Ku Klux Klan Rally, NC

Artist

Bruce Roberts (American)

Date

Ca. 1965

Medium

Gelatin-silver print

Dimensions

Sheet : 10 x 13 in. (25.4 x 33.02 cm)

Credit Line

Hope College Collection

Object Number

2020.37

Label

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is an American terrorist organization that uses intimidation and violence to uphold white supremacy. Founded by former Confederate soldiers in 1865, the KKK experienced three peaks of popularity and power during the late 1860s, 1920s and 1960s. This photograph of a young female Klan member, her face shining with an almost religious zeal, was taken at a Klan rally in North Carolina in the 1960s, when there were more than 10,000 Klan members active in that state. Court judgements and suppression by state and federal law enforcement agencies have greatly reduced the power of the Klan in recent decades, and it is estimated that there are approximately 3,000 active Klan members and Klan affiliates in the United States today.