United Klans of America: Difference between revisions
imported>Rangerkid51 Adding categories |
imported>Super Poison Ivy No edit summary |
||
| Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
The organization was linked to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four young girls; the [[murder]] of Viola Liuzzo near Selma in 1965, and the [[lynching]] of teenager Michael Donald in Mobile in 1981. Because of murder charges and convictions, some of the UKA's most well-known members included Thomas E. Blanton, Jr., Bobby Frank Cherry, Herman Cash, Robert Chambliss, Bennie Hays, Henry Hays, and James Knowles. Robert Shelton died at the age of 73 in 2003 in Tuscaloosa from a heart attack. | The organization was linked to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four young girls; the [[murder]] of Viola Liuzzo near Selma in 1965, and the [[lynching]] of teenager Michael Donald in Mobile in 1981. Because of murder charges and convictions, some of the UKA's most well-known members included Thomas E. Blanton, Jr., Bobby Frank Cherry, Herman Cash, Robert Chambliss, Bennie Hays, Henry Hays, and James Knowles. Robert Shelton died at the age of 73 in 2003 in Tuscaloosa from a heart attack. | ||
In 1987 the UKA was sued for civil damages stemming from the murder of Michael Donald; the damages awarded by the jury bankrupted the organization. Many former members of the group now purportedly belong to other Ku Klux Klan organizations such as The True Ku Klux Klan. | In 1987 the UKA was sued for civil damages stemming from the murder of Michael Donald; the damages awarded by the jury bankrupted the organization. Many former members of the group now purportedly belong to other Ku Klux Klan organizations such as The True Ku Klux Klan. | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
During the Civil Rights Movement in the Southern United States, members of the United States Klan | During the Civil Rights Movement in the Southern United States, members of the United States Klan and the KKK joined forces in 1960 in order to resist and suppress change. In July 1961, Robert Shelton, the son of a member of the KKK, settled in Alabama after his discharge from the Air Force. He rose to become the dominant figure or the Imperial Wizard, of the UKA after his "Alabama Knights" group merged with the "Invisible Empire, United Klans, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of America, Inc.", Georgia Knights, and Carolina Units, forming the United Klans of America (UKA). | ||
The increase in activism in the 1965s resulted in the UKA reaching a peak of active members and sympathetic support, with numbers estimated at 26,000 to 33,000 throughout the South in 1965. It was the largest KKK faction in the world, in a highly decentralized organization. The organization was most popular in North Carolina, where by 1966 over half of all UKA members resided. The UKA disseminated its messages through a newsletter known as ''The Fiery Cross'', which was printed in Swartz, Louisiana. But, membership began to slip once the group was linked to criminal activity, and after Shelton served a one-year term in prison for contempt of the United States Congress in 1969. In the early 1970s, UKA membership dropped from tens of thousands to somewhere between 3500 and 4000. Some members continued to enact violence. By the 1980s, membership dropped to around 900. | The increase in activism in the 1965s resulted in the UKA reaching a peak of active members and sympathetic support, with numbers estimated at 26,000 to 33,000 throughout the South in 1965. It was the largest KKK faction in the world, in a highly decentralized organization. The organization was most popular in North Carolina, where by 1966 over half of all UKA members resided. The UKA disseminated its messages through a newsletter known as ''The Fiery Cross'', which was printed in Swartz, Louisiana. But, membership began to slip once the group was linked to criminal activity, and after Shelton served a one-year term in prison for contempt of the United States Congress in 1969. In the early 1970s, UKA membership dropped from tens of thousands to somewhere between 3500 and 4000. Some members continued to enact violence. By the 1980s, membership dropped to around 900. | ||
| Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
On May 16, 2000, the remaining suspects were indicted. The jury convicted UKA members Robert Chambliss, Thomas E. Blanton, Jr., and Bobby Frank Cherry of planting the 19 sticks of dynamite that were used in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. In 2001, Thomas E. Blanton, Jr., was sentenced to life in prison following his trial, in which he was charged with murder. In 2002, Bobby Frank Cherry also was tried for murder and he, too, received life in prison. | On May 16, 2000, the remaining suspects were indicted. The jury convicted UKA members Robert Chambliss, Thomas E. Blanton, Jr., and Bobby Frank Cherry of planting the 19 sticks of dynamite that were used in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. In 2001, Thomas E. Blanton, Jr., was sentenced to life in prison following his trial, in which he was charged with murder. In 2002, Bobby Frank Cherry also was tried for murder and he, too, received life in prison. | ||
===Murder of Viola Luzzo=== | ===Murder of Viola Luzzo=== | ||
In 1965, 39-year-old Viola Liuzzo, a white woman from the North, decided to help support the movement for voting rights in Selma, Alabama. She assisted the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in a variety of ways. During the third march, in which thousands of people came to Selma to participate, she helped drive marchers to catch up with the walkers along the route, as it took a few days. Finally she drove marchers back to Selma after the completion of the march to the capital, Montgomery. | In 1965, 39-year-old Viola Liuzzo, a white woman from the North, decided to help support the movement for voting rights in Selma, Alabama. She assisted the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in a variety of ways. During the third march, in which thousands of people came to Selma to participate, she helped drive marchers to catch up with the walkers along the route, as it took a few days. Finally she drove marchers back to Selma after the completion of the march to the capital, Montgomery. | ||
On March 25, 1965, as she was making her last trip to Montgomery with 19-year-old Leroy Moton to pick up the marchers, four members of the UKA saw Liuzzo sitting at a red light with Moton, a young African American. They followed the pair in their car, eventually driving up beside her, and shot at the car. Moton survived the shots, pretending to be dead, but Liuzzo died of her wounds. Collie Wilkins, William Orville Eaton, Eugene Thomas, and Gary Thomas Rowe were taken into custody the next day. Wilkins, Eaton, and Thomas each were convicted under the new Civil Rights Law of 1964, receiving 10-year prison sentences. Rowe was revealed as an informant for the FBI. | On March 25, 1965, as she was making her last trip to Montgomery with 19-year-old Leroy Moton to pick up the marchers, four members of the UKA saw Liuzzo sitting at a red light with Moton, a young African American. They followed the pair in their car, eventually driving up beside her, and shot at the car. Moton survived the shots, pretending to be dead, but Liuzzo died of her wounds. Collie Wilkins, William Orville Eaton, Eugene Thomas, and Gary Thomas Rowe were taken into custody the next day. Wilkins, Eaton, and Thomas each were convicted under the new Civil Rights Law of 1964, receiving 10-year prison sentences. Rowe was revealed as an informant for the FBI. | ||
| Line 61: | Line 61: | ||
[[Category:Mongers]] | [[Category:Mongers]] | ||
[[Category:Propagandist]] | [[Category:Propagandist]] | ||
[[Category:Anti- | [[Category:Anti-Religious]] | ||
[[Category:Extremists]] | [[Category:Extremists]] | ||
[[Category:Fanatics]] | [[Category:Fanatics]] | ||
| Line 71: | Line 71: | ||
[[Category:Kidnapper]] | [[Category:Kidnapper]] | ||
[[Category:Delusional]] | [[Category:Delusional]] | ||
[[Category:Wrathful]] | [[Category:Wrathful]] | ||