Origins of White Supremacy: the KKK and Suppression of the Vote.

1865, Tennessee-The KKK is formed with the purpose of reasserting white supremacy and minimizing the influence of the Union in the South.

Voting Rights . . . Amendment XIV-the13th Amendment was ratified December 6, 1865.

Voting Rights . . . Amendment XV-was ratified February 3, 1870.

1868, Washington D.C.-the Fourteenth Amendment is ratified, establishing the concept "equal protection" for all citizens under the U.S. Constitution. President Johnson's veto of the bill granting vote to blacks in District of Columbia is overridden by Congress. Congress passes the Fifteenth Amendment, guaranteeing vote to blacks, a bill denying Supreme Court right to rule on cases involving constitutionality of the Reconstruction Act. The Senate declines by one vote short of the needed two thirds (35 to 19) to find Johnson guilty of offenses for which he was indicted by the House of Representatives.

1868, Louisiana-Louisiana's senators and representatives are readmitted to the U.S. Congress. The move follows the systemic terror initiated by the KKK against members of the Republican Party and emancipated blacks. Killings, lynching's, and beatings are recorded in several Louisiana parishes.

1870 Washington D.C.-The Fifteenth Amendment, guaranteeing all citizens right to vote, is ratified. In "KKK Acts," the army is empowered to maintain order in federal elections. The Supreme Court refuses to review the Reconstruction Act. Hiram Revels of Mississippi, America's first black Senator, delivers his maiden speech on March 16 and says: "I maintain that the past record of my race is a true index of the feelings which today animate them . . . The aim not to elevate themselves by sacrificing one single interest in their white fellow citizens." Between 1870 and 1900, 22 blacks, 13 of them ex-slaves are to serve in Congress. The Census of 1870 finds only 19% of blacks literate. The figure reaches 43% in 1890.

1870, The South-Democrats regain control of many states from Republicans. Some attribute thisto intimidation by the KKK. A Congressional investigation reports that in nine South Carolina counties, the Klan murdered 35 men and whipped 262 men and women. The Florida Secretary of State reports 153 Klan murders in Jackson County.

1872, Washington D.C.-Congress passes Amnesty Act, enabling officials of the Confederacy to hold office. KKK Act expires and is not renewed.

1874, Virginia-State rearranges election districts and local government system thereby reducing political power of blacks.

1881, Tennessee- Tennessee passes a "Jim Crow" rail road law which sets a trend soon taken up by Florida (1887), Mississippi (1888), Texas (1889), Louisiana (1890), and a host of other southern or border states.

1883, Washington D.C.-The Supreme Court declares the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional.

1890, Mississippi-The Mississippi Constitutional Convention begins the systemic exclusion of blacks from the political arena by adopting literacy and other complex "understanding" texts as perquisites to voting. Seven other southern states follow suit by 1910.

1890, Washington D.C.-In the "In Re Green" decision, the Supreme Court sanctions control of elections by state officials, thus weakening federal protection of southern black voters. Court also permits states to segregate public transportation facilities.

1891, Washington D.C.-The number of lynching's in the United States is reported to be 112. The great majority of victims are blacks residing in the South.

1894, Washington D.C.-Section of the Emancipation Act dealing with right of blacks to vote is repealed.

1896, Washington D.C.-The Supreme Court in the Plessy v. Ferguson decision upholds the doctrine of "separate but equal," paving the way for segregation of blacks n all walks of life. Justice Harlan, dissenting, calls the ruling as "pernicious as the Dred Scott case."

1896, The Southern States-Riots erupt in bitter elections, as diverse factions seek control or eliminate the black vote. Racism increases within Populist ranks. G. H. White of North Carolina is only black elected to Congress.

1898, Louisiana -Addition of the "grandfather clause" to the Constitution enables poor whites to qualify for the franchise while curtailing black registration. in 1896 there were over 130,000 black voters on Louisiana rolls. Four years later, the number is about 5,000.

1902, Richmond, Virginia-Virginia joins other southern states in adopting the "grandfather clause."

1903, Georgia-Whites attack blacks in riots, which are spurred by charges blacks have murdered whites.

1915, Washington, D.C.-U.S. Supreme Court in Guinn v. United States declares the "grandfather clause" in the Oklahoma constitution unconstitutional.

1917, Washington, D.C.-U.S. Supreme Court declares Louisville "block" segregation ordinance unconstitutional.

1919, West Virginia- The State Supreme Court rules blacks should be admitted to juries.

1921, KKK initiations.

1921, Tulsa, Oklahoma-Twenty one blacks and ten whites are killed in a riot.

1922, Washington D.C.-After it is approved by the House, Republican Senators vote to abandon the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, which provides severe penalties and fines for any state or municipal officer " convicted of negligence in affording protection to individuals in custody who are attacked by a mob bent on lynching, torture, or physical intimidation. The Bill had also provided for compensation to the families of the victims.

1924, Washington, D.C.-Immigration Act excludes blacks of African descent from entering the country.

1926, Washington, D.C.-President Coolidge tells Congress that the country must provide "for the amelioration of race prejudice and the extension to all elements of equal opportunity and equal protection under laws, which are guaranteed by the Constitution." Twenty-three blacks are reported lynched during the year.

1927, Washington D.C.-The U.S. Supreme Court strikes the Texas law which bars blacks from voting in party primaries. Texas then enacts a law allowing local communities to determine voter qualifications.

1934, Washington D.C.-Antilynching bill fails, as Roosevelt does not support it. American troops are withdrawn from Haiti.

1935, Washington, D.C.-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roberts upholds the Texas law that prevents blacks from voting in the Texas Democratic primary. The decision is a setback to the NAACP, which has waged several effective legal battles to equalize the ballot potential of a black voter.

1939, Miami, Florida-Intimidation and cross-burnings by the KKK in the black ghetto of Miami fail to discourage over 1,000 of the cities registered blacks from appearing at the polls. The Klan parades with effigies of blacks who will allegedly be slain for daring to vote.

1939, Miami, Florida-Intimidation and cross-burnings by the KKK in the black ghetto of Miami fail to discourage 1,000 of the city's registered blacks from appearing at the polls. The Klan parades with effigies of blacks who will allegedly be slain daring to vote.

1940, Southern States-Eighty thousand blacks vote in eight southern states. Five percent of voting age blacks are registered.

1946, Washington, D.C.-U.S. Supreme Court rules that segregation on interstate buses unconstitutional.

1948, Washington, D.C.-U.S. Supreme in Shelley v. Kramer rules that federal and state courts may not enforce restrictive covenants. But the Court does not declare the covenants illegal.

THE CIVIL RIGHTS REVOLUTION (1954-1964) [reference Articles about John Lewis/MLK Civil Rights movement from [1964 to 1968].

U.S. Supreme Court decision on Brown v. Board of Education (of Topeka) and overturns the "separate but equal" doctrine that since 1896 has legitimized segregation. In another case, the court rules that the University of Florida must admit blacks regardless of any "public mischief" it might cause.

1957, Washington, D.C.-A civil rights bill, affirming the right to vote, is enacted after provisions strengthening school integration are withdrawn.

1958, Southern States-Black Voter registration rises slowly, as states institute complicated delaying tactics. Black registration reaches 72% in Tennessee, 39% in Florida, and 36% in North Carolina and Texas, but is only 3% in Mississippi.

1960, Washington, D.C.-President Eisenhower signs bill authorizing judges to appoint referees to aid blacks to register and vote in federal elections. Bill also outlaws bombing and mob action to restrict voting.

1964, Washington, D.C.-A major Civil Rights Bill, forbidding discrimination in public accommodations and employment, is enacted with strong support from President Johnson, as the Senate finally votes cloture to shut of the filibuster by southern states.

1964, United States-George Wallace receives large number of votes in Democratic Party primaries, including 30% in Indiana and 43% in Maryland. However, Lyndon B. Johnson renominated easily and reelected in a landslide over Senator Barry Goldwater. Johnson receives about 95% of the black vote!

Authors Note: 2021 Voter Suppression is currently under attack by GOP held States introducing laws to inhibit Black, Brown, Yellow and Whites, who are also, being obstructed to Vote. Will the Senate block SB 1 and 4? Could this John Lewis Peoples Act end up in the Supreme Court with Conservative Justices before 2022 or as it is presently left up to the states to address the right to vote?

1965, January 2-23-On January 2, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., announces his intention to call for demonstrations if Alabama blacks are not permitted to register and vote in appropriate numbers. Twelve blacks, including Dr. King himself, book rooms on January 18 at Selma's Hotel Albert, becoming the first blacks accepted for this formerly all-white hotel. While signing the register, Dr. King is accosted by a white segregationist who is later fined $100 and given a 60-day jail sentence. On January 19,Sherriff James G. Clark arrests 62 blacks in Selma after they refuse to enter the Dallas County court-house through an alley door. Clark and his deputies arrest 150 other black voter-registration applicants the very next day. A federal court order issued on January 23 bars law enforcement officials from interfering with voter registration.

1965, February 1-4-Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and some 770 blacks are arrested in Selma, Alabama during protest demonstrations against discrimination in black voter registration (February 1). Dr. King remains in jail for four days before posting bond. During this time, more than 3,000 persons are arrested. On February 4, a federal district court orders the county board of registrars to refrain from using an unduly difficult literacy test on voter applicants or from rejecting their application on petty technicalities.

THE SELMA STORY! [reference the Civil Rights Movement Article]

1965, March 26-30-President Johnson announces the arrest of four KKK members in connection with the murder of Mrs. Viola Gregg Liuzzo, a 39 year-old white civil rights worker from Detroit slain in on a Lowndes County highway during the Selma-to-Montgomery Freedom March. The President goes on to declare war on the Klan, calling it a "hooded society of bigots." Robert M. Shelton, Jr., Imperial Wizard of the United Klan of America, Inc. answers the President's charges by branding him "a damn liar." On March 30, the House un-American Activities Committee votes to open a full investigation of activities of the Klan. The Committee chairman, a Louisiana Democrat, asserts that the Klan is perpetrating "shocking crimes."

1965, April 13-A grand jury in Selma, Alabama indicts three white men for the murder of Reverend James J. Reeb. They are William S. Hoggle, Namon O. Hoggle (his brother), and Elmer L. Cook.

1965, May 3-7-A mistrial is declared in the trial of Collie Leroy Wilkins, a KKK charged with the murder of Mrs. Viola Gregg Liuzzo. The all-male, all-white jury is hopelessly deadlocked after two days of deliberation, the vote being split 10-2 in favor of the conviction.

1965, May 26-The Senate passes the Voting Rights Act.

1965, July 2-Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibiting job discrimination in private business goes into effect.

1965, August 6-President Johnson signs the 1965 Voting Rights Act, providing for the registration by federal examiners of those black voters turned away by state officials.

1965, August 8-Some 700 members of the KKK stage a silent march and memorial service in Americus, Georgia for a white youth slain in a racial conflict.

1965, August 20-President Johnson denounces the Los Angeles rioters, comparing them in one sense to the KKK extremists. He declares that the existence of legitimate grievances in such communities as Watts is no justification for lawlessness. "We cannot . . . in one breath demand laws to protect the rights of all citizens, and then turn our back . . . and . . . allow laws to be broken that protect the safety of our citizen's."

1965, October 19-The House Un-American Activities Committee open s public hearings in the nation's capitol on the activities of the KKK. Robert M. Shelton, Jr., Imperial Wizard of the largest Klan group, invokes his constitutional rights and refuses to answer any of the committee's questions. Federal investigator's charge Klan leaders with misappropriation funds and the frequent use of violence against individuals and groups they consider enemies.

1965, October 22-An all-white jury acquits KKK Collie Leroy Wilkins in the slaying Mrs. Viola Gregg Liuzzo.

1965, November 23-A federal court in Montgomery, Alabama nullifies state court injunctions against enrollment of federally registered voters in six Alabama counties.

1965, December 10-A Selma, Alabama jury acquits three white businessmen charged with the murder of Reverend James J. Reeb, a Boston clergyman slain in Selma civil rights demonstrations.

1966, March 25-U. S. Supreme Court outlaws the poll tax for all elections, a ruling which complements the Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, barring such a tax in federal elections.

1966, April 29-President Johnson sends his third civil rights bill to Congress. This one makes the racial murder of a civil rights worker, a student seeking education, or a citizen attempting to vote a federal crime punishable by life imprisonment. The Johnson bill is also designed to force the desegregation of schools and public facilities, and to outlaw discrimination on racial and religious grounds in the sale, rental or occupancy of all housing.

1966, May 4-Over 80% of Alabama's more than 235,000 registered blacks turn out for the Democratic primary election in which Lurleen Wallace is nominated by the party to succeed her husband as governor of the state. Sheriffs James Clark (Selma) and Al Lingo (Birmingham) fail in their bid for renomination.

1966, June 22-A Federal Grand Jury in Biloxi, Mississippi returns indictments against 15 aledged members of the KKK in connection with the January 10 slaying of Vernon F. Dahmer, a black active in promoting voter registration.

1966, August 9-By a vote of 259-157, the House of representatives passes and sends to the Senate an amended version of the Administration's proposed Civil Rights Bill in 1966. Most of a long debate centers around the bills controversial "open housing" section embodied in Title IV. The Mathias Amendment, added to the bill, exempts some 60% of the nations housing from its anti-discrimination provisions. Other sections of the bill concern jury selection, interference with civil rights of individuals, and initiation of court action to desegregate schools, and public accommodations.

1967, February 27-A federal grand jury returns federal conspiracy indictments against 19 men in connection with the 1964 slayings of civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Earl Chaney. Another 12 men are indicted in connection with the 1966 fire bombing of black leader Vernon Dahmer!

1967, August 16-The House passes an Administration bill to defend persons exercising federally protected civil rights. The vote is 326-93.

1967, October, 20-An all-white Mississippi federal jury of five men and seven women returns a verdict of guilty in the 1964 murder trial of three civil rights workers near Philadelphia. Seven men are convicted of conspiracy; eight, however, are acquitted, and three are declared to be victims of a mistrial. Among the guilty are Chief Deputy Sheriff Cecil Price and Sam Bowers, Imperial Wizard of the KKK.

1977, November 19- Robert E. Chambliss, a 73 year old former member of the KKK, is convicted of first-degree murder in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church where four black girls are killed. He is sentenced to life in prison. Chambliss protests his innocence.

1979, April 15-Imperial Wizard Bill Wilkinson leads 100 members of the KKK through Selma, Alabama shouting "white power." They are confronted by stone-throwing blacks who attempt to disrupt the procession.

1979, May 27-A march led by Reverend Joseph Lowery of the SCLC erupts into a fight with some 100 KKK members and the Klan attempts to block the march. Two Klansmen are shot during the disturbance.

The Reagan Era-a B Actor becomes President and a Sag one year strike takes place and Hollywood is out of work, unlike the effects of Covid-19 where Hollywood losing billons of dollars, was opened, closed, and now reopening only when shut downs, occur again World and Nationwide, by all accounts with the Vaccination rates down and death rates stacking up bodies to the roof in mortuaries. well into 2023, if citizen's do not heed the warnings of the Scientists!

1980, April 22-The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, overturns a lower court ruling that an at-large city electoral system in Mobile, Alabama is unconstitutional because it dilutes the voting strength of blacks.

1980, May 14-J.B. Stoner, a white supremacist, is convicted of the 1958 bombing of a black church in Birmingham, Alabama.

1980, June 14-Based on a ruling by the U. S. Supreme Court, the Justice Department drops a voting rights discrimination suit against Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The high court rules in Mobile, Alabama that it must be proven that "at-large" voting systems were intentionally established and excluded black voters. The Justice Department contends that "at-large" elections for three members of the Hattiesburg City Commission diluted black voting strength in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.

1980, September 26-Federal District Judge Horace W. Gilmore invalidates the 1980 census on the ground that it undercounts blacks and Hispanic's, thus violating the one-person, one vote principle. The action was precipitated by a suit initiated by the City of Detroit with support from dozens of other cities. The census was later upheld in higher courts.

1980, October 17-The candidacy of Republican nominee Ronald Reagan for President is endorsed by two-longtime civil rights leaders, the Reverend Ralph David Abernathy and Hosea Williams. Reverend Abernathy cited Carter's broken 1976 campaign promises as spurring the endorsement , which came after a private meeting with Reagan.

1980, November- By an electoral landslide of 483 to 49, Ronald Reagan sweeps Jimmy Carter out of the presidency. The wake of his victory sweeps some of the best senatorial liberal friends of blacks, such as George McGovern, Warren Magnuson, and John Culver lose their seats to Republicans and for the first time in almost 30 years conservatives control the U.S. Senate. It was generally believed that the contest between Carter, a virtually discredited president do to Iranian Hostage Crisis, and Reagan the most conservative nominee since Herbert Hoover, would be much closer than the final result. The vast majority of blacks, though disillusioned with Carter, do not vote for him. Many chose to stay home along with whites as only 52%of registered voters vote. Ronald Reagan is elected by only 26% of the eligible voters. With the election of Ronald Reagan and the loss of a Democratic Senate, blacks have little to cheer about and voice concern about the future of hard-won gains of the past 50 years. Urban League President, Vernon Jordan said "We survived Nixon and we can we can survive Reagan . . . If you take Mr. Reagan at his word that he is going to put America back to work again, he can't just put just white people back to work."

1980, December 18-A federal jury acquits Charles Veverka, 30, of four counts of violating the civil rights of Arthur McDuffie, a black who was beaten to death while in police custody. The jury deliberated for 16 hours, finally breaking an 11-1 deadlock that threatened a mistrial. Veverka was indicted following violent riots in Miami resulting from the acquittal of four white police officers accused of executing the fatal beating.

1981, July 30-The house reaches a tentative agreement on a compromise for the extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. in what would be a major change in the existing law, some counties would no longer be required to undergo federal review of their local election practices, once they have met stringent requirements dealing with their voting records. Counties in the states covered by the provision would have to prove their compliance with "the letter and spirit of the act." for 10 years. If the proposal is approved, nine states, including seven in the south, and portions of 13 states, may win exemption from seeking Justice Department approval when making changes in local election laws.

1981, October 7-A house vote, 389-24, in favor of extending the Voting Rights Act of 1965, seems to ensure the likelihood of an equally strong measure in the Senate, according to Capitol Hill analysts. The House version makes preclearance provisions of the act permanent (requiring six southern states and Alaska to submit proposed changes in election laws to the Justice Department before implementation), but also features the so-called bailout provision that exempts jurisdiction if they can prove a clean 10-year, voting rights record and efforts to encourage minority voting.

1982, January 27-Before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, the Reagan Administration throws its support behind the extension of key provisions of the Voting Rights Act. The Administration in doing so, states that there is a continuing need to protect the rights of voters who are minorities.

1982, February 13-The American Civil Liberties Union accuses southern states of continuous discrimination against black voters in light of the federal enforcement under the voting rights act.

1982, February 14-Hundreds of voting rights marchers going from Carrollton to Montgomery march peacefully across the four-lane Edmund Pettus Bridge, where a police wielding clubs attacked participants in the Selma-to-Montgomery march.

1982, April 4-The Bureau of Census reports that the 1980 census missed counting 1.3 million blacks and that undercount represented 4.8% of the Nations 28 million blacks. The Bureau says that in the 1970 census missed 1.9 million out of 24.4 million blacks.

1982, June 18 and 23-The Senate approves the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 by a vote of 85-8, as a quarter-century renewal of the enforcement provisions designed to guarantee free access to the polls for blacks and other minorities. Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina delayed the voting for 10 days after he vowed to block the extension of the bill. The House approved the extension on June 23.

On August 28, 2021, a March on Washington in regard to the John Lewis Voting Rights Bill, as it was during the Civil Rights Movement, where more than 200,000 American's of all races advanced toward the Lincoln Memorial in the "March on Washington," the largest protest in the nation's history.

Will the Non-violent protestors be able to peacefully assemble to push the Senate to pass SB 4 with a heavy law enforcement presence that was absent in the White Supremacist assault on the Capitol and threats to kill or harm elected Public Servant's?

Will the numbers be less or greater? If less, does that mean black voters are not engaged, or does other factors, such as the Delta Virus or Hurricane Ida, or apathy or fear keep them intimidated as the KKK has done in our past history!

2004-KKK rallies.

I would submit to my readers that there is a Central theme to the events of the past that the U.S. is facing with a Conservative Supreme Court, a GOP Congress that did everything they could to make Obama a one term President, obstructing every efforts as he focuses on best interest of American Citizens and President Biden facing the same obstructionisms to make him a one term President, as he is under attack by the House and Senate members, especially with the withdrawal from Afghanistan, who are still Trump Supporters, as the former President's influence is front and center!

No matter how you size it up, how many people will be evicted, suffer from low wages, natural disasters and an increasing infection and death rate as a result of anti-vaxxing campaigns that is reducing the population by not letting science overrule politics!

Authors Note: From 2/8/19 to 3/23/20, on my tour through the South from Atlanta, Macon, Piedmont, S.C., Birmingham, Montgomery, Tupelo, SLC, what I observed and witnessed the poverty, despair, obesity, poor health, gun shootings, elimination of Black Historic Landmarks, over crowded homeless shelters, drug addiction, and beggar's on American streets, is an out right return to oppression and an incorporation of the New Jim Crow that my Family from Tyler Town, Mississippi in the 1940's left to California to escape from the KKK where for 156 years of struggle to preserve the right o Vote, the Ideology of White Supremacy is in our back yard with the White robes off and our Democracy is hanging on the line!

Now, 10 generations later the battle for Civil Rights, the Right to Vote and share in a Democracy of by the people for the people, I have to tell my Grandchildren, now is the time for you to take the lead once again and not be silent, apathetic, passive and complacent that put an Evil Master in the White House in 2016!

The only dysfunction on the part of a GOP complicit in Trump's attempts to destroy our Democracy, setting their sights on 2022 and 2024, to take us further back into chaos and urban unrest is symptom of a disease called "Racism!"