Confronting Misrepresentative Political Messages: The Klan’s 19th- and Early 20th-Century Manifestations

Abstract

Over the last couple of years, White nationalist groups have been at the forefront of American political life, especially with the events in Charlottesville, Virginia. The historical roots of White nationalist movements run deep in the United States and are most closely associated with the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). In this article the authors explore the history of the KKK outside of the South and how this oft-neglected history gets at elements of intergenerational and intragenerational occlusion. Next, we discuss the type of angry political rhetoric used by the KKK. Finally, a series of activities are provided. These activities enable students to see the presence of the KKK outside of the South, break down elements of intragenerational and intergenerational occlusion as it relates to the Klan, and confront angry political rhetoric in the racist messages of the KKK. These activities give students experience to analyze the messages of White nationalist movements to prepare them as future citizens to counter such rhetoric on the local, state, and national level.

Keywords:

• The Ku Klux Klan
• occlusion
• angry political rhetoric
• civic thinking skills
• historical thinking skills