Ku Klux Klan and the Black Panther Party
This is an excerpt from the paper...
Although the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Panther Party both employed violence to obtain their objectives, few similarities exist between the two groups. The Ku Klux Klan was committed to maintaining the status quo, white supremacy, in the communities in which it operated. Their objective was to suppress the activities of people of color, whom they perceived as threats to the established order. In contrast, the Black Panthers considered themselves revolutionaries. Their goal was to elevate the oppressed masses of African-Americans and to overthrow the existing political system. Thus, the Klan sought to restore a sense of power to whites, while the Black Panthers sought to gain a rightful share of power for blacks. The Ku Klux Klan is a name that describes two distinct groups of white racists in American history. The first Klan emerged during the Reconstruction era, as a secret society committed to the preservation of white supremacy. Blacks had only recently been given the right to vote during this era, and this electorate was instrumental in putting Republicans in power in the Southern states. In retaliation, Klan members terrorized local white and black Republican leaders and blacks whose behavior violated old ideas of black subordination. During Reconstruction, the Klan was especially active in Tennessee and North and South Carolina. Members wore white robes and masks and adopted the burning cross as their symbol. During their nighttime rides, they murdered,
. . .
Murphy gave a speech on white supremacy in which he used racial slurs and accused white integrationists of being Communists. The trial ended with the jury deadlocked.
In recent decades, the Klan has intensified its efforts to gain mainstream support. The violence and even the rhetoric has been toned down appreciably. Granted, this shift away from the radical fringes has led to a defection of the ranks. As one former member commented on the United Klans of America, "It had become a coffee and doughnut bunch of guys. There wasn't a lot of interest in action" (Judis 1996). A Klan chapter in Missouri even successfully petitioned the federal court in St. Louis to allow it to participate in the state's Adopt-a-Highway roadside cleanup program. Similar victories were won several years ago when the Arkansas Klan applied to participate in that state's highway cleanup program and in 1994, when the Klan was allowed to erect a cross on the grounds of Ohio's state capitol. In the Missouri case, the court concluded that the Klan's action was "a subterfuge designed to force state-sanctioned racism" and a ploy to recruit members, but granted the petition based on the First-Amendment guarantee of free speech (Economist 31). Various Kla
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Klux Klan, Panther Party, Klans America, Luther King's, War Klan, Klan Duke's, United Brown, Ulysses Grant, Arkansas Klan, Michael Parenti, panther party, civil rights, black panther, black panther party, ku klux, ku klux klan, klux klan, martin luther, luther king, martin luther king, luther king jr, white integrationists, white supremacy, status quo, united klans america,
Approximate Word count = 3253
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)
More Essays on Ku Klux Klan and the Black Panther Party
|