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The Klan Tries a Comeback:
In the Wake of Desegregation
- Abstract
DURING the spring of 1959, a number of posters appeared on trees and utility poles in certain sections of Little Rock and at least eight other Arkansas towns, and along major highways in southeast and southwest parts of the state: “Be a Real Citizen!” “Pay Your Poll Tax,” “Join the U. S. Klans, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Incorporated (a chartered organization).” Some of these signs gave a Little Rock post-office box number as the sole address; others were traced to a real estate salesman in Texas.
When word of the Klan’s reappearance, after an absence from Arkansas for a quarter of a century, reached Governor Faubus, he said he was against secret organizations, but promptly shifted the burden of responsibility from local shoulders. “If it is true that the Klan is reorganizing, then it’s a direct result of the improper use of Federal power.”
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