Klansvillie

 

The rebirth of the Klan was during the 1920s following the huge amounts of progress in arts, voting, and music in many black communities. One of the larger establishments was right here in North Carolina led by Bob Jones. This resurgence of the KKK occurred after the release of the movie Birth of a Nation which romanticized the KKK as heroes. Their belief was also heavily made to be solidified by preaching of the bible interpreted by a racist priest.

In my opinion, I find this resurgence of the KKK irrelevant, unnecessary, and nonsensical. During the five years, they had been in the order they seem to have accomplished nothing but a few gatherings and walking around in costumes. This can be proven by the utter embarrassment of the previous member for even being apart of the group. However, I would like to focus on the effects of TV and entertainment on the resurgence of this group.

First and foremost, the Birth of a Nation is a film that painted KKK members as heroes against the “evil black people that were taking over the town. This movie was loved in the south because it embodied the long-lost southern dream. Instead of being the losers, in this movie the south wins alongside their valent heroes the KKK secret members hidden under a mask. This ideology resonated with a lot of white lower class who were beginning to feel inferior to black people who were consistently progressing. Especially Bob Jones the Grand dragon of North Carolina’s KKK. Bob was a man that had little education, worked odd jobs, and was never deemed popular.

This group became so popular because lower-class white people could live out their fantasy of becoming the heroes of the story. Under their white masks they didn’t have to be poor they could be Grand dragons and saviors of the old south. Klan members felt they had formed a community that made them feel a sense of belonging. They had formed huge gatherings to celebrate the community they had created, yet they did not discuss how they planned to accomplish their goals instead they spewed their hate speech.

I believe nothing was accomplished because this community was created in a south that could never be brought back. This group was led by someone that had no real motive besides wanting to be the main charter of his own story.       

  

Additional Links

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/klansville/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Birth-of-a-Nation

https://weta.org/watch/shows/american-experience/klansville-usa