The Ku Klux Klan has been the most organized of the many different White supremacy
groups that came into being after the Civil War. The ill-reputed Knights of the Klan have
been involved in countless incidents of human rights violations against blacks and other
minority groups in America. Especially in the South, during and after the Reconstruction
period, the Klan played a major part in formulating and forcefully employing many of the
Jim Crow laws, that delayed black man's true freedom for a century.
Stetson Kennedy is a native of Jacksonville, Florida where the Klan was very active.
Kennedy saw first hand the working of the Klan when a maid in his house was taken for a
ride by the Klan and badly tortured. Kennedy developed a hatred for the Ku Klux Klan and
wanted to do all he could to limit the influence of and put a stop to its hate mongering.
He wrote a book "Palmetto Country" in which he blasted the myth that the Klan
was formed to "save the South" from Scalawags, Carpetbaggers and Negroes. This
was the view held widely throughout the South and took root more so as it was romantically
depicted in Southern writers publications and the ground breaking movie "The Birth of
a Nation". Kennedy noted that the Klan was actually the handiwork of the rich
Southern plantation holders, who wanted to keep the black labor force under chains similar
to those of slavery.
Also, Kennedy noted that the few things written about the KKK were editorials rather
than exposes. He felt the need for not just words but for legal evidence against the
Klan's inside machinations. For that purpose someone would have to go under a Klan robe
and turn the hooded order's dirty linen for all the world to see. The author decided to
volunteer for the job and thus began his adventures as a Klan-buster, in the headquarters
of the Klan at the time in Atlanta. The first few chapters relate his experiences at the
Klan meetings and his mostly successful efforts to report the planned acts of hooded
terrorism to authorities.
Soon enough, Kennedy had enough incriminating evidence against the Klan. In an action
packed moment in the courthouse, Kennedy disrobed from under his Klan mask in front of
stunned Klansmen who had thought he was one of them. Kennedy testified against the vicious
organization, and played an important role in bringing the Klan to its knees.
Through the remainder of the book, Kennedy relays his experiences working against other
similar outfits, like the Colombians in Florida, who had Nazi leaders perpetrating
anti-Negro, anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic sentiments. As a result of his daring
confrontations with the Klan and other organizations, Kennedy has had to face numerous
threats to his life and property.
"The Klan Unmasked" is a real eye-opener into the devilish machinations of
the Ku Klux Klan. Instead of sermonizing about the issue, Kennedy takes a very daring and
practical approach and enthralls the readers with his Klan-busting adventures. It portrays
the dangers of falling into the vicious business of hate-mongering very effectively and
makes us think hard about the racial and social problems facing American society as it
enters a new century.
