Symbolism of The Klan
Much ado has been made about the strange symbolism of the Klan.
I stated at the beginning that the regalia now in use by the
organization, like the terminology, was selected as a memorial to the
original Ku Klux Klan. It has been generally regarded as grotesque
and ghostly, designed to intimidate and terrify persons against whom
the displeasure of the Klan might be directed. But the only purpose
in adopting the white robes and incidental trimmings was to keep
in grateful remembrance the intrepid men who preserved Anglo-Saxon
supremacy in the South during the perilous period of Reconstruction.
The regalia of the Klan, however, expresses something more in the
present organization than a mere memorial. Its symbols convey to the
initiated the highest sense of patriotism, chivalry and fraternalism.
These symbols were designed by myself during the years that I pondered
a revival of the old order, and contemplated the endangered position
of the native-born American throughout our commonwealth. Every line,
every angle, every emblem spells out to a Klansman his duty, honor,
responsibility and obligation to his fellow men and to civilization.
None of it was wrought for mere ornamentation, and none of it designed
as mere mysticism. All of it was woven into the white robes of the Ku
Klux Klan for the purpose of teaching by symbolism the very best things
in our national life.
Emblematic robes are not uncommon to organizations of men banded
together for either religious or fraternal purposes. My affiliations
with the church and my connection with a number of fraternal orders
have convinced me that the impelling truths which grapple and hold
the loyalties and convictions of men are taught better by symbolism
than ritualism. The Roman Catholic church proclaims the authority of
its mission to the world through the insignia of its clergy and its
rulers; while its service of sacrifice and sanctity, of separation and
consecration, is expressed in the robes of its nuns and its celebrants.
In that colossal pile, St. Peter's at Rome, the most splendid edifice
of Christianity in all the world, is to be found a vast collection of
stones and gold, an array of art so magnificent that it dazzles even
the imagination, an amazing accumulation of trophies torn by conquest
from pagan temples--all symbolizing the universal dominion of the
church not only over all things material but also over all things
religious. The robes of the cathedral are elaborate and impressive
throughout all the grades and ranks of service, from the drab garb of
the keeper of the portals to the flashing parti-colored uniforms of the
Swiss guard, and on through the white, red, and black trappings of the
attendants in the inner courts to the vivid scarlet of the cardinals
and the gorgeous purple of the pope. All are designed to express some
function, or mission, or doctrine of the church in its vast system of
evangelism.
The Anglican church of Great Britain and the Protestant Episcopal
church of America, as well as various other Protestant organizations
have found it to be impressive and inspiring for the clergy and the
sisterhood to wear robes designed to mark them as men and women set
apart for service to humanity. Perhaps the Greek Catholic Church
has the most elaborate system of teaching great religious truths by
symbolism of any other religious organization. It undertakes to convey
to the world the idea of its virility as a Christian organization by
an extensive and artistically wrought out symbolism in its robes and
insignia.
It goes without saying that nearly all, or perhaps all, of the great
fraternal organizations of the world are characterized by the robes
they wear. There are different robes of different orders and various
robes for the same order in different degrees. These carry the message
of fraternalism in the garments that are worn. Why should we, Knights
of the Ku Klux Klan, be singled out and condemned for adopting a
symbolism altogether unique, to represent our particular service to the
age in which we live?
Some objections, probably not wholly misdirected, have been made to the
mask that is worn by the Klan in public parades and demonstrations.
The objections would have all the more force if it were true that the
membership of the Klan were concealed from public scrutiny; but this is
not true. Every local Klan has the custody of its roster and the roster
may be given to the public at the option of the local Klan. Besides,
it is overlooked that the Ku Klux Klan is a chartered organization--in
fact twice chartered under the laws of Georgia.
Its membership is subject to the scrutiny of the State at its will. In
addition to all this, the leaders of the Ku Klux Klan in respective
communities are well-known, responsible and representative men, and
their connection with the Klan is generally known to the community
at large. So influential and conspicuous are those men that their
leadership is a guarantee of the worthy and orderly purposes of the
Klan. However, the matter of removing the mask from the Klan whenever
it appears in public is under consideration, and it is not improbable
that the Klan will be authorized to remove the mask whenever a public
demonstration is given.
Outrages and atrocities, expressing various forms of prejudice and
hate, have broken out in some parts of the country during the past
twelve months. Often they have been charged to the Ku Klux Klan. It
is the same old story repeating itself. During Reconstruction days
crimes were perpetrated by men wearing regalia similar to that of the
Ku Klux Klan. The government spent much time and money investigating
these crimes, and compiled altogether forty-six volumes in reports,
but wherever the perpetrators of an outrage against order and decency
were uncovered, they were found to be not Klansmen but Scalawags
and Carpet-Baggers who had used regalia like that of the Klan under
which they might enact their dual purpose of committing a crime and
blackening the reputation of the Klan. At the recent investigation in
Washington numerous crimes were charged to the present-day order of
the Ku Klux. These had been heralded in startling stories by the press
throughout the land. I vigorously denied that a single crime had ever
been committed by the authority of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. I
repeat that it is not an order that can tolerate or condone disorder,
violence or lawlessness. It pledges itself now and always, here and
everywhere, to the protection of society under constituted authority.
It holds itself in readiness to serve the best interests of society,
not despite the law, but always under the law and through the law.
Symbolism teaches the great principles of life, and being, and destiny,
better than any form of speech. There is in human nature an element of
mysticism that responds to suggestion and intimation when no logic or
philosophy could reach it. The mightiest movements in our human nature,
those which transform the character and transfigure the spirit, have
their seat in a realm deeper than where man does his thinking or even
his willing. It is in that part of human nature where the loyalties
and affections, the prejudices and the passions are kept, and it is
only the mystical, the mysterious, the intangible that can reach these
forces in human nature, arouse them, and put them into action. It is
poetry and art and music that move and stir the best that is in us and
make us conscious of what we may do and be. It is not strange then that
symbolism has been used by the church in order to stimulate reverence
and devotion; that it has been used by lodges to awaken fraternalism
and humanism; and that it has been used by every great patriotic
organization to arouse passion for native land and freedom. Indeed,
every cause that has ever lived and flourished in the world, whether
religious, fraternal, or patriotic, has been highly spiritualized and
all the fiery forces of the inner man have been elicited and organized
in its service. There must be in every real movement something of the
fervor of the Crusaders. Without this every spiritual effort of man,
whether great or small, has had its ardor grow cold and the bright
light of its enthusiasm go out in darkness.
What, indeed, could be more appealing to the finer things in human
nature than the fiery cross? "By that symbol we conquer." It carries
the idea of illumination and sacrifice. It symbolizes a love that
lights the way to the noblest service; it symbolizes a service that
is impelled by a burning love. Here lies the only way forward. The
world's amelioration is proclaimed by the glowing cross. We sometimes
think of the cross as remote, as belonging to the past, as an
isolated event. The cross is now and here, and it is an essential
part in the advancement of the world's civilization. It means, in
the highest sense, freedom--the freedom of all mankind. But there is
no emancipation in all the world that comes as a gratuity. Wherever
human life is freed a ransom price must be paid. When it comes to the
liberation of human thought and the breaking of chains from immortal
souls, there is no ransom that will pay the price except that into
which men mint their lives, and out of which they coin their higher
selves. All this and more the fiery cross of the Ku Klux Klan conveys
to the Klansman. It means the supreme agony of love through the
sacrifice of life, to the end that freedom and democracy may be secured
to all mankind forever.
[Illustration: Stone Mountain--The Klan Rendezvous]