5A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2016
Ku Klux Klan dreams of rising again 150 years after founding
Leaders feel
US politics are
going their way
By JAY REEVES
Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —
Born in the ashes of the smol-
dering South after the Civil
War, the Ku Klux Klan died
and was reborn before losing
the ight against civil rights in
the 1960s. Membership dwin-
dled, a uniied group fractured,
and one-time members went
to prison for a string of mur-
derous attacks against blacks.
Many assumed the group was
dead, a white-robed ghost of
hate and violence.
Yet today, the KKK is still
alive and dreams of restor-
ing itself to what it once was:
an invisible white suprema-
cist empire spreading its ten-
tacles throughout society. As it
marks 150 years of existence,
the Klan is trying to reshape
itself for a new era.
Klan members still gather
by the dozens under starry
Southern skies to set ire to
crosses in the dead of night,
and KKK lealets have shown
up in suburban neighborhoods
from the Deep South to the
Northeast in recent months.
Perhaps most unwelcome to
opponents, some independent
Klan organizations say they
are merging with larger groups
to build strength.
Going their way
In a series of interviews
with The Associated Press,
Klan leaders said they feel
that U.S. politics are going
their way, as a national-
ist, us-against-them mental-
ity deepens across the nation.
Stopping or limiting immigra-
tion — a desire of the Klan
dating back to the 1920s — is
more of a cause than ever. And
leaders say membership has
gone up at the twilight of Pres-
ident Barack Obama’s second
term in ofice.
Joining the Klan is as easy
as illing out an online form
— provided you’re white and
Christian. Members can visit
an online store to buy one of
the Klan’s trademark white
cotton robes for $145, though
many splurge on the $165 satin
version.
While the Klan has terror-
ized minorities during much
of the last century, its leaders
now present a public front that
is more virulent than violent.
Leaders from several different
AP Photo/John Bazemore
Members of the Ku Klux Klan participate in cross burn-
ings after a “white pride” rally in rural Paulding County
near Cedar Town, Ga., April 23. Born in the ashes of the
smoldering South after the Civil War, the KKK died and
was reborn before losing the fight against civil rights in
the 1960s. Membership dwindled, a unified group frac-
tured, and one-time members went to prison for a string
of murderous attacks against blacks. Many assumed the
group was dead, a white-robed ghost of hate and violence.
AP Photo/Mike Stewart
AP Photo/Mike Stewart
Loyal White Knights Grand Dragon Will Quigg of Anaheim, Calif., center, shouts to protestors
during a “White Pride,” rally, in Rome, Ga., April 23 The name “Ku Klux Klan” evokes horror for
many, but what is the organization today? The AP is interviewed imperial wizards and grand
dragons, a watchdog group and others to develop a portrait of the KKK as it exists in 2016.
Protesters listen to members of the KKK speak during a
“white pride” rally across the street in Rome, Ga., April 23.
The Klan was formed just months after the end of the Civil
War by six former Confederate officers.
Klan groups all said they have
rules against violence aside
from self-defense, and even
opponents agree the KKK has
toned itself down after a string
of members went to prison
years after the fact for deadly
arson attacks, beatings, bomb-
ings and shootings.
“While today’s Klan has
still been involved in atroci-
ties, there is no way it is as vio-
lent as the Klan of the ’60s,”
said Mark Potok of the South-
ern Poverty Law Center, an
advocacy group that tracks
activity by groups it considers
extremist.
“That does not mean it is
some benign group that does
not engage in political vio-
lence,” he added.
as whites tried to regain con-
trol of the defeated Confeder-
acy. Congress effectively out-
lawed the Klan in 1871, and
the group died.
The Klan seemed rele-
gated to history until World
War I, but it was resurrected as
waves of immigrants arrived
from Europe and elsewhere,
and grew more as the NAACP
challenged the South’s Jim
Crow laws in the 1920s. Mil-
lions joined, including com-
munity leaders like bankers
and lawyers.
That momentum declined,
and best estimates place mem-
bership at about 40,000 by the
mid-’60s, the height of the
civil rights movement. Klan
members were convicted of
using murder as a weapon
against equality in states
including Mississippi and Ala-
bama, where one Klansman
remains imprisoned for plant-
ing the bomb that killed four
black girls in a Birmingham
Most groups are small
Klan leaders told the AP
that most of today’s groups
remain small and operate inde-
pendently, kept apart by dis-
agreements over such issues
THE DAILY
ASTORIAN
W EDNESDAY E VENING
A
(2)
(-)
(-)
(6)
(-)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(12)
(13)
(-)
(20)
(-)
(29)
(30)
(31)
(32)
(34)
(35)
(36)
(38)
(39)
(43)
(44)
(45)
(46)
(47)
(48)
(49)
(50)
(51)
(52)
(53)
(54)
(56)
(57)
(58)
(61)
(63)
(64)
(65)
(162)
L
KATU
KOMO
KING
KOIN
KIRO
KGW
KRCW
KOPB
KPTV
KPDX
KCPQ
TBS
KZJO
ESPN
ESPN2
NICK
DISN
FAM
FMC
LIFE
ROOT
FS1
SPIKE
COM
HIST
A&E
TLC
DISC
NGEO
TNT
AMC
USA
FOOD
HGTV
FX
CNN
FNC
CNBC
BRAV
TCM
SYFY
RFD
(2)
(4)
(5)
(-)
(7)
(-)
(3)
(10)
(12)
(-)
(13)
(20)
(22)
(29)
(30)
(31)
(32)
(34)
(35)
(36)
(38)
(39)
(43)
(44)
(45)
(46)
(47)
(48)
(49)
(50)
(51)
(52)
(53)
(54)
(56)
(57)
(58)
(61)
(63)
(64)
(65)
(162)
6
as whether to associate with
neo-Nazis, hold public ral-
lies or wear the KKK’s trade-
mark robes in colors other than
white.
It’s impossible to say how
many members the Klan
counts today since groups
don’t reveal that information,
but leaders claim adherents in
the thousands among scores of
local groups called Klaverns.
“Most Klan groups I talk
to could hold a meeting in the
bathroom in McDonald’s,”
said Chris Barker, imperial
wizard of the Loyal White
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
in Eden, North Carolina. As
for his Klavern, he said, “Right
now, I’m close to 3,800 mem-
bers in my group alone.”
The
Anti-Defamation
League, the Jewish protec-
tion group that monitors Klan
activity, describes Barker’s
Loyal White Knights as the
most active group today, but
estimates it has no more than
200 members. The ADL puts
total Klan membership nation-
wide at around 3,000.
The Alabama-based SPLC
estimates the Klan has about
190 chapters nationally with
no more than 6,000 members
total, which would be a mere
shadow of its estimated 2 mil-
lion to 5 million members in
the 1920s.
“The idea of unifying the
Klan like it was in the ’20s is
a persistent dream of the Klan,
but it’s not happening,” Potok
said.
Post-Civil War
Formed just months after
the end of the Civil War by six
former Confederate oficers,
the Klan originally seemed
more like a college frater-
nity with ceremonial robes
and odd titles for its oficers.
But soon, freed blacks were
being terrorized, and the Klan
was blamed. Hundreds of peo-
ple were assaulted or killed
LISTINGS
A - Charter Astoria/ Seaside - L - Charter Long Beach
church in 1963.
KKK leader Brent Waller,
imperial wizard of the United
Dixie White Knights in Missis-
sippi, said stopping immigra-
tion — not blocking minority
rights — is the Klan’s No. 1
issue today.
And other Klan leaders say
Donald Trump’s ascendancy
in the GOP is a sign things are
going their way.
“You know, we began 40
years ago saying we need to
build a wall,” Arkansas-based
Klan leader Thomas Robb
said.
Despite trying to rebrand
itself, the Klan has not stepped
away from burning crosses.
As the sun set on a warm Sat-
urday in April, Klan members
gathered in a huge circle in a
northwest Georgia ield to set a
cross and Nazi swastika aire.
“White power!” they
chanted in unison.
“Death to the ungodly!
Death to our enemies!”
Evening listings
WEDNESDAY
J ULY 6
PM
6:30
7 PM
7:30
8 PM
8:30
9 PM
9:30
10 PM
10:30
11 PM
11:30
KATU News
Jeopardy!
Wheel of Fortune The Middle
The Goldbergs
Modern Family
Black-ish
Fresh Off the Boat The Real O'Neals KATU News at 11 (:35) Jimmy Kimmel
KOMO 4 News
Wheel of Fortune Jeopardy!
The Middle
The Goldbergs
Modern Family
Black-ish
Fresh Off the Boat The Real O'Neals KOMO 4 News
(:35) Jimmy Kimmel
NBC Nightly News KING 5 News
KING 5 News
Evening
America-Talent "Best of Auditions" Catch a recap of the best moments so far. (N) Night Shift "By Dawns Early Light" (N) KING 5 News
(:35) Tonight Show
KOIN 6 News at 6 CBS Evening News Extra
Ent. Tonight
Big Brother
Criminal Minds "A Badge and a Gun" American Gothic "Nighthawks" (N)
KOIN 6 News @ 11 (:35) S. Colbert
KIRO 7 News
CBS Evening News The Insider
Ent. Tonight
Big Brother
Criminal Minds "A Badge and a Gun" American Gothic "Nighthawks" (N)
KIRO News
(:35) S. Colbert
KGW News at 6:00 p.m.
Live at Seven
Inside Edition
America-Talent "Best of Auditions" Catch a recap of the best moments so far. (N) Night Shift "By Dawns Early Light" (N) KGW News at 11 (:35) Tonight Show
Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Modern Family
Modern Family
Arrow "Haunted"
Supernatural "Our Little World"
KGW News at 10 (:35) Two 1/2 Men (:05) Two 1/2 Men (:35) King of Hill
Journeys in Japan Business (N)
PBS NewsHour
SuperNature "Masters of the Sky" (N) Nova "Making North America: Life"
9 Months That Ma "One of a Kind" (N) Sandwiches That You Will Like
6 O'Clock News
Family Feud
Family Feud
Chef "Gordon Ramsay Masterclass" (N) Wayward Pines "Time Will Tell" (N)
10 O'Clock News
11 O'Clock News Loves Ray
Mike & Molly
Mike & Molly
Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory FOX 12's 8 O'Clock News on PDX-TV FOX 12's 9 O'Clock News on PDX-TV The Closer "War Zone"
The Closer "Last Woman Standing"
Name Game
Modern Family
Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory Chef "Gordon Ramsay Masterclass" (N) Wayward Pines "Time Will Tell" (N)
Q13 News at 10
Q13 News
Modern Family
Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Family Guy
Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory Conan (N)
Two and a Half
Two and a Half
The Simpsons
The Simpsons
Modern Family
Modern Family
Q13 News at 9
Big Bang Theory Big Bang Theory Friends
Friends
SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter
(4:00) MLB Baseball Texas vs Boston (L) Baseball Tonight (L)
Battlefrog College
Battlefrog College
Battlefrog College
Baseball Tonight (L)
Jalen & Jacoby (N) Baseball Tonight
Jalen & Jacoby
Henry Danger
Henry Danger
Crashletes (N)
The Thundermans NickyRickyDicky School of Rock
Full House
Full House
Full House
Full House
Friends
Friends
Liv and Maddie
K.C.Underc.
(:15) Bolt (2008, Animated) Voices of Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, John Travolta. Walk the Prank (N) K.C. Undercover
Friends Whenever K.C. Undercover Jessie
Liv and Maddie
Another Cinderella Story (‘08) Andrew Seeley, Jane Lynch, Selena Gomez. YoungHungry (N) Baby Daddy (N)
Dead of Summer "Patience"
Dead of Summer "Barney Rubble Eyes" The 700 Club
13 Going on 30 (‘04, Com) Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner. (:20) FXM Presents The Recruit (2003, Thriller) Al Pacino, Bridget Moynahan, Colin Farrell.
(5:45) My Boss's Daughter (‘03) Ashton Kutcher.
(:50) FXM Presents
Fun With Dick and Jane (2005, Comedy) Téa Leoni, Alec Baldwin, Jim Carrey. Friends With Benefits (2011, Comedy) Justin Timberlake, Patricia Clarkson, Mila Kunis.
Dirty Teacher (‘13, Dra) Cameron Deane Stewart, Josie Davis.
Post-game
MLB Baseball Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros Site: Minute Maid Park -- Houston, Texas
Post-game
(5:00) MLB Baseball Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros (L)
TUF 23 "Bump in the Road"
TUF 23 "Fight of the Season" (N)
TUF Talk (N)
Garbage Time (N) TMZ Sports (N)
Fox Sports Live
TUF 23 "Fight of the Season"
TUF Talk
Garbage Time
My Cousin Vinny (‘92, Comedy) Marisa Tomei, Joe Pesci.
(5:30) Grandma's Boy (‘06, Com) Allen Covert, Shirley Jones, Linda Cardellini. The Longest Yard (2005, Comedy) Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds, Adam Sandler.
(:50) South Park
(:20) South Park
(:50) South Park
(:25) South Park
(:55) South Park
South Park
Another Period (N) South Park
The Daily Show (N) Nightly Show (N)
(:20) South Park
American Pickers "Big Moe"
American Pickers "Can't Catch a Break" American Pickers "Plymouth Rocks"
American Pickers "Tick Tock Pick"
Pawn Stars (N)
Pawn Stars (N)
(:05) Motors
(:35) Motors
First 48 "Southwick/ Devil's Doorway" Duck Dynasty
Duck Dynasty
Duck Dynasty "RV There Yet?"
Duck Dyn. (SP) (N) Duck Dynasty (N) Wahlburgers (N) Wahlburgers (N) (:05) Wahlburg (N) (:35) Duck Dynasty
My Giant Life
I Am Jazz
My Big Life "Losing at Love" (N)
Big Fat Fab. "(Fat Girl) Spread Thin" (N) I Am Jazz "Confronted With Hate" (N)
Big Fat Fab. "(Fat Girl) Spread Thin"
Dual Survival "Swamplandia"
Dual Survival "Croatian Castaway"
Dual Survival "Mosquito Coast" (N)
Dual Survival (N)
American "Enter the Jungle" (P) (N)
Dual Survival
Trooper "Fearless on the Front Lines"
Russia's Toughest Prisons
World's Toughest Prisons
Life and Death Row "Punishment" (N) Life and Death Row "Execution"
Life and Death Row "Punishment"
Castle "Slice of Death"
Castle "The Dead Pool"
Castle "To Love and Die in L.A."
Castle "Pretty Dead"
Castle "Knockout"
Castle "Rise"
Happy Gilmore (‘96, Com) Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, Adam Sandler. Hitch (2005, Comedy) Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Will Smith.
Dinner for Schmucks (‘10, Com) Paul Rudd, Steve Carell.
NCIS "Love & War"
NCIS "The Artful Dodger"
NCIS "Status Update"
NCIS "Patience"
Royal Pains "Uninterrupted" (F) (N)
Law & Order: S.V.U. "Fight"
Worst Cooks in America "Two-A-Day" WorstCooks "Eat, Pray, Love"
Worst Cooks in America "Timer's Up" Cuthroat "Gettin' Judgey With It" (N)
Diners, Drive-Ins Diners, Drive-Ins Diners, Drive-Ins Diners, Drive-Ins
Property Bros. "Stephanie and David" Property Brothers
Property Brothers
Brother vs. Brother "The Finale" (N)
House Hunters (N) House Hunters (N) Property Brothers
(5:00) The Bourne Legacy (‘12) Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Jeremy Renner. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (‘14) Kenneth Branagh, Keira Knightly, Chris Pine. Tyrant "Spring" (SP) (N)
(:15) Tyrant "Spring"
Why They Hate Us
CNN Tonight With Don Lemon
CNN Tonight With Don Lemon
CNN Newsroom
CNN Newsroom
CNN Newsroom
The Kelly File With Megyn Kelly
Hannity
The O'Reilly Factor
The Kelly File With Megyn Kelly
Hannity
On the Record
Shark Tank
Leno Garage "Anarchy on Wheels" (N) Shark Tank
Shark Tank
Jay Leno Garage "Anarchy on Wheels" Paid Program
Paid Program
The Real Housewives
The Real Housewives
New York City Social (N)
Wives "The Benefits of Friendship" (N) The Real Housewives
Housewives "The Benefits of Friendship"
The Wild Bunch (1969, Western) Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, William Holden.
Movie
(:45) The Deadly Companions (‘61) Brian Keith, Maureen O'Hara.
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004, Thriller) Sara Botsford, Billy Drago, Michael Gross.
Legion (2010, Action) Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Paul Bettany.
Movie
Constantine (2005, Sci-Fi) Keanu Reeves.
WesternSport
Noble Outfitters HS Rodeo Tour
Equestrian Nation RW Horsemanship Rural Eve. News Women's Rodeo Racer's Edge
WesternSport
Noble Outfitters Product Showcase