Collection: Ku Klux Klan Collection | Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History

Scope and Contents

The Ku Klux Klan collection consists of correspondence, brochures, ephemera and audiovisual materials relating to the Ku Klux Klan and a variety of racist literature and minstrelsy. The items found in this collection give insight to the domestic terrorist group known as the KKK and racist ideas in general.

Dates

Majority of material found within 1920 - 1940

Biographical / Historical

The Ku Klux Klan was founded in the South during the Reconstruction period and the group's membership tapered off in the 1870s. The Klan was rebirthed in 1915 in Georgia and began to flourish throughout the United States during the 1920s with the influence of the film "The Birth of a Nation."

The KKK is a white supremacist domestic terrorism organization that targets African Americans, Jews, Catholics, immigrants and homosexuals. The KKK has used physical assault and murder against African Americans in an effort to stifle thier political freedoms.The Klan has pushed its agenda of "purification" of the United States since its founding; opposing equality among the races, the KKK has a long held belief in white superiority.

The Klan is known for the uniform of a white robe,conical hats and masks to disclose the identity of KKK members.