Original Ku Klux Klan of the Confederacy

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The Original Ku Klux Klan of the Confederacy was a clan organization founded by Asa Carter that was active in the late 1950s. Although the group only existed for a few years, they were responsible for some of the worst crimes in the history of the Ku Klux Klan , including an attack on Nat King Cole , participation in the race riot in Clinton, and one of the few castrations .

prehistory

First, in October 1955, the North Alabama Citizens Council (NACC) was formed, a splinter organization of the Citizens Councils of America . This new organization was based in Birmingham, Alabama , while the main organization was based in Montgomery, Alabama and headed by Senator Sam Englehart . The fragmentation arose mainly because the Birmingham group represented extreme anti-Semitism and excluded Jews as members, while the organization in Montgomery only advocated segregation .

Rock music and attack on Cole

The group vehemently opposed African-American music and rock 'n' roll, advocating boycott of black singers and removing rock music from jukeboxes . A sign outside Asa Carter's office read, “ Be-bop promotes Communism” (“Bepop is promoting communism”). On April 10, 1956, seven members of the group attacked Nat King Cole , who was singing to a white audience at the Municipal Auditorium in Birmingham. It was supposed to be part of a larger attack in which 100 members of the organization were supposed to storm the venue and overwhelm the band, but only those seven members showed up at the agreed time. On April 18, four attackers were sentenced to 180 days in prison and fined $ 100. This was the maximum penalty. The rest of the perpetrators were sentenced to fines.

Clinton, Tennessee

Also in April, Admiral John Crommelin Carter introduced John Kasper , a member of the NACC in Washington, DC . In August and September 1956, the two associations merged to prevent desegregation at Clinton High School in Tennessee. Kasper was arrested on August 27 because he was identified as the ringleader of the uprising, but was soon released for lack of evidence. The school board tried to persuade federal judge Robert Love Taylor to pronounce a house ban. The ban was conveyed during a speech on the courthouse lawn. Kasper continued his speech and told his 1000 audience that he was not interested. He was then arrested. He was found guilty but was held for an appeal hearing. While a judge was about to decide whether he should be bailed, Carter came and spoke to a group that had grown to 1,500. Several riots broke out on September 1st and 2nd. Attackers attacked black drivers, shot at the courthouse and bombed a black neighborhood in Oliver Springs . The small police station defended itself with a vigilante group and used tear gas against the demonstrators. Governor Frank G. Clement sent the National Guard and the Tennessee Highway Patrol to restore order. A $ 10,000 bail was eventually issued on condition that Kasper cease his activities. Still, a month later Kasper attended a meeting where he welcomed a Klansmen. Carter and his group went to Clinton in September 1957.

Reorganization and castration

November 1956, the Northern Alabama Citizens Council renamed itself the Original Ku Klux Klan of the Confederacy. 35 Klansmen were inducted into the Klan by a bonfire on November 15th . Like later Klan organizations, the original Ku Klux Klan was also organized militarily and toying with Nazi clothing, a brown shirt . On December 27, 1956, Carter announced the plan to use so-called Minutemen to smash the Montgomery Bus Boycott . In January 1957, Carter and four of his supporters were arrested for participating in a gunfight between members. At that time the Ku Klux Klan consisted of just 100 members.

The clan's most famous attack occurred on September 2, 1957. To prevent FL Shuttlesworth's efforts to desegregate the Birmingham schools, six members of the clan kidnapped Judge Edward Aaron, a black craftsman, and took him to a small, derelict apartment in Clarkesville . There they castrated the man under the eyes of Exalted Cyclops Joe Pritchett . They kept the scrotum as a trophy and poured turpentine on his wounds. Aaron was then left to die on the roadside, but was rescued by a passing motorist and taken to the nearby hospital. Joe Pritchett was eventually found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The jury only deliberated for 40 minutes. Klabee Jesse Mabry, who was also involved in the attack on Nat King Cole, Bart Floyd, one of the castration workers, and Grover McCullough received similar sentences. William Miller and John Griffin, who stood outside Schmiere and only later found out about the crime, testified as key witnesses and were given suspended sentences. The convicts were sent to prison in 1959 and were supposed to serve at least a third of their sentences before they were allowed to go to the parole hearing. However, after George Wallace became governor, they received preferential treatment and in 1963 these regulations were relaxed. Mabry was released in February 1964, the rest in 1965. This judicial scandal was discussed in Mississippi Burning - The Root of Hate (under other names).

The original Ku Klux Klan of the Confederacy disbanded in 1958. Asa Carter became a speechwriter for George Wallace.

Publications

The Klan published The Southerner: News of the Citizens' Council between February and October 1956 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael and Judy Ann Newton eds. The Ku Klux Klan: An Encyclopedia Garland Reference Library of the Social Science Vol 499, London and New York; Garland Publishing. 1991 p. 100
  2. ^ Wayne Phillips (March 6, 1956). "White councils split in Alabama" . The New York Times , p. 24.
  3. ↑ Segregationist wants ban on 'rock and roll'. (1956, Mar 30). New York Times (1923-Current File), p. 27. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113509785?accountid=5683
  4. ↑ Newton & Newton P.100
  5. ^ By The, AP (1956, Apr 11). Alabamans attack 'King' Cole on stage. New York Times (1923-Current File), p. 1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113872978?accountid=5683
  6. ^ Special to The New York Times . (1956, Apr 12). "Negroes driven from Texas cafe". New York Times (1923-Current File), p. 34. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113633102?accountid=5683
  7. ^ Special to The New, York Times . (1956, Apr 19). "Four get 6 months in King Cole attack. New York Times (1923-Current File), p. 1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113852143?accountid=5683
  8. ↑ Newton & Newton P.100
  9. ^ Special to The New, York Times. (1956, Sep 05). Hearing delayed on kasper bond. New York Times (1923-Current File), p. 13. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113734162?accountid=5683
  10. ^ Special to The New, York Times. (1956, Sep 05). Hearing delayed on kasper bond. New York Times (1923-Current File), p. 13. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113734162?accountid=5683
  11. ^ Newton & Newton p.119
  12. ↑ Kasper gets hearing in tenn. jail sentence. (1956, Sep 06). The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959), p. 25. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/148855819?accountid=5683
  13. ^ "Clinton Desegregation Crisis". (2012) in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture , accessed July 3, 2012, from Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture : http://www.tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=279
  14. ^ Mobs mass in new Tennessee flareup. (1956, Sep 05). Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File), p. 1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/166992286?accountid=5683
  15. ^ Special to The New, York Times. (1956, Sep 07). Clinton agitator wins bail order. New York Times (1923-Current File), p. 12. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113753194?accountid=5683
  16. ↑ Vigilantes break-up unruly segregation mob. (1956, Sep 02). Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File), p. 1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/167000048?accountid=5683
  17. ↑ Newton & Newton P.100
  18. ↑ Newton Newton & P.100, 120
  19. ^ Forster, Arnold . Epstein, Benjamin R. Report on the Ku Klux Klan New York: Anti-defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1965 pp. 16-18
  20. ↑ Newton & Newton pp.100, 445
  21. ↑ Newton & Newton pp.100, 400
  22. ^ Special to The Christian, Science Monitor. (1957, Feb. 05). Alabama curbs violence. The Christian Science Monitor (1908-Current File), pp. 6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/509570594?accountid=5683
  23. ↑ Newton & Newton pp.100
  24. ↑ Alabama Council on Human Relations Alabama Council Newsletter  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / adahcat.archives.alabama.gov   Vol. 3 # 1 p.3
  25. ↑ National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form The Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, Alabama, 1933-1979 (PDF; 3.4 MB) [p.33]
  26. ↑ Forster & Epstein p.20
  27. ↑ Forster & Epstein p.20
  28. ↑ Gets 20 Years in castration of a negro, 33. (1957, November 01). Chicago Daily Tribune (1923-1963), pp. B2-b2. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/180271407?accountid=5683
  29. ↑ Newton & Newton p.1
  30. ↑ Newton & Newton pp.100, 445
  31. ↑ http://www.worldcat.org/title/southerner-news-of-the-citizens-council/oclc/17268614&referer=brief_results
  32. ↑ http://aubiecat.auburn.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=294891