The Ku Kluk Klan was split into three different eras. The first clan was started by a group of six confederate generals and slowly developed in to a clearer hierarchy. The main leader of the first klan was Nathan Bedford Forrest but George Gordon was also a big influence.
William J. Simmons refounded the Ku Kluk Klan in 1915 as a result of the film “Birth of a Nation” which glorified the first knights. This was the Second Klan which Simmons shortly announced himself as the leader of and became known as the Imperial Wizard, a term that dragged on to the third klan. Hiam Wesley Evans who became the imperial wizard at a later point simply sold the whole organisation to James A. Colescott who took the role of Imperial Wizard but didn’t do much with the group.
Later Klans were more independent and still exist today but they mainly came about to deal with the changing social positions of black people. Bull Conner was the police chief in Birmingham at the time and he was allied with the klan. When the freedom riders came to Birmingham the police gave the Klu Kluk Klan 15 minutes to attack them before they intervened.
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