This program originally aired online via zoom on April 29th at 6:30pm Eastern.
Dr. Andrew Sperling joined us for a conversation about the history of Jews and the Ku Klux Klan: Antisemitism, Vigilantism, and Resistance. Andrew discussed the origins of the KKK, which began as a social club for ex-Confederate soldiers, and its ideological connection to the Lost Cause narrative. The group upheld white supremacy through tactics of intimidation, including violence, harassment, and propaganda, targeting freed Black Americans and white Republican supporters to ensure that political power remained in the hands of former Confederate leaders. Although the Klan was officially banned by the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, small factions persisted, and its members were later romanticized and glorified as defenders of the “Lost Cause of the Confederacy.
In the early 20th century, the Ku Klux Klan experienced a resurgence. Seeking to legitimize itself within white Protestant communities, the Klan worked to normalize its presence by sponsoring family-friendly events such as picnics, parades, and baseball games. During the 1920s, Jewish cultural leaders were scapegoated and blamed for the era’s social and moral changes. Prominent figures like Henry Ford published antisemitic conspiracy theories in his newspaper The Dearborn Independent, accusing Jews of causing society’s so-called “moral decay.”
At its height, the Klan is estimated to have had as many as 5 million members nationwide. It wielded significant political influence, with Klan-affiliated individuals elected to public office, including the U.S. Senate and governorships. The group continued to terrorize those it deemed “un-American”—including Black Americans, Catholics, Jews, immigrants, and anyone who did not conform to their vision of an Anglo-Saxon Protestant identity. The Klan’s influence extended into law enforcement. In many communities, local police officers were themselves Klan members or sympathizers, allowing hate crimes to go unpunished or actively participating in them.
Several established Jewish organizations chose a stance of minimizing and ignoring far-right activities and hate speech. Many individuals were frustrated by this stance and opted to form their own resistance groups and create coalitions to protect themselves against Klan activities and harassment. The Jewish Defense League (JDL), formed in 1968 by Meir Kahane, was one such group to form with an agenda of self-defense through violence. The JDL is widely recognized today by Jewish organizations and the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group for its discrimination against Black and Arab people. Some preferred the methods of organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, which tracked and monitored hate groups to prevent and expose hate crimes before they took place.
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.
Topics covered in this program: Founding of the KKK, Reconstruction, Leo Frank, Antisemitism, Klan members in politics, Klan in law enforcement, Klan as perpetrators of violence and abuse, Nathan Hantaman, Earnest Lewis, Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, James Earl Chaney, Meir Kahane, David Duke, Jewish Defense League, Jewish Defense Organization, self-defense training camps, Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Jerry Springer.
