History of Sorts

The Ku Klux Klan has survived for more than 150 years. Its ideology of hatred and white supremacy continued to attract new members through the Holocaust, the civil rights movement, and the election of America’s first black president. It seems unbelievable that hatred could live on for that long, that anyone in the modern world could put on white robes, burn crosses, and still spread manifestos that call for an all-white America.

But hatred often starts at home. Since 1865, countless children across America have been born into the Ku Klux Klan. They’ve been raised by parents who pass down a moral code created in the days of slavery. From birth, these children are fully immersed in the Klan.

The photos below illustrate children’s lives in the KKK. They also show that contrary to popular belief, the Ku Klux Klan was not only operating in the Southern States.

A mother looks on as her seven-month-old child is baptized into the Klan.

Long Island, New York. July 4, 1927.

Two children — in the original caption, labelled as “mascots” of the Ku Klux Klan — stand with the Grand Dragon.

Atlanta, Georgia. July 1948.

A young girl in robes drinks a Coca-Cola while she and her mother watch a Ku Klux Klan rally.

Location unspecified. August 1925

Shelby Pendergraft, 15, and Charity Pendergraft, 17, attend a cross lighting ceremony at the Christian Revival Center.

Bergman, Arkansas. 2008.

This unidentified Klan woman gets her son dressed up really “cute” in KKK robes and a hat. The boy doesn’t seem too happy with the outfit, judging by his expression.

Location unspecified. April 27, 1956.

A child is initiated into the Ku Klux Klan.

Macon, Georgia. January 1946

Seven-year-old Perry Blevens sticks his head out the car window, showing off the sign that calls for “no integration.”

Gwinett County, Georgia. April 14, 1956.

A police officer stops to talk to a young boy about the Klan.

The young boy was curious about the rally marching by. But after talking to the officer, he changed his mind and went home instead of being lured into the Klan.

Danbury, Connecticut. August 7, 1982.

A mother and her child hold hands as they watch a cross burn.

Georgia. April 27, 1956

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