Masaryk university in brno faculty of education

4.3 The Cases of Violence of Today’s Klan

Cynthia Lynch, 43 years old from Tulsa, Oklahoma had never left her home state, until she decided to travel to Louisiana to join the Ku Klux Klan. She met two Klansmen and they took her to their camp. It was the camp of so called Sons of Dixie, which was a faction of the modern Klan. (According to SPLC, there are about 34 different groups of the Klan).⁷³

She planned to become a member of the Klan but during the initiation rite she changed her mind and asked the Klansmen to take her to the nearest city, so she could go home. The leader of the group, Raymond Charles “Chuck” Foster was not willing to let her leave and he shot her. CNN report says that:

“During the initiation rite, members of the Klan group, which calls itself the Sons of Dixie, shaved Lynch's head. After 24 hours of drills, including chanting and running with torches, she asked to be taken to town. An argument began, and the group's leader, Foster, allegedly pushed her to the ground and shot her to death without warning.”⁷⁴
After killing her, Foster tried to remove the bullet from her body and he burnt all her personal items to destroy the evidence. Finally, a shop keeper called the police, because suspected two men, who came into his shop and asked for some cleaning agent to remove blood from their clothes. The police found Lynch’s body few miles from the camp and later, in the same place, they found Confederate flags, Klan banners and robes. ⁷⁵

Foster and other seven members of the Sons of Dixie were imprisoned. Foster was accused of second degree murder and no bail was set for him. The relatives of Cynthia Lynch said that she did not travel at all and this was the first far journey from home. After she had found the camp conditions and initial rituals unsuitable, she started to be homesick and wanted to go home. Foster did not want her to leave and killed her. ⁷⁶

In July 2006, several members of IKA (Imperial Klans of America), Ron Edwards, Joshua Edward Cowles, Jarred R. Hensley and Andrew R. Watkins, were on their recruiting mission.⁷⁷ In Brandenburg, Kentucky, they met a young Latino teenage boy, Jordan Gruver, who was 16 years old. The Klansmen beat him and caused him cracked ribs, broken left forearm, multiple cuts and bruises and jaw injuries, which were very complicated to cure.⁷⁸ They were arrested and Southern Poverty Law Centre sued them for calling Gruver a “spic” and hurting him seriously.⁷⁹ Gruver won $ 2.5 mil.⁸⁰

According to SPLC, there are about 34 groups that are following ideals of original Ku Klux Klan. They are also connected with neo- nazi groups. As the Ku Klux Klan is illegal organization, the groups are hidden and secret. Nowadays, it seems, they fight more against immigrants from Mexico and South America. But SPLC expects that as Barack Obama became the first African- American president of the United States, there will be some protest or even violent actions happening. The Klan is not that numerous as in 60sbut it still exists and there are still some people, who will follow its ideas and will be persuaded that America should be inhabited only by white citizens.

5. Conclusion

This thesis dealt with the racist organization, the Ku Klux Klan and specialized on two periods in the history of the USA: Civil Rights Movement times in 50s and 60s and present days. The thesis is focused on the general characteristics of the Klan, the description of the person of the member and some concrete cases of the violence, the Klan caused in mentioned periods.

In the 50s and 60s, Klan fought mainly against African- Americans because their Civil Rights Movement fighting against segregation was very strong and active and achieved a lot of success. The Ku Klux Klan was convinced that Jesus died for the white race and they did not want to allow the Blacks to have the same rights as them. The members of the Klan were usually not very well educated workers, who did not earn enough money for their families. They worked hard but it was not enough. Their feeling of desperation was turned against Blacks. The ways of torturing were very brutal and cruel. A very important thing for the activity of the Klan was that is was secretly supported by the local governments. Many executives and politicians sympathized with the ideas of KKK but could not support it publicly because they could lose their position. Nevertheless, they did not punish them for the murders and other violent crimes committed on African- Americans.

Now, the Klan is not that powerful as it used to be. The original organization is divided into many smaller that are connected with neo- Nazi and other racist organizations and took their program. Today’s Klan fights not only against Blacks but also against homosexuals, immigrants and Jews. The members are mostly the same social class as in 60s. But there is a very important difference in the society in USA. The Ku Klux Klan is no more supported by the public. It is forbidden and outlawed. It forced the Klan to change the way it was presenting itself. It proclaims to be just a group of white people who are proud of their nationality and race and they deny spreading hatred against other races. They base their rights on some quotes took from the Bible. On the contrary, organizations fighting for the rights of African- Americans and other minorities are pointing out some cases of murder, Klan caused. But now, the murders are sentenced to prison, which was not common in 60s.

The Ku Klux Klan is still active, sometimes more and sometimes less. The experts expect the rise of it, because of the financial crisis and mainly for Barack Obama, the first African- American president of the United States in the history.

6. Resume

Tato bakalářská práce zkoumá Ku Klux Klan a jeho hodnoty ve dvou obdobích v historii USA. První jsou 50. a 60. léta, kdy hnutí Afroameričanů a jejich boj za rovnoprávnost byli velmi silné a Ku Klux Klan se je snažil vraždami a mučením zastrašit. Snaží se zkoumat situaci v USA, pohnutky občanů přidat se ke Klanu a popisuje nejvýznamnější zločiny, kterých se Ku Klux Klan dopustil. Druhým obdobím je současnost, kdy se Ku Klux Klan ztotožňuje se neo- nacistickými skupinami a přebírá jejich názory. Tato práce se snaží najít podobnosti a rozdíly v názorech a hodnotách Ku Klux Klanu a jeho činech.
This bachelor thesis is dealing with the Ku Klux Klan and its values during two significant periods in the history of the USA. The first period id 50s and 60s when Civil Rights Movement and its fight for the equality of African- Americans was very strong and the Ku Klux Klan tried to protest against it by torturing and murders of Blacks. The thesis tries to look for the reasons of people who joined the Klan and is describing the most important crimes committed by the Klan. The second period is the present when the Klan is connected with neo- Nazi organizations and took their ideas. This work tries to find similarities and differences in values and opinions of the Ku Klux Klan and its activities.