Ch. 16, #2: "Spending Eternity in the Same Place" ... 1999
Skloot reports that the Ku Klux Klan was active in Clovis into the 1980s. Are you aware of any activity by the Ku Klux Klan in the area you are from? What kind of young person might respond to Ku Klux Klan recruitment today?
I've heard about the KKK meeting at the Sacred Heart Cemetary west of Konawa. We only have a few African American families around so nothing has ever happened that I know of. I think the most likely candidates to join would be the "redneck" southern boys who are ignorant and only know what their great grandpappy told them about blacks. The men in the video above amaze me with their way of thinking. What they say doesn't even make sense. The whole concept of the KKK is asinine to me.
I have also rumors about the KKK meeting at the Sacred Heart Cemetery. One of my closest friends lived in southern Arkansas when she was a kid, and she has told me story after story about how she would regularly see KKK members behind her house in the woods. This was only back in the 90's too. My 8th grade science teacher told us all a story about how she and a friend saw a KKK member chasing a pig across the road out by Latta. I believe that they are still around our area. The only people that really would join are those from the south, who have been brought up around that kind of racism against blacks. I really can't see how in the world people think like that. It is unreal.
I'm not aware of any KKK activity where I live (McAlester), but it really wouldn't surprise me. Young people brought up in a racist environment are really the only type that I could see responding to the KKK. It's weird that you'll see someone riding around with a rebel flag bumper sticker or something like that, and the same person loves OU/OSU football or the OKC Thunder even when 80 percent of the players are black. I think a lot of the racism in our generation is kids that don't want to disappoint their parents or grandparents that were raised racist. It's like a vicious cycle, and I don't know that it will ever really change. It's just something that we kind of have to deal with in this part of the country.
Yeah I've heard of it around the Ada area too. Never seen any of it, but I've heard about it from so many different people i can't imagine they're all lying to me. I don't really know who would join it today besides your flagrant racist. someone who is very confused. Even if they are supposedly "changed" like the clansmen in the video said I have no idea why someone would jump into that just knowing what they used to represent.
I haven't noticed any Klan activites in the area where I was raised. Stuart, which is close to McAlester, isn't really vocal about things like that. In McAlester I never noticed anything either but I'm sure their are at least some small factions there, they just are not very public about being members or racists. As far as people or young people that might respond to the group, I imagine it might be those that feel insecure and that don't fit in at school. They might join to have a sense of "brotherhood" and belonging. And others may actually believe the kind of things that the Ku Klux Klan do and may join simply for that reason.
I haven't heard of any KKK activity near Marietta but I wouldn't be surprised if there was some in Thackerville which is about 15 miles south of Marietta. A lot of Thackerville residents are ignorant racists who are close-minded. I haven't ever seen any Klan members or heard of any activity in a place that I've ever been to.
To my knowledge there is not any KKK activity from where I live. I really think most of the young people I know would be really upset if they were targets to be recruited.
I said this because I was raised around an area where there are a significant number of black people. Although some people cannot stand them and I could see very few of them considering being recruited, most of the people I grew up around do not have a negative attitude toward them. They would find someone trying to recruit them very offensive.
I've heard about the KKK meeting at the Sacred Heart Cemetary west of Konawa. We only have a few African American families around so nothing has ever happened that I know of. I think the most likely candidates to join would be the "redneck" southern boys who are ignorant and only know what their great grandpappy told them about blacks. The men in the video above amaze me with their way of thinking. What they say doesn't even make sense. The whole concept of the KKK is asinine to me.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Hicks
I have also rumors about the KKK meeting at the Sacred Heart Cemetery. One of my closest friends lived in southern Arkansas when she was a kid, and she has told me story after story about how she would regularly see KKK members behind her house in the woods. This was only back in the 90's too. My 8th grade science teacher told us all a story about how she and a friend saw a KKK member chasing a pig across the road out by Latta. I believe that they are still around our area. The only people that really would join are those from the south, who have been brought up around that kind of racism against blacks. I really can't see how in the world people think like that. It is unreal.
ReplyDeleteTaryn Jack
I'm not aware of any KKK activity where I live (McAlester), but it really wouldn't surprise me. Young people brought up in a racist environment are really the only type that I could see responding to the KKK. It's weird that you'll see someone riding around with a rebel flag bumper sticker or something like that, and the same person loves OU/OSU football or the OKC Thunder even when 80 percent of the players are black. I think a lot of the racism in our generation is kids that don't want to disappoint their parents or grandparents that were raised racist. It's like a vicious cycle, and I don't know that it will ever really change. It's just something that we kind of have to deal with in this part of the country.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Parham
Yeah I've heard of it around the Ada area too. Never seen any of it, but I've heard about it from so many different people i can't imagine they're all lying to me. I don't really know who would join it today besides your flagrant racist. someone who is very confused. Even if they are supposedly "changed" like the clansmen in the video said I have no idea why someone would jump into that just knowing what they used to represent.
ReplyDeleteI haven't noticed any Klan activites in the area where I was raised. Stuart, which is close to McAlester, isn't really vocal about things like that. In McAlester I never noticed anything either but I'm sure their are at least some small factions there, they just are not very public about being members or racists. As far as people or young people that might respond to the group, I imagine it might be those that feel insecure and that don't fit in at school. They might join to have a sense of "brotherhood" and belonging. And others may actually believe the kind of things that the Ku Klux Klan do and may join simply for that reason.
ReplyDeleteThis is a post by Tell Jordan
DeleteI haven't heard of any KKK activity near Marietta but I wouldn't be surprised if there was some in Thackerville which is about 15 miles south of Marietta. A lot of Thackerville residents are ignorant racists who are close-minded. I haven't ever seen any Klan members or heard of any activity in a place that I've ever been to.
ReplyDeleteKarli Plunkett
To my knowledge there is not any KKK activity from where I live. I really think most of the young people I know would be really upset if they were targets to be recruited.
ReplyDeleteKelsey Jackson
I said this because I was raised around an area where there are a significant number of black people. Although some people cannot stand them and I could see very few of them considering being recruited, most of the people I grew up around do not have a negative attitude toward them. They would find someone trying to recruit them very offensive.
DeleteKelsey Jackson