CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - The Ku Klux Klan conjures images of a secret society entrenched in the culture of the deep south of the 1950s whose mission was to terrorize anybody the organization deemed a threat to the American way of life.
But the Klan wasn’t always so secretive, and it certainly wasn’t restricted to south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
That’s part of message that will be delivered April 12 when Macomb Community College history professor Michael Placco presents: “The KKK in Michigan in the 1920s: An Overview.”
Placco’s presentation is the first of three that will explore race relations in Michigan during the 1920s. The programs are part of the Lorenzo Cultural Center’s series, The Roaring Twenties: From Riches to Rags, which continues through May 4.
“The incarnation of the Klan of the 1920s was a national thing,” Placco told The Macomb Daily ( https://bit.ly/1fHgYIX ). “Unlike the first (versions), the Klan of the 1920s was big and very, very public.”
As with previous incarnations of the hate group, the KKK of the 1920s rose to prominence on promises to protect America from what it believed were threats.
The targets were mostly familiar: blacks migrating from the south to northern industrial centers; Jews and European immigrants; and Catholics.
In the eyes of the Klan, Placco said, “America was not that good old WASPY place anymore.”
The Midwest was a “hotbed” of Klan activity in the 1920s, and Michigan was near the top in participation. One prominent Klavern was based in New Baltimore, Placco said.
The Klan portrayed itself as a typical fraternal group, and when misfortune befell the right local family, the group could be counted on to provide food, clothing and other assistance.
Unlike its predecessors, the 1920s KKK proudly proclaimed its allegiance to the United States with July 4 parades, social events and even sponsorship of local baseball teams, Placco said.
“It wasn’t an underground organization . This was a mainstream Klan,” Placco said.
But behind the scenes, violence and threats, intimidation and even murder were part of its agenda.
Placco has seen photographs of lynchings committed right here in Michigan. In many, he said, crowds are gathered around mugging for cameras as a dead body swings in a tree.
“That is the most shocking thing,” he said. “I think that speaks volumes about how mainstream it was.”
The KKK influence of the 1920s was short-lived. The resurrection began about 1915, peaked in the early 1920s, but by the time the Great Depression hit in 1929, the Klan was on the downswing.
“I think the Depression just finished off the Klan,” Placco said.
Placco’s presentation will be held beginning at 1 p.m. April 12 at the Lorenzo Cultural Center, Clinton Township.
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Information from: The Macomb Daily, https://www.macombdaily.com
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