Klansville USA

In class, we watched a documentary on the KKK. The Klu Klux Klan was founded by some civil war officers after fighting in the war and realizing blacks were going to be free. There original acts were vary playful with the newly freed slaves and were not malicious in intent. An example would be that the officers would pretend to be civil war officers rising from the dead to avenge there fallen brethren. These were seen as stupid acts by the public so the clan stayed dormant for some time.

The revival of the clan came with a man named Bob Jones. He noticed that since the Brown Vs. the Board of education case that blacks were being favored over middle class white folk. Even though upper class whites were still strongly favored in society, he believed that the middle class of whites in America were being forgotten due to the civil rights movement being predominantly about black rights. Because of this, he held a rally in his town in North Carolina that was only expecting around a 100 people. Ultimately there was over two thousand people at his rally to show support for the cause.

Since that night, Bob Jones began to recruit extensively for the KKK. Many more rallies would be held across North Carolina by Bob Jones in pastures and corn fields that would be seen as a social event for families. The rallies were seen almost as a circus due to the live music, raffles, food, and other activities. It was also seen as a way for families to get more in tune with their fellow neighbors.

Once the KKK kept growing into a larger entity, violence followed its wake. Trials were set in place to question certain KKK members violent acts. Bob Jones was one of the members set for trial. In his trial he plead the 5th which outraged many clan members because he was acting in a communistic way and that was not what the clan stood for. After this many members began to disband themselves from the clan due to the foreseeable future. Many former members have stated that they felt like they were almost in a trance while in the clan and don't feel that the way there were acting was there true self.