CONTENT:
THE REVIVAL OF THE KU KLUX KLAN DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THE 1950`SName:Grade Course:Tutor`s Name:(30 July 2011)The Revival of the Ku Klux Klan during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950`sKu Klux Klan was formed in May 1866 at a place known as Pulaski, Tennessee. It started as a social club or fraternity wearing ropes, hoods and high conical pointed hats. This dressing code which was not meant to scare nor harm anybody ended up scaring people especially the former slaves in the area. Having discovered that they were being feared, they decided to take advantage of that situation. It is in that particular moment, they came up with a group of their own, the Ku Klux Klan. In 1867, the Ku Klux Klan met in order to come up with rules and organizational structures which were meant to be adhered to by all members. It is in this meeting that the former Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest was elected Grand Wizard or Supreme leader of the group. With time, the group was later separated into a number of realms, dominions, provinces and dens. The main aim of this group, Ku Klux Klan was to protect the whites that belonged to the Southern States against the wicked Northern whites and the Negros. Apart from the restoration of the whites` supremacy, this group was also against Semitism, anti-Catholicism and nativism. In this research paper, the focus will be on the activities of Ku Klux Klan, their fall and their revival.Immediately after the World War II in 1945, those members of the Ku Klux Klan who had been victims during the War began avenging their bitterness. By 1950s, most of the independent groups had started using the name “Ku Klux Klan” especially those individual groups in Birmingham and Alabama. These groups became resistant to the social changes and the blacks thus bombing their houses.Their anger could not end their, instead, in 1958, at North Carolina, the Ku Klux Klan went a head burning crosses at the homes of the two Lumbee Native Americans who were known to have an association with the white people. Burning of the crosses was meant to be a sign of intimidation. They later held a night time rally near those places they had burned the crosses but luck wasn`t on their side, they ended up being surrounded by the hundreds of the armed Lumbees hence leading to the exchange of gunfire between the Lumbees and the Klan. It is at that point that the Klan decided to retreat. Nevertheless, the Klan members never gave up in fighting after being routed, instead, they continued fighting back. In 1963, two members of the Klan bombed a church in Alabama. This was because earlier on, the church had been used by their long time enemies, the civil rights organizers. It is during these incidents that four young girl`s fall into being the victims of death. With the killings of those girls, anger was triggered hence leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.The Klan`s ActivitiesHowever, with the passage of the Civil Rights ...