Klansville USA

In class we watched a documentary called "Klansville USA" and it was about the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1960's in response to the rising of Civil Rights.  It is primarily about the North Carolina chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.  In two years of operation this organization grew from nothing to over ten-thousand members.  This documentary did not focus on the hardcore KKK but the group from North Carolina which seemed to be very organized and politically minded.  It also talks primarily about the organizations leader Bob Jones.  This documentary was very eye opening to me.  I always just looked at the KKK as a bunch of red-necked idiots who kill and terrorize innocent African Americans simply because their skin color is black.  The particular Klan that is highlighted in this documentary seemed to be a group of ordinary and simple white people who just wanted to have their voice heard.  They also seemed to be non-violent.  I guess in a certain way you cannot blame these types of people.  Back then white people who were in the middle class and up were very open-minded about African Americans making a name for themselves in society.  It was those white people who were now at the bottom of the barrel who felt like they were being attacked.  I feel like this was a perfect storm for the blossoming of the KKK in North Carolina, white people who wanted to be heard and a strong willed leader in Bob Jones.  But at the end of the day Bob Jones was just a crook and you can't build a house on bad foundation.