Mayor 'Kind Of Agreed' With White Supremacist Accused Of Killing 3 At Jewish Centers

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29. Black, Byrd, Thurmond and Helms

All four had periods in their lives when they espoused nativist, anti-Catholic, and/or racist positions. But only Black and Byrd actually were members of the KKK and each of them had left the Klan before attaining public office. Black's record on the Court when it comes to Civil Rights was mixed -- he was part of the unanimous court that struck down separate but equal in Brown v. Bd. of Education and also supported the court's decision invalidating racially restrictive covenants in deeds. But he interpreted the Civil Rights Act narrowly in certain cases. Byrd, of course, described his period of membership in the Klan as the biggest mistake he ever made and eventually came around to a more enlightened view on Civil Rights issues (after a period in which he supported segregationist policies and opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act).

I have never seen any indication that either Helms or Thurmond ever joined the Klan; however, they both adhered for most of their careers to racist, segregationist positions.

Duke is the only Klan member that I know of who ran for a major political office.