History of the Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan started back in 1865 during the reconstruction after the Civil War. The Klan started to harass and stop African American's civil rights. In 1961 Montgomery Alabama, the KKK rose up to violently protest against the freedom riders who rode public busses through southern states. The bus was set on fire and the members of the klan killed every protester on the bus.
Goal
- The freedom riders wanted to see if the jim crow law was enforced.
- The KKK wanted to stop black civil rights.
- To fight for equality
- To show that everyone deserves equal rights
- To stop the KKK from not following the laws
Important people/Impacts
- Riders of the buses - risked their lives for justice
- KKK - killed and harmed people, usually minorities
- Congress of Racial Inequality (CORE) - organized the freedom buses
- Martin Luther King Jr - Supported the bus rides
- John Lewis and Bernard Lafayette
- Bull Connor - Police officer who enforced no protection against minorities
- Diane Nash - Civil rights activist
Obstacles
- Protestors were being harassed
- Minorities were beaten
- Innocent protestors were being killed
- Verbally abused
- Physically abused
- They did not have equal rights
- Peacefully protested and were always clashing with violence
Overcoming Obstacles
The Freedom Riders were remarkable, fearless Americans. They were extraordinary, ordinary people ... young people who the reins of history and wouldn't let go - Mark Samuels
- Fought with love like MLKJr said
- They endured the beatings
- They got on a bus knowing that could be their last ride of their lives
- Did not fight back
- Healed and went back to peacefully protesting
Lasting Effects
- The KKK still roams parts of America, but they are no longer widely accepted as it used to be
- Equality is gained to minorities
- Minorities no longer have to get on a bus to the south and get stopped by the KKK and risk their lives
- Black and White people are now integrated
- Racism however, is still prevalent
Modern Inequality -
In 2014, in a predominantly Jewish church, there was a Neo Nazi and KKK member that was not apart of the church and shot and killed three people. The man was 73 years old and his name was Frazier Glenn Miller Jr. He was convicted of murder and other crimes, and sentenced to death. He was a Neo - Nazi and former political candidate. This relates to the freedom rides, because people who were innocent and going about their daily lives were being ridiculed for their religion or race.
Works Cited
- Overland Park Jewish Community Center shooting. (2017, April 20). Retrieved April 26, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overland_Park_Jewish_Community_Center_shooting?scrlybrkr=7ee0cd60
- (Haaretz), D. N. (2017, March 02). Indiana Synagogue Shooting Stuns Jews In Heartland 'White Supremacy Country' Retrieved April 26, 2017, from http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/364690/indiana-synagogue-shooting-stuns-jews-in-heartland-white-supremacy-country/
- O. (2016, May 04). What It Was Like For A Freedom Rider Whose Bus Was Firebombed By The KKK. Retrieved April 26, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/freedom-rider-bus-hank-thomas_us_572937ffe4b0bc9cb04516af?scrlybrkr=81e83bda#
- (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2017, from http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_freedom_rides.1.html