Klansville USA

Klansville USA is a documentary about the civil rights movement which gained momentum as the Ku Klux Klan activity took place. The Ku Klux Klan was established as a Fraternal social club. They were very violent and pressured by the government. Violence towards African Americans was justifiable by the KKK as it was necessary to restore order in the South. The Ku Klux Klan was then quiet for years. They re-emerged in the United States after the Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision and they gained momentum in the United States when the Civil Rights Movement grew. North Carolina was considered to be the most progressive southern state and its image was quickly becoming more negative as time went on. Bob Jones tapped into the fears of whites with low incomes. They believed that changing America would leave them behind. Under Jones’ leadership, membership grew very fast and became 10,000 members. It earned the nickname, “Klansville USA”. I feel like without a horrible thing like the KKK being started we would not be where we are today. I'm not saying that the KKK was positive by any means but without them, it would not have caught as much attention to what going on. This spiked attention on the black community being treated a certain way by certain groups of people. Further bringing more attention to what's going on and getting more people on board with the issue. Another part of this I find interesting was that the KKK genuinely thought they were doing good. I guess any group of people can think they are doing good if they convince themselves of it. But this is different because the KKK would kill and beat the blacks. This would have to take a toll on someone and eventually make them start reflecting on what they are doing. I find it almost impossible to believe that the KKK could just go on with their everyday lives without always having this on their mind. It would have to be like a second personality to be able to beat and kill black people. Then gets reintroduced back into society after it is done. For example, if they go out and kill someone they would then have to go on about their life just like a normal person after. I feel like that would be so hard to do. As well as keeping their identity a secret and not letting information about who it is out also sort of impressed me. They were pretty good about keeping things secret and quiet. Overall the KKK was like a small terrorist group.