User:Potters house/Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan[edit]
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan has been part of the title of at least ten organizations patterned on the original KKK. The most prominent of these was the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc., which was founded in November 1915 by William J. Simmons and disbanded in 1944 by James Colescott. At its peak, this organization had around three to five million members.
The most militant Klan group was "The White Knights of Mississippi" led by Imperial Wizard Sam Bowers. Though not the largest, they were by far the most violent [1]. They were responsible for many bombings, church burnings, beatings, and murders, including the killing of three civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner[2]. Neshoba County Deputy Sheriff Cecil Price, along with Edgar Ray Killen, Wayne Roberts of Meridian, Mississippi and several other members of the Klan, murdered the three young men, who were all members of C.O.R.E, (Congress Of Racial Equality) by shooting them and burying their bodies in a dam outside of Philadelphia, Mississippi. Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of these murders in 2005, 40 years after they occurred. Price and Roberts are now deceased.
In 1989, The White Knights of Mississippi went national, and appointed Professional Wrestler Johnny Lee Clary, who was also known as Johnny Angel as it's new national Imperial Wizard, to succeed Sam Bowers. Clary appeared on many talk shows including Oprah and Morton Downey Jr., in an effort to build a new modern image for the Ku Klux Klan. It was thought that Clary could build membership in the Klan due to his celebrity status as a professional wrestler. Clary tried to unify the various chapters of the Klan in a meeting held in the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan, Pulaski, Tennessee, only to have it fall apart by infighting which occurred when the Klan came together.
In the late 80's, Johnny Lee Clary was the Imperial Wizard of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan which was considered the most dreaded division of the KKK of all time. It has gone down in history as the most militant and most violent. As the Klan's national leader, Johnny toured the TV talk show circuit advocating, supporting and defending racial discrimination and violence. Appearances included the Oprah and Morton Downey, Jr television shows. He spent much of his energies trying to unite America's racist groups such as Neo Nazi and Skinhead groups, and also splintered KKK groups.
After a false arrest in Tennessee for a weapons violation, disgusted by internal fighting between the various white supremacist organizations, and the discovery that his girlfriend was an informant for the F.B.I. led Johnny to resign from the leadership of the Klan. He was accused of being a race trader after this and had the KKK turn on him. The film American History X shows many similarities to Johnny’s departure from the Klan [3]
On the verge of suicide he turned to the bible for comfort. He had a spiritual encounter with Jesus Christ and attended a multi racial church for a year He eventually met up with Wade Watts, a black gospel preacher, whom Johnny had formerly persecuted and had even set his church on fire. Johnny vowed to use his life story to help others, especially youth, trapped in race hate groups. He traveled with Watts during the 90's warning against racism and hate groups. [4]
At present, Johnny is a noted Pentecostal Christian evangelist who spends much of his time traveling the world sharing his life story and helping others see the errors of the KKK. He is the head director of Operation Colorblind. Johnny’s involvement in exposing the KKK and exampleship of amendment is the most notable demonstration of racial restitution by a former Klansman to date. [5]