Journalism vs. The Ku Klux Klan

Image: 'Buergbrennen' 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22841923@N02/5628081300

The Ku Klux Klan is such a bizarre and unfamiliar topic to me. When I started reading the seventh chapter of Rodger Streitmatter’s Mightier Than The Sword, I could not put it down. This chapter focuses on journalisms battle against the Ku Klux Klan. While reading this chapter, I explored the establishment and expansion of the KKK. This strange phenomenon held an incredible amount of power in society, but journalism held an even stronger power. Journalists knew how to influence and bring awareness to society. Journalism will always have an impact on society that nothing else can exceed. It is truly amazing to read about the dominance journalism holds in our history. 

Check out this video for a brief history on the Ku Klux Klan:

KKK: Then and Now

by NationalGeographic

Streitmatter begins this chapter by introducing the Ku Klux Klan, an event that took place in Georgia, in 1915. The klan was led by William Joseph Simmons. I can just envision the site of a cross burning on top of a mountain, shinning bright with hatred for everyone to see. To think that this offensive statement wasn’t enough, the hate acts of the KKK only continued and worsened over time. The KKK grew to be a huge organization that everyone wanted to join. The KKK drew people in with its sense of power and its motives to restore traditional American values. They accused Catholics, Jews, blacks, and immigrants of tarnishing America. This group became so powerful, nobody dared to mess with it. They gained their power by bringing violence to society. It was a topic that nobody risked discussing. They made their mark by burning crosses in peoples’ front yards. Why would a Christian organization burn a cross they too prayed to? Did they not see it that way? 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11304375@N07/2534294657/

16KKKwCross-burning

A Ku Klux Klan meeting in Gainesville, Florida, Dec. 31, 1922.

This is used in the blog article "Tennessee Republicans Yearn for Days of Lore" on Truthmonk blog.

Soon journalists took their stand in the matter. They did not let their voices go unnoticed. They did what everyone else was afraid to do and spoke out about it. The first anti-klan paper was the New York World and it was build by Joseph Pulitzer. Pulitzer exposed the klan and didn’t let anything hold him back. He wrote about the violence and corruption involved in this organization and did not leave out a single detail. His journalistic campaign brought about incredible awareness. His paper spread all over the nation. His paper drew in millions of readers each day. The klan became known everywhere. Pulitzer was determined and devoted to destroying the KKK. His paper was a great success, but his motives were not. His paper made the KKK more powerful. More people joined the klan and found it more appealing. Pulitzer’s plan completely backfired. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_lowry/6599138037/

Ku Klux Klan

By Paul Lowry

The next newspaper to join the campaign against the KKK was the Commercial Appeal. This paper portrayed the klan as a profit making scam. This paper exposed the organization’s violence and hatred towards the city’s African Americans, Catholics, and Jews. The most effective part of this paper the use of cartoons. Cartoons spoke to people in a way that writing did not. The KKK fought back against the Commercial Appeal. The paper continued to use cartoons in their campaign. These cartoons made a difference. Their anti-klan cartoons and editorials brought about chaos that ended up defeating the klan in this city. 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burning-cross2.jpg

Ku Klux Klan members and a burning cross, Denver, Colorado, 1921

Denver News

Lastly, the Montgomery Advertiser, built by Grover Cleveland Hall, battled the klan, while at its peek, in the Deep South. Hall focused on flogging. He took an opposition to this act by revealing horrific details about specific incidents. Hall argued that all the violence could end if the state passed a law banning people from wearing masks. The klan then tried expand the state libel laws. This would destroy the freedom of the press. Both bill failed in the end. Even though Hall’s idea failed, he still had a vast impact on the anti-klan campaign. 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ku_Klux_Klan_Virgina_1922_Parade.jpg

Ku Klux Klan Virgina 1922 Parade

National Photo Company Collection

The three anti-klan papers discussed in this chapter are a significant part of our history. These journalists devoted themselves to bringing awareness in society. Journalists are the voices of society. Without them, we would never be heard. With an organization like the KKK, fear spreads over society keeping people quite. Journalists have the guts and courage to overcome that fear and change society. Journalism is the key to unlocking doors that society has locked. 


Streitmatter, Rodger. Mightier than the Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped American History. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2008. Print.

The Klan still very well exists today...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/craigoneal/4399776858/

KKK Rally in Georgia

By minds-eye
The photo above was taken at a KKK assembly in Georgia in the winter of 2009. 

Check out these stories about the KKK: 
The Ku Klux Klan

Visit the KKK website to see what is going on today in the organization:
KKK website

Check out the KKK history website and learn all about the organization and its history: 
KKK History Website