Klansville USA

 

This film was created to inform viewers of the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan was known to be a very violent group of people who targeted African Americans. They believed that slavery should not end and that whites were superior to all. In the documentary we hear about Bob Jones who was the leader of this Klan in the United States. A little background information on Jones, is that he was raised in North Carolina by a poor white family. He was in the navy but was kicked out due to him refusing to salute to a black officer. Later he became the leader of the North Carolina chapter of the KKK.

Bob Jones had a fear of being overpowered. He was the speaker for the North Carolinians and would voice the concerns of the people. The North Carolina group grew to 10,000 members in the course of two years. This shows how Jones was not afraid to get his voice out there and was a very strong influencer. Bob Jones reminds me of a dictator. He was a leader of a group that was targeting a specific race. He was feared. All of these things fall under the category that other dictators also hold such as Hitler. They share many of the same views just targeted towards different groups.

This documentary allowed you to deep dive into what the Ku Klux Klan really was and what they stood for. We have all heard of the group before and how they were known for being white supremacists. What most people didn't know is how big it was in the state of North Carolina. The group received the name "Klansville" after Jones obtained leadership and expanded the group around the state. The film was really informational for me especially because I do live in New England. Due to me living up north segregation was only briefly talked about in history class, I learned what the KKK was but never went into extreme detail like the documentary did.

Overall, I think learning about the KKK is something that needs to be focused on more. It is something that we need to make sure doesn't repeat itself. All men are created equal, and no race is superior to another and by watching the documentary I realized how dangerous this group really was. We learn about Hitler and his hate towards the Jewish community but rarely ever discussed someone identical to him in our own country. We were shown how people were brain washed by Jones' ideas and how they went along with white supremacy. 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/klansville/

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/13/arts/television/klansville-usa-explores-the-ku-klux-klan-of-the-60s.html