Anthony’s Karen’s behind the scenes photos of the Ku Klux Klan shows a glimpse into a secretive racist brotherhood that most of us have (hopefully) never seen. I know first hand how these individuals have terrorized this country for decades, so it is interesting to see how they interact with each other when they are not trying to start race riots or rob banks – or steer the country’s politics from within. What disturbs me the most is seeing how the adults totally indoctrinate their kids with their inaccurate and fucked up worldview…
via Flashbak
Photos & Captions: Anthony Karen
Karen tells FotoEvidence
“I think a lot of the credibility I’ve earned also stems from my basic philosophy that you need to give some of yourself in order to receive anything back. I spend time with people, I listen to what they have to say, and I treat each person as an individual. I don’t have to believe what they believe, but whenever I’m in someone’s space, I feel I’m obliged to observe without judgment.That’s not to say I wouldn’t intervene if I felt a situation called for it, but I choose to observe moment to moment and simply take in what I see and experience without presumption or pretext.”
“Momma Ruth,” a seamstress who makes robes for the Ku Klux Klan in the process of taking a robe order for an Imperial Wizard (an officer within the KKK).
A Ku Klux Klan Labor Day gathering in Arkansas on Saturday, September 1, 2007. Members and supporting Klan realms from five different states came together for a three-day weekend of racial unity.
The gathering included BBQ’s, games, fellowship, an award ceremony and a Klan naturalization. A historical cannon was fired every hour on the hour during daylight hours, until local neighbors complained. Saturday evening closed with a cross lighting ceremony which, according to Klan beliefs, dispels darkness and ignorance. Due to a statewide burn ban, the lighting was done with Christmas tree lights.
Affirmative Action” tee-shirt, depicting a young Klansman urinating on a young black person eating a watermelon.
Cross lighting ceremony. Virginia.
Carl, an Imperial Wizard of a southern-based Ku Klux Klan realm, takes aim with a pellet gun
More often than not, truth and comfort are antagonistic bedfellows, and as they should be, should we refuse to see the world and humanity as it is. But it is only from that place of truth that we can walk forward, in whatever capacity, and deal with what is, rather than the illusion of what we want it to be.
Simple or complex, masked or unmasked, both individuals within and outside of a group dynamic, such as the Ku Klux Klan or white separatists, should be seen in the light of day, and they will be who they are, with or without our judgment. Society can’t have it both ways; we can’t pick and choose who has the enviable right to free speech. It’s everyone’s right. Disliking someone different from you is not a rights violation; it’s lost opportunity.
At her busiest, Momma Ruth was sewing one robe a day on average and could work 70 to 94 hours a week. After having two strokes, she’s had a difficult time keeping up that pace and has since slowed down production.
The last time the Klan made any major appearance in Tupelo was in the 1970’s. The Klan marched down Main Street with the United States National Guard protecting citizens on either side.
A black “Cabbage Patch” doll hangs by noose at the home of Mississippi Klansman.
At the home of Imperial Wizard Dennis Labonate, shortly before a Ku Klux Klan naturalization ceremony.
