KKK Today

I have been discussing the Klu Klux Klan in Canada and today I want to relate where the organization stands today. For something different, I am going to show you a few old photos that aren't of Vancouver. These were sent to me from my mother who got them from an old friend of hers. Today the Vancouver Vagabond is reaching south!

This is the Ford Theatre where President Lincoln was shot in 1865 and shows what the area would have looked like at the time.

Here is the man himself at the Battlefield of Antietam. This photo was taken on October 3, 1862. The next day, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation appeared in Harper's Weekly. 

I have read differing opinions on whether the Klan is still active. I have found enough information to show that the KKK is still here in Canada.

While surfing the Net I found a site called the Canadian Empire where there is a letter from the Imperial Wizard, Chris Waters, which explains their position. There are also links that a person can go to in order to learn more about the policies of the Aryan Nations Knights.

An interview on Canada.com with Waters in 2007 shows an increased interest in the organization in Saskatchewan.

Another article I found states that, in Calgary, Alberta, the Klan is quite successful.

In 2011, former Klu Klux Klan leader, David Duke, posted an 'anti-Semitic' video on a Canadian Muslim Internet site.

Make no mistake, the Klu Klux Klan is alive and well in both Canada and the US.

This is a photo of a slaves' reunion. Lewis Martin Age 100; Martha Elizabeth Banks age 104; Amy Ware, 103 and Reverend S.P. Drew (born free) Harris and Ewing took it in 1917.

Taken between the years of 1860 and 1865, this is the U.S. Treasury in Washington, D.C. The photo also shows the Old Riggs Hotel. 15th and G.N.W.

Taken by Harris and Ewing in 1914, this picture shows rural mail delivery.

Taken sometime between 1900 and 1930, this is a prospector and his 'pack' dog ready for the summer trail.

So there is evidence that the ideals of the Klan and the organization still exist today.

Supporters state that the organization is a law-abiding one and that the crimes committed in the KKK's name were done by others. And there is evidence of that too. 

The entry that started this series was the death of the Scottish nanny, Janet Smith, and the fact that a group of men dressed in hoods like the newly arrived Klan members had kidnapped the Chinese houseboy who was a suspect. The kidnappers were NOT Klan members. In the United States earlier this year, a young African-American woman claimed that three hooded members of the KKK had doused her with a flammable liquid and set her on fire then sprayed 'KKK' and a racial slur on her car. Evidence proved that the 20-year-old had done it herself then blamed the infamous group.

Now here's a real crime! Taken during Prohibition, these men are pouring whiskey into the sewer.

In 1922, Lt. O.T. Davis, Sergt. J.D. McQuade, George Fowler of the Internal Revenue Service and H.G. Bauer are photographed with the largest still ever taken in the nation's capitol.

The restrictions on booze didn't seem to bother these two men drinking beer during the Prohibition.

Groups such as the Klan and other such organizations will always be around. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and as long as each group remains law abiding then we have to learn to live harmoniously. 

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Vancouver, Chris Waters, history, Klu Klux Klan, Calgary British Columbia,prohibition,Canadian Empire

The Invisible Empire Knights

The Klu Klux Klan from British Columbia moved into Alberta in 1926 and 1927.  They began recruiting members at ten dollars a head and it didn't take long to get a thousand members. Locals from Red Deer, Vulcan, Calgary, Milo, Rosebud, Taber and Edmonton - as well as other communities - joined the white robed organization.

All seemed to be going well with the order until the fall of 1927 when the organizers disappeared with the Klan funds. The Alberta Klan called a provincial convention on March 2, 1930 in Calgary where officers were elected and a course of action planned for the upcoming election. (I am thinking perhaps Provincial election?)

Two years later, the Klan made a revival in Saskatchewan. In fact, one article I read stated that the KKK was established in 100 Saskatchewan towns and claimed a membership of 40,000. These new Klan members were attracted by the Klan's attacks on the "unassimilable" immigrants from southeastern and central Europe and on the Roman Catholic Church for its 'subversion' of the public school system.

These attacks played on old prejudices of the people that had been dormant for years while spreading animosity and suspicion throughout the province. The Klan also threatened people who were friendly to the Liberal party.

Premier J.G. Gardiner led a counter attack on the Klan from the summer of 1928 onward, accusing them of not only disrupting social harmony in the Province but also of being a tool for the Conservative party. 

The Klan and the leader of the Conservative Party, J.T.M. Anderson, denied the charge. They pointed out that the KKK had members that were Liberals, Progressives and Conservatives. As well, there was no proof that the Klan was in alliance with the Conservatives.

Proof or not, the Conservative and Progressive parties raised issues during the 1929 election campaign which drew upon emotions aroused by the Klan. The politicians were able to get enough votes from the Anglo Saxon and Protestant sector to defeat the Liberals. (Just a note. This was the only election that Gardiner EVER lost.)

A Klan convention in 1930 applauded the Anderson government's amendments to the School Act and its new immigration policy. Some local Klans remained active until the Depression was at its worst. The Knights of the Invisible Empire really became invisible throughout Saskatchewan and did not reappear for another fifty years.

And Gardiner? He had the last laugh as he led the Liberals back into power in 1934.

For today's entry, I have consulted two articles I found on the Internet. One is the essay I have been referencing and the other is Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan.

I ran into the same problem researching this series of entries as I do with a lot of research. Different articles will give me different years. I wasn't there, so I can't attest to which years are right.

Friday, I want to look at the KKK in Canada today. I hope you join me.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Vancouver, essay, history, Klu Klux Klan, Alberta Gardiner,Liberal,Roman Catholic

Klan Kontinues

By May 16, 1925, 1, 205 members had been recruited into the Klu Klux Klan in Ontario. But there was turmoil on the horizon.

The Imperial Klaliff, J.H. Hawkins, resigned and demanded $2,936.00 in back wages. He even threatened to take the Klan to court unless he got his money.

And he wasn't just sitting around, waiting for an answer from the Klan. Hawkins approached Klansmen in London and Hamilton and won them over to his side. On July 17, 1925, Hawkins formed a different, independent, branch of the Klan. The Ku Klux Klan of the British Empire, the upholding of the womanhood of the nations and its protection against colored or foreign peoples, the abolition of the yellow peril, and the abolition of anything tending to bring ridicule on the Protestant church.  The new Klan dressed similar to the original members except the Union Jack was worn on the right breast instead of the left. 

Within a few weeks though, Hawkins was forced out of the new Klan and he returned to the United States.

At certain points in Ontario such as St. Thomas, Exeter, Sault Ste. Marie, Ottawa, Kingston, Richmond and Belleville, Klaverns were formed. There was also evidence of Klan vigilante activity in that province.

In Barrie, a Klansman was convicted of blowing up a Roman Catholic Church and in Oakville, a young man thought to be of African ancestry was separated from his fiancée and told to stay away from white women. However, it appears as if the Klan in Ontario in the 1920s, disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

When Fowler and Hawkins were organizing the Klan in Ontario, they had their eye on other provinces as well. They were attempting to enlist the help of experienced organizers. Fowler wrote to Hawkins on February 18, 1925 “Colonel Machin has done some good work in Manitoba. He will get a Charter there also after Parliament adjourns April 1st."

Machin did not continue with his 'good work' in Manitoba though. Within two months of that letter being written, Colonel Machin moved his operations to Kenora, Ontario.

June 1, 1928 was the first attempt to organize the Klan in Manitoba. D.C. Grant organized a meeting in the Royal Templars Hall in Winnipeg. In Virden, on July 7, Dr. Hawkins lectured and in October, Grant held a rally in St. Boniface.

The Klan's campaign brought some results but Manitoba didn't appear to be fertile ground for their ideas. Rallies and meetings were poorly attended and there wasn't a large membership.

Once again, I am getting this information from an essay I have found online.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Vancouver, essay, history, Klu Klux Klan, Winnipeg British Columbia, Canada, Ontario,cross burning,Manitoba