“The Ku Klux Klan, with its long history of violence, is the most infamous and oldest, of American hate groups.Since their beginning, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) has provided a vehicle for this kind of hatred in America, and its members have been responsible for atrocities that are difficult for most people to even imagine.With the passage of the Military Reconstruction Acts in March 1867, and the prospect of freedmen voting in the South, the Klan became a political organization. Former Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest served as the first Grand Wizard, the name given to the top dog of the Klan, of the Klan and certainly played a significant role in its organized spread in early 1868. Today, while the traditional Klan form has declined, there are many other groups which go by a variety of names and symbols and are at least as dangerous as the KKK. Although African Americans have typically been the Klan's primary target, it …show more content…
But the hate crimes not believed to be done by Ku Klux Klan members, especially crimes against african americans, have a tendency to be done by Ku Klux Klan sympathizers. Its crucial to realize the difference between sympathizers and Klan members. Ku Klux Klan member are those that attend the meetings and own the all white robes, depending on the KKK group. Sympathizers are those that may share the same beliefs, attend marches and rallies regarding a certain topics, and have many Ku Klux Klan connections, but they are not an official member of the Ku Klux Klan and can not attend the meetings. This is key to establish because to have a fluctuation of the amount of Ku Klux Klan members in the United States, you must have a group of people that are the audience of fluctuating persons to make their numbers rise and