A notebook containing meeting minutes and a ledger are among the Ku Klux Klan-related items uncovered by the Mississippi government during an office purge, offering new glimpses into the violent white supremacist group known for its secrecy and ties to law enforcement.
All objects were transferred to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Officials say it will take months to process all the materials.
It could serve as a reminder of the Klan’s history in the state and highlight the importance of preserving history so it is not repeated, according to black civil rights advocates.
“I’m glad these stories are coming out because they’ve been a real pain,” said Charles Taylor, executive director of the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety revealed last week that several KKK bodies were discovered while preparing to move into new headquarters. Inside a suitcase were discovered a pamphlet for the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Klan charters, a Klan robe, Ku Klux Klan recruitment materials, propaganda such as the “The Ugly Truth About Martin Luther King” pamphlet, meeting notes, ledgers, and a list of members who had and had not paid their dues.
Officials at the Archives and History Department said they were not ashamed of this discovery.
“Mississippi Highway Patrol troopers and Mississippi Department of Public Safety agents have worked for decades with our federal law enforcement partners to shine a light on the darkness in which groups like the Ku Klux Klan have chosen to operate,” said DPS Commissioner Shawn Tindell. “By preserving these artifacts and highlighting such organizations, we are helping to ensure that future generations are not misled by such hatred.”
Formed a few months after the end of the Civil War by six former Confederate officers, the Klan originally looked like a college fraternity with ceremonial robes and strange titles for its officers. But they began terrorizing freed black citizens. Congress actually outlawed the Klan in 1871, but… He was resurrected During World War I. With the enactment of Jim Crow laws in the South, the Klan’s presence increased. By the 1960s, the Klan was responsible for lynchings, church burnings and other attacks, Taylor said.
In 1964, Klan members kidnapped and killed three civil rights workers in what became known as the “Crackdown.” “The Mississippi Burning Killings.” The Klan also bombed the state’s only synagogue in 1967. One of the vandals set fire to the same synagogue In January.
Taylor says the newly discovered artifacts remind us that it wasn’t that long ago, and underscores the importance of ensuring that no law enforcement officers now working have the same beliefs as the Ku Klux Klan.
“It’s one thing to be able to say very clearly that this was here but it was at their place,” Taylor said. “People were studying (propaganda) because it was supposed to provide safety for all Mississippians.”
Barry White, commissioner of the Department of Archives and History, said items such as administrative records and the charter are important, as the Klan was highly secretive.
“MDAH is grateful to Commissioner Tindale for recognizing the historical importance of this material and moving it to the archives,” White said. “These records will provide researchers with broader access to documents that deepen our understanding of the activities of the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi during the 1960s.”
Protecting history even in this context is important, said Stephanie Johnson Toliver, president of the Washington State Black Heritage Association, which focuses on archiving black history.
Providing access to the inventory will allow members of the public “to look back at a history that has certainly been harmful, has been painful, and will continue to be harmful and painful here in the United States,” Johnson-Tolliver said.