Jews and the KKK: Antisemitism, Vigilantism, and Resistance

Since its revival in 1915, the Ku Klux Klan has targeted Jewish Americans and others through violence, harassment, and propaganda. The continuous presence of a hostile hate group has prompted Jews to ask several questions: how can the Klan be defeated, and what is the Jewish role in that process? This program offers a history of Jewish encounters with the Klan in every region of the U.S., between its popular peak in the 1920s and its resurgence under the White Power movement of the 1980s. Highlighting moments of antisemitic terrorism and anti-Klan resistance, Andrew Sperling reflects on the legacy and lessons of this historical struggle.

Andrew Sperling is the inaugural Leon Levy Fellow at the Center for Jewish History. A recent graduate of American University’s doctoral program in History, his work explores the legacy of antisemitic extremism in the United States. His writings on antisemitism, southern Jewry, and refugee experiences have appeared in American Jewish History, Southern Jewish History, and The Conversation. He is a recipient of the Mark and Ruth Luckens International Prize in Jewish Thought and Culture, and research grants from the American Jewish Historical Society, American Jewish Archives, and American Academy for Jewish Research.