KU
KLUX CLAN HISTORY
The Klan was started in 1866 by six
ex-Confederate soldiers. The Ku Klux Klan was created as a social club
which was called Kuklos. The phrase Kuklos in Greek means circle.
The Kuklos was not started because of racial animosity nor did they have any
political motivation, they just dressed in their white sheets and pillow covers
and played pranks during the night.
In 1867, the Kuklos began to
focus on racism. It was at this time that Nathan Bedford
Forest took charge and
was named the first Imperial Wizard. Under the leadership of Forest, the Klan began terrorizing the South, with their
prime target being African Americans and black supporters. They also
targeted white Southern Republicans and the school teachers who worked with
African Americans.
In 1869, Forest disbanded the Klan because of
threats of governmental punishment. Even though the organization itself was
disbanded, several Klansmen refused to give up. These men kept blacks
from the election polls and protested black universities.
In 1915, William J. Simmons reorganized the Klan and by 1924 they became the
strongest they had ever been. William J Simmons, a Alabama native, was a
minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was also a practicing
physician. Simmons was the man who brought the symbol of the burning
cross to the Klan during his first meeting as
Imperial Wizard on Thanksgiving day of 1915. The burning cross is claimed
by the Klansmen as a symbol of Jesus Christ being the light of the world.
Simmons' Klan had a different focus than the earlier Klan,
their focus was not solely on black people but communists, Jewish people,
catholics and even labor union organizers. Simmons also organized two
other white supremacy groups in 1915. These two groups were called the Knights
of the Flaming Sword and the Caucasian Crusade. These groups, unlike the
Ku Klux Klan, died within a matter of years.
Since 1866 the Ku Klux Klan has gone by several names: they
have called themselves the White Patriot Party, the National Association of
White People, the White Aryan Resistance Party, the Order of Pale Faces, the Knights of the Rising Sun, the Knights of White Camilia
and even the Black Calvary of Alabama.
This party that has been known for some of the most brutal
lynchings in the history of African Americans is still around today. However,
today they focus more on intimidation than they do on violence. I guess one can
say that is a step toward equality. The only way true equality will be
reached is if every man, woman, and child can and will walk together as friends
no matter what their skin color is.
