Civil Rights Then and Now
As we acknowledge the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, we also must spend some time discussing those who tried to prevent equal rights for all. In my book, A Thousand Never Evers, the Ku Klux Klan in Kuckachoo, Mississippi harasses Addie Ann’s family. Extremely violent and threatening, the Ku Klux Klan and other groups like the White Citizens Council intimidated many minorities including African Americans and Jewish people in order to maintain racial segregation and white supremacy.
I met Mrs. F as I was traveling through the Mississippi Delta. She shared a story with me about the Ku Klux Klan in her hometown that provided lots of food for thought:
When you discuss the civil rights movement, how do you talk to your students/children about the Ku Klux Klan?