You Know What Would Really Teach the Kids About History? A Old-Timey Lynching

Wow

A north Georgia history teacher faces punishment after administrators say she let four students wear Ku Klux Klan-like robes for a historical reenactment.

Administrators say four students in Ariemma's advanced placement history class donned Klan-like outfits while filming historical reenactments. Moye says students saw them Thursday and parents of a black student complained.  

I wonder how far such actions could go. Nothing would teach the kids about early 20th century north Georgia race relations than actually lynching a black person! But then, I'm sure that here in Texas, we're now teaching our children how the KKK had to stop crazy black men from raping our white women....

Historical Image of the Day

Ku Klux Klan march, Ashland, Oregon, early 1920s.

On the West Coast, the rise of the KKK in the early 20s was heavily infused with anti-Asian feelings.

Link of the Day: KKK Picks Wrong People to Pick On

Progressive Historians has a great post about a Ku Klux Klan chapter in North Carolina who, in 1958, decided to pick on a group of Lumbee Indians. This turned out to be a really bad idea:

Instead of cowering, the Lumbees had assembled about a mile away. Small groups of armed Lumbee indians, about 500 in total, fanned out across the highway and began to encircle the Klansmen.

As the song finished and the rally was to begin, Sanford Locklear walked up to Cole and began arguing with him. Words became shoves and tempers rose. Neill Lowery had seen enough. He leveled his shotgun at his hip and blasted out the floodlight. The field went dark.

The Lumbees began firing into the air and yelling their warhoops as they charged the field. The nerve of the Klansmen broke and they fell into complete panic.

The Klansmen dropped their guns and scrambled for their cars. Some had brought their wives and children with them, who wailed in fear as dark-faced Lumbee milled around their cars and pointed flashlights at them.

James Cole, the Grand Dragon himself, was in such a panic that he ran into a nearby swamp, abandoning his wife and "white womanhood" in the process. Cole's wife, Carolyn, also in a panic, drove her car into a ditch. After a few minutes several Lumbee helped push her car back onto the road.

Awesome.

Historical Image of the Day

Ku Klux Klan wedding, Sedro Wooley, Washington, 1926

Historical Image of the Day

Ku Klux Klan rider, Tennessee, 1868.

Note that he is not wearing a white costume. This was a phenomenon of the 2nd KKK of the 1920s. Early Klansmen often wore garish costumes intended to scare their targets.

From Estelle Frantz Parsons' very interesting Journal of American History article, "Midnight Rangers: Costume and Performance in the Reconstruction-Era Ku Klux Klan."

Historical Image of the Day

Dan Moody, governor of Texas, 1927-31. Made his name successfully prosecuting the Ku Klux Klan. Perhaps is one of two decent governors in Texas history.

Historical Image of the Day

Ku Klux Klan march, Washington, DC, 1928

Historical Image of the Day

Thomas Nast cartoon attacking white supremacy, 1874

Best. Counter-Protest. Ever.

I used to think that the best way to deal with the rallies of the Klan and Neo-Nazis was to simply ignore them. However, Digby points us to an even better solution - clowns.

"Saturday May 26th the VNN Vanguard Nazi/KKK group attempted to host a hate rally to try to take advantage of the brutal murder of a white couple for media and recruitment purposes.
Unfortunately for them the 100th ARA (Anti Racist Action) clown block came and handed them their asses by making them appear like the asses they were.
Alex Linder the founder of VNN and the lead organizer of the rally kicked off events by rushing the clowns in a fit of rage, and was promptly arrested by 4 Knoxville police officers who dropped him to the ground when he resisted and dragged him off past the red shiny shoes of the clowns.
“White Power!” the Nazi’s shouted, “White Flour?” the clowns yelled back running in circles throwing flour in the air and raising separate letters which spelt “White Flour”.
“White Power!” the Nazi’s angrily shouted once more, “White flowers?” the clowns cheers and threw white flowers in the air and danced about merrily.
“White Power!” the Nazi’s tried once again in a doomed and somewhat funny attempt to clarify their message, “ohhhhhh!” the clowns yelled “Tight Shower!” and held a solar shower in the air and all tried to crowd under to get clean as per the Klan’s directions.
At this point several of the Nazi’s and Klan members began clutching their hearts as if they were about to have a heart attack. Their beady eyes bulged, and the veins in their tiny narrow foreheads beat in rage. One last time they screamed “White Power!”
The clown women thought they finally understood what the Klan was trying to say. “Ohhhhh…” the women clowns said. “Now we understand…”, “WIFE POWER!” they lifted the letters up in the air, grabbed the nearest male clowns and lifted them in their arms and ran about merrily chanting “WIFE POWER! WIFE POWER! WIFE POWER!”
It was at this point that several observers reported seeing several Klan members heads exploding in rage and they stopped trying to explain to the clowns what they wanted."

My favorite part in all this is, after the idiots left, the clowns had a police escort to continue their celebration. Just one more reason nobody (at least, nobody who isn't in the Klan or a neo-Nazi) has to fear clowns.

Historical Image of the Day

Ku Klux Klan parade, Richmond, Virginia, 1920s

Historical Image of the Day

David Duke. Louisiana gubernatorial candidate. Klansmen.