The Ku Klux Klan has infected the South and other regions of American for several decades with its bigotry and ignorance towards all different races and religions. In the early 1920s the KKK saw itself on the come up after the first Great War, with many people disgusted in how the country had took a turn for social upheaval with immigrants pouring in and different religious sects forming.
The early crusade of media outlets such as the New York World, the Memphis Commercial Appeal and the Montgomery Advertiser are just a few of the institutions who waged war against the Klan from the outset. The power of the Fourth Estate helped preserve the First Amendment right of Freedom of Speech in Alabama, by preventing bills which would muzzle the Montgomery Advertiser from posting damaging news articles about the Klan.
When I think of the Klan, the image that gets burned into my head is of tar and feathering, the stories of African Americans being hanged and the burning of crosses. So why should the story of the Klan affect you? How would like to be taken out of your home in the middle of the night and tied up and dragged down a country road till you die or have your house set on fire? The Ku Klux Klan is an evil party of America that tries to usurp the justice system that we have in place which should never be the case. As long as the media serves to keep groups of people like the Klan in checked and raise awareness then the defiance of the Klan and its oppressive and destructive behavior can be curtailed and limited.
Wow, a chilling entry. I've always been somewhat intrigued by this topic, simply because I cannot seem to fathom how anyone could have so much hate for a people they have never taken the time to understand. The indoctrinating of the children who grow up to be so cruel and who in turn have no idea why they feel the way they do. They just know that 'daddy hates niggers, so I do too' smh.
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