Birth of the Klan’s Nation
Published at Sacred Matters on April 12, 2016.
By wearing white robes under the light of the fiery cross, the 1920s Klan hoped to save America. Robes and crosses materialized their hope. Yet, the fiery cross and robes did not offer comfort or assurance to the Klan’s victims. They only found fear and terror, not religious symbolism or national pride. The meanings of artifacts are always contested. Sometimes the meaning you choose is not the one that lasts.