Editing Ku Klux Klan (section)

== Activities and ideologies ==
Members of the organization dress in white robes that cover their entire bodies, with distinctive masks that are said to represent the ghosts of fallen soldiers in the Revolution (in truth this was used to try and scare superstitious black slaves and was as much about concealing identity than anything else - the original Klan didn't wear this uniform), they are also famous for their practice of [[Cross Burning|burning the Christian Cross]]<ref>[https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/burning-cross Burning Cross], Anti-Defamation League</ref> (despite believing themselves to be a Christian organisation) - the Ku Klux Klan has been known to set burning Crosses on the lawns of black families in an effort to scare them out of communities.<ref>[https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/04/10/cross-burnings-still-%E2%80%98tool-fear%E2%80%99-used-racists Cross-burnings Still a ‘Tool of Fear’ Used by Racists], Southern Poverty Law Center</ref>

As mentioned above the Ku Klux Klan's past is violent and it has engaged in the practice of [[lynching]] - the illegal killing of black men (often via hanging) - this was sometimes used as another means of striking terror in the black community<ref name = lynching></ref>. Despite their infamy for these things, the modern Ku Klux Klan has seen a reduction in the murderous deeds it is known for. (although it still commits crimes like [[arson]] and racial hate.)