Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
Thu Jan 14, 2021, 10:34 AM Jan 2021

What the history of the Ku Klux Klan can teach us about the Capitol riot

“It’s not going to stop with this,” a historian who studies the Klan explains.

By Anna North Jan 14, 2021, 9:20am EST

The mob that gathered in Washington, DC, last Wednesday, culminating in the storming of the US Capitol and the deaths of at least five people, was initially dismissed by some as a bunch of “deadbeat dads, YouPorn enthusiasts, slow students, and MMA fans.”

It might be tempting for some to think of the Capitol rioters as fringe elements, rejects and losers already on the margins of society. But that was far from the case. In attendance that day, it now appears, were several off-duty police officers. There was the CEO of a Chicago-area tech company, the son of a Brooklyn judge, and more than a dozen state lawmakers. And, of course, the mob was encouraged ahead of the riot by members of Congress and President Trump himself.

It all goes back to a larger truth about white supremacist movements in America: They haven’t been composed, as some claim, of poor white people disenfranchised by society. Instead, they’ve often included supposed pillars of the community — professionals, businesspeople, and especially law enforcement officials.

Indeed, all these were represented in one of the best-known white supremacist groups in American history, the Ku Klux Klan. Linda Gordon, a history professor at New York University and the author of The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition, has studied the makeup of the group, especially during the 1920s when its activities became much more overt and open. And, she told Vox, the Klan, which at one point required the payment of significant entry fees, was “not an organization of poor people.”

more
https://www.vox.com/22229082/capitol-riot-insurrection-kkk-white-supremacy-supremacists

5 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
What the history of the Ku Klux Klan can teach us about the Capitol riot (Original Post) DonViejo Jan 2021 OP
Lesson #1 Miguelito Loveless Jan 2021 #1
Sometime in the 1920's there were clan rallies in upstate NY. Progressive dog Jan 2021 #2
Chump's dad Fred was arrested at a Klan rally in 1928, so I have no bullwinkle428 Jan 2021 #3
My part of upstate was really rural. Progressive dog Jan 2021 #5
Sadly, there is much hidden about the KKK CountAllVotes Jan 2021 #4

Progressive dog

(6,899 posts)
2. Sometime in the 1920's there were clan rallies in upstate NY.
Thu Jan 14, 2021, 10:59 AM
Jan 2021

My grandmother told me she was at a public Klan rally and that she recognized one of the hooded kansmen who owned several local stores. She never explained why she was there, but she was telling me why I shouldn't shop at his stores.

bullwinkle428

(20,628 posts)
3. Chump's dad Fred was arrested at a Klan rally in 1928, so I have no
Thu Jan 14, 2021, 11:02 AM
Jan 2021

doubt your grandmother knew these took place at that time!

CountAllVotes

(20,867 posts)
4. Sadly, there is much hidden about the KKK
Thu Jan 14, 2021, 11:23 AM
Jan 2021

You start digging around with genealogical records you might get a surprise or two, or three or more.

The KKK was flourishing in many parts of the USA in the 1920s and they NEVER went away!



& recommend.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»What the history of the K...