Eldon Lee Edwards

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Eldon Lee Edwards (born June 8, 1909 in Georgia ; † August 1, 1960 ibid) was an American Ku Klux Klan leader.

Engagement in the Ku Klux Klan

In the early 1950s, after a long hiatus, the Ku Klux Klan regained strength in the United States. A 1954 Supreme Court decision to abolish segregation in schools ( Brown v. Board of Education ) outraged a section of the white population in the southern states .

A year earlier, Eldon Edwards, an automotive painter at General Motors , founded the US Klans, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Atlanta , Georgia. These brought together the remnants of the former Association of Georgia Klans that were previously under the leadership of Samuel Roper .

In September 1956, he was the organizer of one of the largest rallies of its time. About 3,000 Klansmen gathered at Stone Mountain , the birthplace of the Second Clan in 1915.

On March 5, 1957, Eldon Edwards appeared on a talk show by Mike Wallace . Eldon tried to portray the clan as a social charity. Nevertheless, rioting took place under his leadership, especially attempts to intimidate African Americans and civil rights activists .

By 1958 Edwards' could gain between 12,000 and 15,000 members. This made the group the largest clan of its time. When Edwards died of a heart attack in 1960 , the clan fell into disrepair and was largely absorbed by Robert Shelton's United Klans of America .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b David Mark Chalmers: Hooded Americanism: The History of the Ku Klux Klan . 3rd illustrated new edition. Duke University Press, 1981, ISBN 978-0-8223-0772-3 , pp. 46 .
  2. ^ Sara Bullard: The Ku Klux Klan: A History of Racism & Violence . DIANE Publishing, 1996, ISBN 978-0-7881-7031-7 , pp. 24 .
  3. ↑ The Mike Wallace Interview. The Harry Ransom Center, accessed February 5, 2012 .
  4. ^ Michael Newton: The Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi: A History . McFarland, 2010, ISBN 978-0-7864-4653-7 , pp. 109 .
personal data
SURNAME Edwards, Eldon Lee
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Ku Klux Klan leader
DATE OF BIRTH June 8, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Georgia
DATE OF DEATH August 1, 1960
Place of death Georgia