The perceived failure of Citizens’ Council to ensure White supremacy led to the rise of more violent groups like the Ku Klux Klan. The admission of James Meredith to the University of Mississippi and the historic March on Washington fueled increased cross-burnings and night-rider activities. Extreme reactionary groups such as the Mississippi White Knights of the Klan and Americans for Preservation of the White Race grew in size as they pursued a campaign of violence and intimidation toward Movement activists and sympathizers.
Pictured: A black and white photograph of a Klan initiation in 1923. Members make a large circle around a smaller group. There is a cross and advertising signs in the background.
Credit: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Collection, LC-DIG-ppmsca-68728
