In 1945 and 1946 alone, at least five crosses were burned atop Stone Mountain, the largest Confederate Monument in existence.[1] These cross-burnings signaled an attempt to jump-start both the third iteration of the Ku Klux Klan—with the second Klan having been inaugurated on Stone Mountain thirty years previous—and the stalled effort to complete the carvings on the mountain face.
Whereas Mount Rushmore’s location is remote, Stone Mountain is sited just a few miles outside Atlanta. The New York Age reported that during World War II, cross burnings and Klan organizing efforts were largely suppressed due to the need for unity in winning the war. However, the Klan—well aware of its historical successes in postwar periods—hoped that postwar racial tensions would create favorable conditions for a resurgence.[2]
Black newspapers across the country consistently covered the activities of the Klan on Stone Mountain. The induction ceremonies of the Klan involved cross burnings that could be seen from a distance of sixty miles.[3] These ceremonies attracted thousands of Klan sympathizers, with participation sometimes exceeding 3,000 hooded members and 7,000 spectators.[4] In 1945, an article from the Pittsburgh Courier reported a KKK membership of 30,000 across the South.[5] An article from the Detroit Tribune that same year stated that Georgia alone had 20,000 members, while the editor of the Negro News, C.W. Rice, drew on a Weekly Review (AL) report of 25,000 members in that state.[6] By the end of May 1946, at least 700 new members had been initiated on top of the mountain.[7]
Black journalists sharply criticized this “vigorous organizing” on Stone Mountain, connecting it to a reign of racist terror emerging in the region.[8] One account from the Pittsburgh Courier reported, “Here in the center of a hotbed of Ku Klux Klan fanaticism, it is evident that even God means nothing, as incendiarists have burned down every negro church and school in the community.”[9] Some accounts from the Pittsburgh Courier praised the actions of states like New York and California for taking actions against the Klan’s new visibility.[10]
Klan activities were also characterized as impeding progress in diplomatic ambitions as a source of national embarrassment. As the Pittsburgh Courier wrote: “The revival of the Ku Klux Klan weakens America’s position in the world… in the same way as the loss of a major battle would do.”[11] Even groups like the Colored Funeral Directors Association of Georgia condemned the Klan activities at Stone Mountain, going on record to state, “[We] hereby deeply deplore and strongly condemn the Ku Klux Klan in our state and urge our law enforcement officers to counteract and prevent such barbaric and lawless demonstrations that took place on Stone Mountain recently.”[12]
The Cleveland Call held nothing back in its coverage of the horrific activities at the monument:
More than 700 white-sheeted Georgia Crackers assembled last week atop historic Stone Mountain near here to herald the rebirth of the notorious Ku Klux Klan, dedicated to ‘white supremacy.’ The bigoted bed-sheeters held a 2-hour, torch-lighted celebration a few hundred yards from the Confederate memorial which never should have been built.[13]
Justin Seward
Please cite as:
Seward, Justin. “‘Bigoted Bed-Sheeters’: Fiery Crosses Symbolize a Revival on Stone Mountain.” False Image of History: Perspectives on Confederate Commemoration from the Black Press (online). Fall 2024 Edition. Schaefer, Donovan O., ed. URL = https://falseimage.pennds.org/essay/fairview,-ky-monument-to-davis/.
References
Cleveland Call. “Ku Klux Burns Fiery Crosses to Signal Rebirth in Dixie.” May 18, 1946, 12B.
Detroit Tribune. “Klan Renews Burning of Fiery Crosses.” October 27, 1945, 1.
New York Age. “3000 Klansmen Meet in Georgia to Greet 700 Into Membership.” July 31, 1948, 1.
New York Age. “Ku Klux Klan – Enemy of Mankind.” January 4, 1947, 2.
Pittsburgh Courier. “Dixie Dailies Blast Klan Revival Attempt.” November 3, 1945, 14.
Pittsburgh Courier. “Klan Blamed for Nazi-Like Tactics; ‘Token’ Probe On.” December 6, 1947, 1.
Pittsburgh Courier. “Klan Burns Crosses; Labor Asks U.S. Probe.” May 18, 1946, 14.
Pittsburgh Courier. “Nationwide Probe Dims Future of Ku Klux Klan.” September 21, 1946, 13.
Weekly Review. “Ga. Funeral Directors Against Revival of Klan.” July 6, 1946, 1.
Weekly Review. “No Fear of K.K.K.” December 8, 1945, 1.
Pittsburgh Courier, “Klan Burns Crosses; Labor Asks U.S. Probe.” ↩︎
New York Age, “Ku Klux Klan — Enemy of Mankind.” ↩︎
Detroit Tribune, “Klan Renews Burning of Fiery Crosses”;
Pittsburgh Courier, "Dixie Dailies Blast Klan Revival Attempt. ↩︎
New York Age, “3000 Klansmen Meet in Georgia to Greet 700 Into Membership.” ↩︎
Pittsburgh Courier, “Dixie Dailies Blast Klan Revival Attempt.” ↩︎
Detroit Tribune, “Klan Renews Burning of Fiery Crosses”; Rice, “No Fear of K.K.K.” ↩︎
New York Age, “3000 Klansmen Meet in Georgia to Greet 700 Into Membership;” Pittsburgh Courier, “Klan Burns Crosses; Labor Asks U.S. Probe.” ↩︎
Pittsburgh Courier, “Nationwide Probe Dims Future of Ku Klux Klan.” ↩︎
Pittsburgh Courier, “Klan Blamed for Nazi-Like Tactics; ‘Token’ Probe On.” ↩︎
Pittsburgh Courier, “Nationwide Probe Dims Future of Ku Klux Klan”; Pittsburgh Courier, “Klan Burns Crosses; Labor Asks U.S. Probe.” ↩︎
Pittsburgh Courier, “Klan Burns Crosses; Labor Asks U.S. Probe.” ↩︎
Weekly Review, “Ga. Funeral Directors Against Revival of Klan.” ↩︎
Cleveland Call, “Ku Klux Burns Fiery Crosses to Signal Rebirth in Dixie.” ↩︎