Hometown Racism

 by Maximillian Xavier Malavenda (3rd year, Department of Anthropology, Purdue University)

           The original Ku Klux Klan, one of the most widely recognized white supremacist hate groups in American history was founded by a group of Confederate soldiers in Tennesse in 1865 after the Civil War^[1]. However, one less educated on the history of the Ku Klux Klan may be surprised to know that during the second iteration of the Ku Klux Klan, which lasted from 1915 to 1944, it was largely targeting midwestern states not part of the original Confederate States and was largely based out of Indiana^[2]. Additionally, while being a northern Union State, Indiana had been no stranger to white nationalist groups in its history prior to the Ku Klux Klan establishing itself in Indiana, as it had also experienced the presence of the notoriously secretive Know Nothing political party in the mid-1850s^[3], predating the Civil War and the formation of the Ku Klux Klan. While less prominent, the existence of hate groups of all kinds as well as white nationalist groups in particular can be seen at various points going further forward through Indiana’s history, even in contemporary times. Occasionally, this presence can even be felt directly in the greater Lafayette Area, and more specifically on Purdue’s campus. Through my research I have sought out to document this history, how it stretches into our present day and in what forms, and what things may potentially allow for their continued existence, specifically in the greater Lafayette area.

While, similar to later hate groups in Indiana, the Know Nothings operated largely anonymously, their methods to get and advocate for what they wanted were much different. By utilizing their large numbers, the Know Nothings would attempt to achieve their xenophobic goals by organizing around specific political candidates who were either secretly members of their ranks or at least aligned with their ideology, a prospect with which they were very successful.^[6] The party was able to send nine out of the eleven possible candidates they supported to congress in an October 10th, 1854 election, all of whom except for one were Know Nothings themselves^[7]. They also were effective in sweeping politics on a local level, with many Indiana cities including Lafayette being cited as places where the group had been successful. However, with the impending Civil War only a few years away, the Know Nothing party quickly and quietly fell apart as the issue of slavery became the dominant and most pressing political topic of the time^[8].

While the Civil War contributed to the decline of the Know Nothings, as previously mentioned the same event eventually led to the establishment of the original Ku Klux Klan. This would not be the same Klan that would eventually find itself in Indiana, though. The second iteration of the Ku Klux Klan would not come until 1915, and would not be a significant presence in Indiana until after World War One in 1920^[9]. Unlike the Know Nothings, while the Ku Klux Klan would protect their identities with their infamous white cloak and mask outfit, they were much more open about their presence in the state. Klansmen in Indiana were so outspoken in their presence, that the state fair in 1922 featured a Klan day, established by a bill in the Indiana General Assembly, which even consisted of a cross burning at night^[10]. Another illustration of how widespread the The Klan was in Indiana at the time is that while overall the Klan was at some of their highest membership numbers ever, in Indiana alone it was reported that from July 1922 to July 1923 the were gaining approximately two-thousand new members every week. Additionally, at one point the Klan had about 250,000 members in Indiana. This was not only the highest concentrated membership level in any state, but also on its own a significant portion of the white male population of Indiana at about 30%^[11].

While it could be argued that the Indiana branch of the Ku Klux Klan may have focused just as much on issues of prohibition and immigration (although immigration at the time was mostly european) and less on issues of white supremacy in comparison to the other branches across the country^[12], I find it important to still acknowledge the statistics of the scale of the Klan in Indiana, as even if they may have been less outwardly dangerous to the African American community, the Klan already has years of preceding reputation to the contrary, especially through media glorifying the Klan’s past such as the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation^[13], that, when coupled with these daunting membership numbers, there would likely have been a feeling of unsafety as a racial or ethnic minority in Indiana.

While the Indiana Ku Klux Klan lost much of its membership after its leader at the time, D.C. Stephenson, had been convicted of the rape and murder of Madge Oberholtzer^[14], there to this day exists the presence of hate groups similar to the Klan in Indiana. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hate Map, Indiana is home the presence of about 24 different hate groups, as well as the headquarters of at least 7. Two such groups are modern day incarnations of the Klan, The Honorable Sacred Knights of the Ku Klux Klan based in Madison, Indiana and the Church of the National Knights of the Klu Klux Klan basd in South Bend, Indiana^[15]. When focusing on Purdue University’s West Lafayette campus, two other hate groups in particular have made their presence known: Vanguard America, a neo-nazi movement, and Identity Evuropa, and white nationalist movement.

In 2016, unidentified persons left about half a dozen posters in the Stanley Coulter Building that conveyed white supremacist messages. The posters were courtesy of white supremacist website then known as American Vangaurd (now Vanguard America), and said things such as, “We Have A Right To Exist,” and, “White Guilt: Free Yourself From Cultural Marxism.” Additionally, the American Vanguard Twitter account suggested that the act was perpetrated by students of Purdue University^[16]. Vanguard America is one of the groups that helped in the organization of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia which led to the death of counter-protester Heather Heyer at the hand of James Fields, somebody who self identified with Vanguard America, who drove his car into a crowd and hitting Heyer^[17].

Within a year of this, a similar incident took place in which Identity Evropa also left posters of theirs around campus. However, when asked to make statements condemning these posters on both occasions, Purdue University President and former Governor Mitch Daniels decided it would be in the University’s as well as the student’s best interests if a comment were not made, as to not draw attention to the groups in question. In reference to the posters, Daniels said “This is a transparent effort to bait people into overreacting, thereby giving a minuscule fringe group attention it does not deserve, and that we decline to do.”^[18]

However, Daniels’s comment that the act was perpetrated by a “miniscule fringe group” does not hold up to scrutiny. Again citing the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hate Map, as of 2018 there were at least 38 different chapters of Identity Evropa in 31 different states^[19]. It could also be argued that this complacent and dismissive silence, both by Daniels in particular and in a much broader sense, actually has the opposite effect that Daniels described. By not openly condemning instances of race based hate that occur under his purview, Daniels may be sending a message to these groups that what they are doing is not bad enough to warrant a response, meaning that if they were to do it again it would likely again be met with no response. Additionally, not only may this send a message to those who committed the act itself, but to those targeted by the act, namely racial and ethnic minorities, that acts committed which are fueled by hate towards them will not be condemned, potentially leading to a feeling of unsafety, similar to the presence of the Klan.

This feeling of safety and welcome for minority students is not something Purdue University necessarily has the best track record with to begin with. In the 1960s, the Purdue University Athletics Department led by Guy “Red” Mackey had three clashes with black student athletes, most notably when Mackey attempted to stop black cheerleader Pam King from doing the black salute during the national anthem at athletic events^[20]. Going even further back in history, it is fairly likely West Lafayette was a sundown town, meaning that whether by codified law, through housing discrimination, or by threat, it was either illegal or highly unsafe for black people to stay in the city after dark and especially live within the city^[21]. This meant that for black students who already would have likely been facing discriminatio from their peers, they had to face the extra barrier of finding a place to live outside of campus while still attending classes.

Having compiled all of this information into this brief format, going forward I would like to utilize my research in a more proactive means. This may manifest itself in a few different forms. One potential productive use for this research would be to work with student activist groups on Purdue’s campus. By being able to provide research onto the history of topics that are relevant today and that groups on campus may be facing, these groups will hopefully not only be able to better contextualize contemporary issues in the history that fostered such issues in the first place, but also potentially be able to learn from past instances and approach contemporary ones more effectively. The other way I see myself moving forward with this research would be compiling it with research I have done separately into the history of black student protests and issues at Purdue University and making it all available online. However, I would first like to go more in depth with the research I have done here. In particular, while there is plenty of information available on how groups such as the Know Nothings infiltrated the political system in Indiana, there is significantly less information on how, once in a political office, these individuals would shape the laws and practices of the government at their respective levels. With this sort of information, it would be easier to illustrate the lasting effect of these groups, potentially all the way to the present day. However, even without this additional research, this timeline of hate groups clearly illustrates that these groups are not an anomaly of contemporary times, but have instead had a continued presence not only in Indiana, but in the greater Lafayette area.

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^[1] “KKK Founded.” History, August 26, 2019. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/kkk-founded.

^[2] “The Golden Era of Indiana,” The History Museum, December 7, 2019. https://historymuseumsb.org/ the-golden-era-of-indiana/

^[3] Brand, Carl Fremont. “The History of the Know Nothing Party In Indiana.” Indiana Magazine of History 18, no. 1 (1922): p. 47-81. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27786019

^[4] Ibid. p. 47.

^[5] Ibid. p. 53.

^[6] Ibid. p. 75.

^[7] Ibid. p. 76.

^[8] Maine Historical Society. Maine: a history, Volume 1. The American historical society, 1919. https://books.google.com/books?id=Sg0hAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.

^[9] “The Golden Era of Indiana,” The History Museum, December 7, 2019. https://historymuseumsb.org/ the-golden-era-of-indiana/

^[10] Gugin, Linda C; St. Clair, James E. The governors of Indiana. Indianapolis : Indiana Historical Society Press in cooperation with the Indiana Historical Bureau. 2006. https://archive.org/details/ isbn_9780871951960/page/n463.

^[11] “The Golden Era of Indiana,” The History Museum, December 7, 2019. https://historymuseumsb.org/ the-golden-era-of-indiana/

^[12] Ibid.

^[13] Ibid.

^[14] Jordan Fischer. “The History of Hate in Indiana: How the Ku Klux Klan took over Indiana’s halls of power.” RTV6 Indianapolis. August 13, 2018. https://www.theindychannel.com/longform/the-ku-klux- klan-ran-indiana-once-could-it-happen-again

^[15] “States: Indiana” Southern Poverty Law Center. December 7, 2019. https://www.splcenter.org/ states/indiana

^[16] Dave Bangert. “Bangert: Faceless supremacists at Purdue.” Journal & Courier. November 30, 2016. https://www.jconline.com/story/opinion/columnists/dave-bangert/2016/11/30/bangert-nameless-faceless-supremacists-purdue/94682330/.

^[17] Sasha Ingber. “Neo-Nazi James Fields Gets 2nd Life Sentence For Charlottesville Attack.” NPR. July 15, 2019. https://www.npr.org/2019/07/15/741756615/virginia-court-sentences-neo-nazi-james-fields-jr-to -life-in-prison.

^[18] Meghan Holden. “White supremacist group posts fliers at Purdue.” Journal & Courier. September 18, 2017. https://www.jconline.com/story/news/college/2017/09/18/white-supremacist-group-boasts-poster- campaign-purdue/67847 8001/.

^[19] “Hate Map.” Southern Poverty Law Center. December 7, 2019. https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map.

^[20] Stephanie Salter. “Pam King Raises a Verbal Fist.” The Purdue Exponent. December 19, 1968. Vol. 84, No. 67, 3.

^[21] Jim Loewen. “Possible Sundown Towns in IN.” The Homepage of James W. Loewen. December 7, 2019. https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/sundowntownsshow.php?state=IN.