NCJ Number
122012
Journal
Southern Exposure Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1980) Pages: 2-6
Date Published
1980
Length
5 pages
Annotation
At the beginning of the 1980's, the Ku Klux Klan is undergoing a resurgence, and the "new" Klan's potential for violence cannot be ignored.
Abstract
In 1971, the Ku Klux Klan had slightly more than 4,000 members, a sharp drop from the 16,810 Klansmen reported by a congressional committee in 1967. In 1980, the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith estimates Klan membership at around 10,000. For the year ending September 1979, the Community Relations Service of the U.S. Justice Department reported a 450-percent increase in Klan-related activities from the year before. A similar report for the first 2 months of 1980 indicates that the number of Klan incidents across the Nation is still on the rise. As in the past, violence accompanies Klan activities, including killings, shootings, beatings, and vandalism. The violence is not new and neither is the message of racial hatred and bigotry. What is new is that this message is being delivered by Klan leaders who are expert at generating publicity and manipulating the media in promoting the Klan as a family-oriented, civil rights organization committed to justice for whites. The Klan is most dangerous when it is ignored, so this resurgence must be challenged.