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I’ve been thinking about this a lot, as I’ve been researching and writing about the 1871 KKK Trials in South Carolina.
They were an unprecedented federal effort to protect civil rights that included:
1. Publication of victim testimony
2. Federal prosecutions https://twitter.com/wajahatali/status/1338342177609539585
They were an unprecedented federal effort to protect civil rights that included:
1. Publication of victim testimony
2. Federal prosecutions https://twitter.com/wajahatali/status/1338342177609539585
This was not a perfect process - most of the high profile Klan leaders fled and successfully avoided prosecution.
And the federal government and Republican Party gave up on the effort within a few years.
But it brought the “Invisible Empire” into the light.
And the federal government and Republican Party gave up on the effort within a few years.
But it brought the “Invisible Empire” into the light.
And the KKK’s terrorist actions were entered into the public record, mostly due to the astonishing bravery of Black southerners, who came to hearings and trials by the thousands to testify to their experiences.
I am hopeful that the @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris administration will consider this precedent, and how they can use it to turn back this @GOP-enabled white supremacist tide.
