Racism In The Emergence Of The Ku Klux Klan

The role racism played in the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan included the rise of southern whites through violence to prevent African Americans from gaining social, political, and economic equality. Socially the Klan prevented African Americans from religious practices by burning down churches blacks went to. One of the most well known church burnings in American history happened on September 15, 1963 at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama, four members of the Ku Klux Klan planted dynamite in the church and the dynamite ended up killing 4 girls and injuring over 20 people. After the bombing, thousands of black protesters went to the scene of the bombing demanding justice and being emotionally tired of the racism that was happening.

If a black man agitated against the law for example he tried to register to vote the Klan would use violence. They would start by intimidation, meeting the man on the street in a group and beat him for his actions and the Klan would also burn crosses in black people’s lawn to intimidate them more. Economically the Ku Klux Klan would also use scare tactics to keep African Americans out of white neighborhood because they didn’t want them there and feared change. By keeping African Americans segregated from whites, they thought keeping them grounded and stuck in their place would make the south great again. In closing, the role racism played in the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan was tremendous because of all the heinous acts the Klan did to the African Americans to keep them down in the south and all over the United States. Racism and the Ku Klux Klan still exist today but, that’s not going to keep African Americans like myself and others from achieving goals and living