Klansville U.S.A.

In class today we watched Callie Wiser’s short film, Klansville U.S.A. The film discussed the rise of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) following the American Civil War.  

The KKK was made up of frustrated, poor white folks who were against the integration of blacks and whites. They were the main force for white Americans to counter the NAACP for black Americans. 

The KKK was originally formed as a club where they would mainly pull pranks on the black community. However, when newly freed slaves began to give off a petrified reaction, the Klan got more intense. They began performing despicable acts such as throwing ppl off bridges and hanging people from trees. 

While what the KKK was doing was innately racist, they would have never admitted to being racist. The Klan saw themselves as heroically standing up for the oppressed white people in the south. Ultimately, they just wanted blacks to “stay in their place” away from whites. 

Leaders of the KKK were overtly racist, which made the members of the Klan feel less racist in comparison.  Klan membership reached 4 million supporters during the height of the movement. Public officials were even elected into office by the power of the Klan. 

It was never very socially acceptable to openly support the KKK which is part of the reason they wore masks. However, the Klan would march on public sidewalks to show the community that they have nothing to hide and demonstrate that they are real genuine community members. While the walks were generally peaceful, other citizens had to move out of the Klan’s way which demonstrated the dominance that the KKK had in public spaces.