since the beginning of the new millennium. Today, the term ‘terrorism’ brings to mind thoughts of airline hijackings, suicide bombings, bomb or illness-laden packages sent through the mail, shooting sprees in crowded spaces and attacks on buildings. Islamic fundamentalists have been blamed for high-profile terrorist actions worldwide during the past decade. Because of this, there has been a growing concern about racial bias and institutionalized racial profiling directed toward the Muslim population in the U.S. However much Americans might like to claim terrorism is an invention of religious zealots in the Middle East and proclaim Al Qaeda as the greatest perpetrator of terrorism against the U.S., this is simply not the case. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is the organization most responsible for the longest reign of terror in American history and long pre-dates most Americans’ awareness of the Middle East as a geographical or cultural region. The KKK committed hundreds of acts of domestic terrorism with little public resistance or outcry throughout its more than hundred year history. Though diminished in the modern age, the KKK still exists today and is experiencing resurgence with a new enemy to add to its list. The Ku Klux Klan easily meets the definition of a terrorist organization in that it uses violence and/or threats to further its political or ideological agenda. KKK members are often openly racist Caucasians who advocate and commit extreme acts of violence that are targeted against persons of different races. They are motivated by a collective desire for a segregated society. Members are taught and believe the ‘white race’ is superior to all others (About the Klu Klux Klan, 2008). As a result, they feel they should not intermix either socially or genetically with non-white persons. Because they feel non-whites are a lesser degree of human, something closer to animal in nature, they feel absolved of any guilt from actions they condone in the name of the greater good for ‘true’ humanity. The KKK is the most well known white supremacy group in the U.S., is more organized with local and national chapters and has a higher membership than any other similar hate group currently operating in the country (About the Klu Klux Klan, 2008). The estimated 5,000 total current Klan members are divided into about 100 chapters nationwide. Although it had been declining in the years since the Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s, interest in the KKK has resurged thanks to the national attention given to the illegal immigration issue. “The Ku Klux Klan, which just a few years ago seemed static or even moribund… experienced a surprising and troubling resurgence…due to the successful exploitation of hot-button issues including immigration, gay marriage and urban crime” (About the Klu Klux Klan, 2008). In the past decade, the Klan has worked diligently to incite Americans against what they refer to as ‘assaults’ on these ‘Christian’ values. The KKK began in Pulaski, Tennessee. Originally, it was a social group created for veterans of the Confederate Army in 1866. They held public parades through several towns, but were generally laughed at and publicly jeered by onlookers. However, it wasn’t long before this ‘social group’ began using whips and guns to emphasize their ideological viewpoint. Though some local politicians denounced the Klan’s violent activities, they were in the minority when confronted with violence. In fact, it was the significant number of political and police officials, ministers, newspaper editors, and ex-Confederate soldiers who hid beneath the white hooded robes of the Klan on night raids that made the KKK strong and enduring during the late 1860’s. These individuals committed crimes against humanity at night, but appeared as respectable citizens during the day. By 1868, the Klan was well-known for its violent activities such as lynching (hanging), flogging, mutilation and general mayhem perpetrated on black people as well as white sympathizers throughout the South. The KKK went underground beginning in 1870 because of legal pressure applied by numerous city officials and state legislatures located in the North and South, many of which passed strict laws against the Klan. Martial law was even declared in a few counties that had been dominated by the Klan and law officials aggressively pursued high-ranking members. It wasn’t long before the federal government also took steps to stop or slow the Klan’s reign of terror. After hearings in which the Klan’s activities were investigated, the U.S. Congress passed tough laws based on anti-Klan statues already in place in North Carolina. “Under the new federal law, Southerners lost their jurisdiction over the crimes of assault, robbery and murder and the president was authorized to declare martial law. Night riding and the wearing of masks were expressly prohibited” (“A Hundred Years” 2001). However, very few of the hundreds of Klan members who were arrested under these laws spent more than a day or so in jail. The laws passed in the states and by the federal government were unable to destroy the terrorist organization although they did slow some of its more obvious activities and reduced enrollment numbers. After the Civil War, the Union seized power in the South and forced several laws intended to extend human rights to freed slaves. However, by the mid-1870s, Southern-bred politicians had reclaimed these positions of power and soon reversed many of these laws. Racism and suppression again became lawful and encouraged in the South reducing the need for the KKK to exist. Having been formed by disgruntled Confederate soldiers and Southern sympathizers in an effort to preserve the Southern way-of-life and in opposition to Northern rule, it was no longer needed when the Southern-based legislature maintained the expected status quo. A significant element of the white Southerners’ status quo included openly accepting and even embracing bigotry and inhumanity. The South passed oppressive ‘Jim Crow’ segregation laws, making many simply things illegal. For example, a black man was not permitted to speak to a white woman in public in many parts of the South on punishment of jail or beating. “The result was a system of segregation which was the law of the land for more than 80 years. This system was called ‘separate but equal,’ which was half true, everything was separate, but nothing was equal” (“A Hundred Years” 2001). These laws remained in effect until the 1950’s. Though interest and membership in the KKK steadily decreased during the latter half of the 1800’s, small groups of Klansmen continued to terrorize the black population in the South. “Klan terror had proven very effective at keeping black voters away from the polls. Some black officeholders were hanged and many more were brutally beaten” (“A Hundred Years” 2001). In addition, the organization experienced a resurgence of membership during the turn of the twentieth century when 23 million Europeans came to America in a relatively short period of time. This influx of immigrants sparked a panic among Americans who felt the foreigners were a type of invading force and again feared a change in their status quo. Immigrants were generally unwelcome because they spoke a different language, practiced different customs and lived in poor communities separated from mainstream society. More importantly, they accepted factory and farm jobs for lower wages. Fear of people different from ‘American white’ remained fertile ground for the Klan and it again gained membership numbers as its community again chose to accept rather than vilify it. “The American Protective Association, organized in 1887, reflected the attitude of many Americans who believed that the nation was being swamped by alien people. This organization, a secret, oath-bound group, was especially strong in the mid-west where the Ku Klux Klan would later draw much of its strength” (“A Hundred Years” 2001). By the 1890’s, the majority of Southerners were in favor of strict segregation laws. The motive was to subjugate blacks, keeping them economically, politically and socially impotent and there was an escalation of violence to keep them in line. “In the last decades of the nineteenth century, the lynching of Black people in the Southern and border states became an institutionalized method used by whites to terrorize Blacks and maintain white supremacy” (Gibson, 1979). By 1921, the Klan’s ranks swelled to about 100,000. Terror tactics included tarring and feathering and whipping blacks along with branding KKK into the foreheads of blacks, Jews and anyone else who openly opposed Klan activities Instances of violence by the Klan expanded during the 1920’s. Many towns throughout the south and surrounding regions had a strong Klan influence. Victims seemingly included any individuals who weren’t active Klan members, usually “blacks, Jews, Catholics, Mexicans and various immigrants, but sometimes they were white, Protestant, and female. Klansmen attacked people they considered ‘immoral’ or ‘traitors’ to the white race” (“A Hundred Years” 2001). By this point, Klan terrorism was not limited to former Confederate states. For example, Klansmen in Oklahoma whipped a white girl because they caught her riding in a car with two black men. Tulsa, Oklahoma was the scene of the worst race riot of American history in 1921. Klansmen destroyed the black business district downtown then continued through the day burning the houses of black families in the area along with killing and torturing blacks at random. Klan members in California whipped and tortured women who they deemed unfit for society such as those who fought for equality. “In a period when many women were fighting for the vote, for a place in the job market and for personal and cultural freedom, the Klan claimed to stand for ‘pure womanhood’ and frequently attacked women who sought independence” (“A Hundred Years” 2001). Only with the widespread social movement of the Civil Rights era were the Klan finally brought into better control, but still has not been fully disintegrated. From its inception, the KKK has engaged in terrorist activities. Though most incidents went unreported, the accounts of terrorism that are known paint a dark picture of the not-too-distant past. The mid-1870’s through the 1950’s marked the height of Klan terrorism, but the years prior to and since that time contain many more examples. In 1866, the Klan clashed with black protestors in New Orleans, Memphis and other southern cities. During this period, 34 blacks were killed in New Orleans. In 1868, Klan members killed Congressman James Hinds for his anti-Klan stance and in 1869 broke into the house and wounded the son of George Houston, an activist for black voting rights. Houston and his family were forced to leave the country. This incident was never investigated. Later that year, Klansmen took four black men from jail in North Carolina and killed them as well as the sheriff, a black sympathizer. In 1870, Klansmen stabbed North Carolina Senator John Stephens to death. In 1871, Elias Hill, an ex-slave, teacher and minister was dragged from this home and beaten by Klansmen. A few days later, they returned, accused him of falsified crimes then beat him unconscious. Then they went next door, whipped the men residing there and raped the women. The Klansmen ended this episode by burning both houses. Another incident in Augusta, Georgia epitomized the regular habits of this terrorist organization. In 1874, Klansmen trashed local black businesses, stabbed a black man and beat another for no reason. During this town-wide assault, they removed a black man from his prison cell and repeatedly shot him while referring to it as ‘target practice.’ “As the violence escalated, a white police officer and suspected Klan member shoved a pregnant black woman to the ground although she had committed no offense, while other members tried to assassinate an officer in Augusta’s black military company” (Packer, 2001). The 1988 movie Mississippi Burning depicted the real-life events of 1964 when Klansman James Ford Seale kidnapped two black teens, killed them then dumped their bodies into the Mississippi River. This action initiated widespread violence by blacks that lasted the entire summer. Seale was finally convicted of the crime in 2006 (Pilkington, 2007). Another infamous case, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, killed four black girls. The Klan Member responsible was found not guilty in 1963 but convicted of murder in 1977 and sentenced to life in prison. (Randall, 2001) The Ku Klux Klan is an American embarrassment. At a time when terrorism is believed by most Americans to be one of the countries greatest enemies, The Klan marches in the streets. This, of course, is protected by the First Amendment and should not be disallowed but as we spend billions to fight terrorists abroad, one of the world’s oldest terrorist organizations proudly waves the American flag during its demonstrations. Works Cited “A Hundred Years of Terror” Southern Poverty Law Center Montgomery, AL (2001). “About the Ku Klux Klan” Anti-Defamation League (2008). from Gibson, Robert A. “The Negro Holocaust: Lynching and Race Riots in the United States,1880-1950” Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute (1979). “Ku Klux Klan Rebounds With New Focus on Immigration, ADL Reports” Anti-Defamation League (February 6, 2007). Packer, Allyson. “Terror Is Born, the KKK Begins” (April 6, 2001). Pilkington, Ed. “Ex-KKK man guilty of 1964 murder of black teenagers” Martin Frost Mediations (2007). Randall, Kate. “Former Klansman convicted in deadly 1963 bombing of Birmingham, Alabama church” World Socialist Web Site (May 5, 2001). Read More