The Rise and Fall of North Carolina's Ku Klux Klan
The history of North Carolina shows the wrath of the Ku Klux Klan. It started after the Reconstruction Era to maintain white supremacy. It used violence to oppress Black Americans and others supporting civil rights, evolving into a nationwide hate group.
The Grand Dragon's Vision
The state's head Klansman, known as the grand dragon Bob Jones, was facing a possible prison sentence, putting the future of the Ku Klux Klan itself on the line. Jones dreamed of building the Klan into an organization with political legitimacy. He understood that the Klan's goals and appeal relied heavily on its militants and hecklers. When they began taunting a group of Black activists on the balcony, Jones ordered them to stop.
As the most successful grand dragon in the country, he had grown the North Carolina Klan from a handful of friends to about 10,000 members in just three years, surpassing the clans of all other southern states combined. In doing so, Jones helped give the most progressive state in the South a new nickname: Clansville USA.
During the 1960s, there were no politicians voicing concerns for North Carolina's white working class, particularly those worried about racial integration. The Klan emerged as the organization that could serve as a spokesperson for people who felt their way of life was under threat. Jones recognized this sentiment and capitalized on it, positioning the Klan as a voice for those who believed their values and lifestyles were being challenged in a rapidly changing society.
Rallies and Family Gatherings
In the summer of 1964, Bob Jones held scores of rallies open to whites only across North Carolina. People of all ages gathered in cow pastures and cornfields. For many of these people, it was a family gathering, a source of entertainment. This would bring people together because of their similar beliefs.
A Deadly Association
On May 15, 1965, Jones and Dorset flaunted their disdain for federal authority by hosting the Klansman accused of killing Viola Liuu. A crowd of 6,000 people turned out. Matt Murphy introduced the three men indicted for the murder of civil rights worker Ms. Viola Li. When the CBS report aired, the Carolina Klan had found themselves relatively insulated from the deadly acts of violence that had really dogged the Klan in the deeper South.
Jones later was convicted of contempt of congress for refusing to produce Klan records and in 1969 he was sentenced to a year in federal prison. Later hundreds of Jones members joined Dorset, but the new group fell apart because he was not cut out to be a leader. By then, the North Carolina clan had dwindled to a fraction of its former size.
Legacy of Regret
Jones and the Carolina clan were not able to achieve any of their major goals. They weren't able to maintain segregation in a formal legal sense, but Jones was able to mobilize people around racial ideas in a way that was durable. Some people would live the rest of their lives regretting those three or four years of being part of the clan.
Source: I used Claude.ai to organize my blog.
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