White hoods, faces of evil and racial hatred. Enough to insight fear into the hearts of all Black people. The Ku Klux Klan — or the KKK — is a white supremacist, terrorist, hate organization whose primary targets are African Americans. The group also targets Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Catholics, Native Americans, as well as immigrants, homosexuals, Muslims, and atheists.
The Klan and the Black community have always been rivals since the Klan formed in response to the Reconstruction Era and Black progress after the Civil War in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1865. The Klan was responsible for undoing lots of progress in this era by intimidating leaders, reestablishing white supremacy after the war, and reversing radical reconstruction-era policies. At least 10 percent of the Black legislators and politicians elected from the 1867-1868 constitutional conventions became victims of violence. Seven legislators were killed.
Black people have survived the Klan despite the multitude of terror tactics and attacks from the organization. The infamous organization surges in tormenting, beating and killing many Black and white civil rights activists during the Civil Rights movement. These attacks were so frequent Birmingham was nicknamed “Bombingham” because of how frequently Black homes were bombed.
Most of the time when these attacks happened, no justice was served. But now and then, the Klan gets what it deserves.
Michael Donald was brutally beaten, killed and lynched in 1981 near Mobile, Alabama. Donald was killed to send a message to the Black community because the trial of Josephus Anderson, a Black man accused of allegedly killing a white police officer, ended in a mistrial." The Klan and the Alabama chapter leader and second highest-ranking member in the United Klans of America, Bennie Jack Hays, saw it as if a Black person was to kill a white person, it justifies being able to get away with killing a Black man.
After having an open casket funeral for her son, Beulah Mae Donald took action by not only making sure her son’s killers were brought to justice but also by suing the United Klans of America for $10 million. Her son’s killers were convicted in 1983. Henry Hays was executed in 1997 and was the only Ku Klux Klan member executed in the 20th century for a murder of an African American. James Lewellyn “Tiger” Knowles was sentenced to life in prison.
Beulah was awarded $7 million by an all-white jury, which effectively bankrupted the United Klans of America, one of the largest and most violent KKK factions.
As a Black woman and mother, this was dangerous. Think about the burning crosses, the lynchings, the assassination attempts and the frequent bombings directed at Black people. Hunting Black people wasn’t exactly out of the norm at the time and to challenge and take on the Klan with no police protection was life-threatening. But she did it anyway, and she made sure to get justice for her child and stopped some of these people from ever being able to hurt anyone again.
What a hero.
