Knights of the Flaming Circle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Knights of the Flaming Circle was a national organization in the United States that organized against the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s . It disbanded in the 1930s when the Ku Klux Klan lost its importance, only to return as part of the Civil Rights Movement .

history

Activities during the Evans Era

The organization was founded in August 1923 in Kane , Pennsylvania as a loose association of immigrants, especially of Italian origin, Catholics and bootleggers , the latter in particular because the Ku Klux Klan advocated prohibition and tried to enforce it by force. It spread from Pennsylvania to Ohio and Illinois . The name is based on a tactic used by the Knights to extinguish a burning cross with a burning tire soaked in benin (see Backburning ). The Knights imitated the rituals of the clan and thwarted them.

They achieved their first major coup on August 15, 1923, when a Klan escort from East Liverpool , Ohio to Chester , West Virginia passed Steubenville , Ohio. When the clan's delegation wanted to dine there in a hotel, members of the Flaming Circle gathered in front of the hotel and attacked the gathering with sticks, bottles and stones. In the commotion that followed, six or seven cars were knocked over. In newspaper reports it was said that between 2500 and 3000 people took part in the riots. There were some injuries but no deaths.

In May 1924, the Klan was able to demonstrate undisturbed in Niles. Shortly afterwards the Knights formed there, whose local group comprised around 500 people. When another parade was announced for June, the Knights of the Flaming Circle reacted and prevented the second parade with violent protest. The Klan then tried to find a new date and announced its demonstration for November 1, 1924. The Knights of the Flaming Circle announced a counter-demonstration with around 10,000 demonstrators. The mayor then banned both demonstrations. Then there was a bomb attack on the town hall. This was followed by an 18-hour riot in which the Klan and Knights fought each other. As a result, a state of emergency was imposed for 10 days . 104 people were arrested.

In Raton , New Mexico , both organizations were campaigning for a school committee. Both parties supported one candidate each and used their respective insignia to frighten their opponents: the burning cross of the clan on one side, a burning circle for the knights.

Activities during the civil rights movement

In the 1930s, after the 2nd Klan wave flattened, the Knights disbanded as well. During the civil rights movement, when the third wave of the clan raged, there were individual attempts to revive the Knights as well.

Thomas Jordan, a former councilor in Wanaque , New Jersey , tried to revive the Knights. After receiving some death threats, he was placed under police protection.

On June 9, 1970, Rev. Herman Mohney and Percy McIntyre lit a cross in Templeton , Pennsylvania as part of a Knights ceremony. The two claimed to have more than 500 supporters who could oppose the clan. There were plans to show solidarity with unions and to look after widows and the poor. In doing so, she distanced herself from the clan as well as from communists and Nazis. She used both clan and knight rituals.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bryce Bauer: Gentlemen Bootleggers: The True Story of Templeton Rye, Prohibition, and a Small Town in Cahoots . Chicago Review Press, 2014, ISBN 978-1-61374-848-0 , pp. 94 ( google.de [accessed on July 15, 2018]).
  2. ↑ Kinser, Jonathan A .: Beneath the Smoke of the Flaming Circle: Extinguishing the Fiery Cross of the 1920s Klan in the North . 2017 ( ohiolink.edu [accessed July 15, 2018]).
  3. ^ A b William D. Jenkins: Steel Valley Klan: The Ku Klux Klan in Ohio's Mahoning Valley . Kent State University Press, 1990, ISBN 978-0-87338-694-4 , pp. 122 ( google.de [accessed on July 15, 2018]).
  4. ↑ Jim Joyce: County Beat . In: Herald Star . Steubenville March 27, 1977, p. 7 .
  5. ^ Niles - Past & Present. City of Niles, April 4, 2005, archived from the original ; accessed on July 15, 2018 .
  6. ^ Ohio City in Terror, Fearing Klan March . In: The New York Times . November 1, 1924, p. 17 .
  7. ^ William D. Jenkins: Steel Valley Klan: The Ku Klux Klan in Ohio's Mahoning Valley . Kent State University Press, Kent 1990, pp. 137 .
  8. ↑ Down the Old Santa Fe Trail . In: The New Mexican . Santa Fe April 9, 1975, p. 4 .
  9. ^ Back in the Day, Dec. 12, 1965: KKK back in action - Story Archives - NorthJersey.com. March 6, 2016, accessed July 15, 2018 .
  10. ^ Cross-burning Group Vows More of Same . In: Simpson's Leader-Times . Kittanning, Pennsylvania June 10, 1970 p. 1-2 .
  11. ^ Pages from the Past . In: Simpson's Leader-Times . Kittanning, Pennsylvania June 10, 1975 p. 4 .