"Violators of Almost Every Right" Analyzing the Ku Klux Klan of 1920’s Fresno



Yüklə 162,42 Kb.
Pdf görüntüsü
tarix14.05.2018
ölçüsü162,42 Kb.
#43581


“Violators of Almost Every Right”

Analyzing the Ku Klux Klan of 1920’s Fresno



Geoffrey A. Ramirez

 

It is difficult to approach a topic that is as divisive as the Ku Klux 



Klan. Images of burning crosses, menacing hooded figures, and stories of 

violence, murders, and terror enter the minds of many when the topic of the 

Klan arises, for understandable reasons. The original incarnation of the group 

sought to avenge perceived injustices meted out against white southerners 

in the Reconstructed South through violence and terror. Following the 

Klan’s resurrection in the early twentieth century as the “Invisible Empire,” 

violence continued to be a powerful tool in the groups arsenal. Because of this 

association, the American public came to believe that the Invisible Empire 

was composed solely of small minded individuals who held onto outdated and 

dangerous values. To the public, only fringe members of society could have 

promoted and participated in Klan activities which included mob violence, 

penning threatening letters, and political manipulation. Yet, analyzing the 

revived Klan tells a story not of ignorant laborers but of doctors, salesmen, 

and other skilled workers of upper and middle-class society who not only 

supported the racial and “true-American” values of the Klan but were also 

focused on fixing local issues within their respective communities.

 

In the early 1920s, a Klan chapter was organized in Fresno, California 



which displayed similar characteristics to other chapters created around 

this time yet enough distinctions exist to mark the Fresno chapter as fairly 

unique. The Fresno Klan reflected the values and complex membership roster 

of other Klan chapters in America yet did not fully embrace the political 

activities that other chapters promoted and participated in during this era. 

Either through choice or poor leadership, the Fresno Klan characterized 

itself as more of a racial fraternity than an active political body. What this 

represents is that while prevailing notions of race existed at all levels and 




146

regions of the United States. during this time each Klan chapter followed 

its own distinct program. While Klan chapters were intent on spreading 

Klan ideals the methods varied from city to city. To categorize the entirety 

of the Invisible Empire of this time as wholly violence-based or a collection 

of grassroots political bodies would be erroneous. The Fresno Klan stood 

apart from both definitions and attempted to garner membership and public 

support for the Empire mostly through pageantry.

 

The Klan of the 1920’s is not a direct descendent of the Reconstruction 



Era Klan which tyrannized the South following the Civil War, rather it was 

born from a highly-romanticized portrayal in the film The Birth of a Nation. 

The 1915 film presented the original Klan as American heroes despite its 

“blatant racism and historical inaccuracies,” fostering what historian Shawn 

Lay described as a “promising opportunity for a revival of the Invisible 

Empire.”


1 

“Colonel” William Joseph Simmons laid the foundation for 

reviving the Klan in 1915, having worked as a professional recruiter for 

various fraternities, he dreamed of building a patriotic group of his own “that 

would ‘destroy from the hearts of men the Mason and Dixon line and build 

thereupon a great American solidarity.’”



2

 In 1924, the Fresno Klan proudly 

displayed Simmons’ values in an advertisement printed in the daily Fresno 

Morning Republican. The ad stated that Klan stood for “white supremacy,” 

“the Tenets of the Christian religion,” the “sanctity of the home, the...

protection of...pure womanhood,” and, interestingly, for “preventing the 

causes of mob violence and lynchings.”



3

 While the stance on mob violence 

was perhaps a later addition to the Klan’s values due to public pressure, 

it  must  be  noted  that  first  and  foremost  among  the  twelve  beliefs  stood 

adherence to the Constitution.

4

 On a national level, the Invisible Empire 

adhered to Simmons’ version of patriotism and, in a sense, did succeed in 

removing the Mason Dixon line from the hearts of Klan members.

 

From his fraternity experience, Simmons was able to draw from 



 1.

 The Invisible Empire in the West, ed. Shawn Lay (Urbana: University of Illinois 

Press, 1992), 4-5.

 2.

 

Ibid.



, 5.

 3.


 “We Stand for the Following – Do You?,” Fresno Morning Republican (Fresno, 

CA), May 18, 1924.

 4.

 

Ibid.



Geoffrey A. Ramirez


147

a wellspring of Masonic inspiration, designing the Klan’s ceremonies 

and infamous attire with Masonic tinges.

5

 The Klan’s chain of command 

and various managerial positions received titles such as “klaliffs, kludds, 

kligrapps, klabees, kladds, and klexters”

 

with individual chapters being titled 



“klaverns.”

6

  In 1915, Simmons gathered thirty-four initial members and 

successfully petitioned the state of Georgia for an official charter, igniting a 

cross on Stone Mountain Thanksgiving night to formally signal the revival 

of the Ku Klux Klan in America.

7

 While certainly dramatic, the Invisible 

Empire remained contained to Georgia and Alabama through the rest of 

the decade but that quickly changed after Simmons gained the aid of the 

Southern Publicity Association and the business acumen of Edward Young 

Clarke and Elizabeth Tyler in 1920.



8

 The pair reorganized membership 

procedures, hired full-time recruiters known as “kleagles,” and promptly 

sent representatives throughout the South.



9

 Klan activity and membership 

increased rapidly, so much so that it caught the attention of the New York 

World which then published an expose on the organization in 1921.

10

 The 


free exposure by the press and official inquest by Congress only served to 

drive public interest in the organization higher, enough so that the Empire 

eventually spread to California.

11

 

Sometime in 1921, during this atmosphere of interest and under so 



far unknown circumstances, the Invisible Empire arrived in Fresno. On July 

23,


 

the Kleagles operating within Fresno sent the first list of member names 

to California Klan headquarters in Los Angeles.

12 

The klavern seemed to 

operate in secret, as no news on Klan activity in the city existed before 

the events in spring of 1922 brought mass public attention its presence. 

 5

. Invisible Empire, 6.

 6. 


Ibid.

 7. 


Ibid.

 8. 


Ibid.

, 7.


 9. 

Ibid.

 10. 


Ibid.

, 8-9.

 11. Ibid.



, 7-8.

 12.


 “District Attorney Announces Names on Kleagle’s Lists,” Fresno Morning 

Republican (Fresno, CA), May 5, 1922.

”VIOLATORS OF ALMOST EVERY RIGHT”




148

In Inglewood, California, a small suburb of Los Angeles, Klansmen led 

a raid against alleged moonshiners that wound up shattering the secrecy 

surrounding the Fresno klavern. With prohibition in full swing at the time, 

the Klansmen of Inglewood sought to bring about vigilante-style justice on 

the supposed moonshiners in accordance with “Colonel” Simmons’s desire 

for his new Empire to adhere to the Constitution. While moonshiners may 

not come to mind as the typical victims of Klan violence, Klansmen saw it as 

their duty to uphold law and order when they deemed it necessary. However, 

the actions of the Inglewood klavern came to a disastrous end, resulting in 

the death of a constable and an official investigation on the nature of the 

Klan in California.

 

On the night of April 22, 1922 Inglewood Klansmen raided the 



home of “Spaniards who conducted a winery under federal license” but 

who had been presumed by the Klansmen to be bootleggers.



13

 A marshal 

arrived at the scene of the raid and, following a scuffle, proceeded to shoot 

and kill Constable M. B. Mosher who was a part of the masked mob.



14

 

During the coroner’s inquest on the matter, the members of the mob were 



gathered for testimony where it was uncovered that the Inglewood klavern 

was responsible.



15

 Judge Frank R. Willis announced that a jury would be 

called to fully investigate the nature of the organization in Inglewood.

16

 The 


Fresno Morning Republican remained an attentive reporter of the situation 

as it unfolded. On April 27,1922 the Republican reprinted an evening report 

which stated that the District Attorney of L.A. directed a successful raid on 

Klan headquarters in the business district of the city.



17

 The investigators 

acquired membership applications, regalia with name tags, and all manner 

of personal and professional papers.



18

 When the L.A. investigators began to 

 13.

 Associated Press, “Fatal Los Angeles Raid Attributed To Klan After Inquest,” 



Fresno Morning Republican (Fresno, CA), April 26, 1922.

 14. 


Ibid.

 15




Ibid.

 16. Ibid.

 17.

 Associated  Press,  “Officials  Seize  Klan  Papers  Of  Grand  Goblin,”  Fresno 



Morning Republican (Fresno, CA), April 27, 1922.

 18. 


Ibid.

Geoffrey A. Ramirez


149

comb through this evidence they unearthed massive amounts of information 

about the network of the Invisible Empire in California and began to make 

rosters and other evidence available to public officials from cities found to 

have klaverns. Without the ineptitude of the Inglewood Klansmen, Fresno’s 

klavern would have most likely remained hidden until they had organized 

well enough to safely announce their existence.

 

“Investigation of Ku Klux Klansmen Turned to Fresno” ran on the 



first page of the Republican on April 29, bringing the existence of Fresno’s 

klavern to public knowledge.



19

 The drama unfolded through May of 1922 

and public officials were quick to suppress any possible avenue of Klan 

activity. Fresno’s District Attorney B. W. Gearhart presented the names 

of six police officers who were among those listed on membership rosters 

for the Fresno klavern and said that he would “break [the Klan] up and 

prevent any outrages.”

20 

On May 1, “Inside Fresno Klan Story Bared” 

headed the entire first page of the Republican and nearly every column was 

devoted to news on the organization.



21

 Names of Kings County members 

were presented along with a photograph of the first threat letter sent within 

Fresno which ordered one W. A. Colquhoun to leave town.



22 

Without the 

advantage of time and secrecy, the Fresno Klan may have ultimately been 

crippled in its ability to exert any sort of lasting control over the city. While 

this point will be brought up again later, it must be stated now that the 

full weight of the District Attorney and the public being pressed upon the 

Fresno Klan less than a full year from its possible inception may have 

stunted any chance of gaining more talented and effective members. Before 

the exposure, however, the Fresno Klan did manage to gather a wide range 

of respected Fresno natives into its ranks.

 

One particular article titled “Gearhart Condemns Klan as Violators 



 19.

 “Investigation Of Ku Klux Klansmen Turned To Fresno,” Fresno Morning 



Republican (Fresno, CA), April 29, 1922.

 20. 


Ibid.

 21


. “Inside Fresno Klan Story Bared,” Fresno Morning Republican (Fresno, CA), 

May 1, 1922.

 22.

 “26 Names Of Kings County Men On Lists,”Fresno Morning Republican 



(Fresno, CA), May 1, 1922; and “Threat Letter Sent In Fresno,” Fresno Morning 

Republican (Fresno, CA), May 1, 1922.

”VIOLATORS OF ALMOST EVERY RIGHT”




150

of  Every  Right”  presented  the  names  of  fifteen  members  of  the  Fresno 

klavern which included “five dentists, a former city trustee, a member of 

the  Fresno  fire  department,  a  member  of  the  public  works  department...

and several prominent businessmen...”

23

 Among these names were Dr. L. F. 

Luckie, a physician and “Exalted Cyclops,” or head, of the Fresno Klan, and 

one J. M. Euless, a local real estate broker.



24 

While information on Dr. Luckie 

was scarce, Euless existed as a rather prominent figure in Fresno history. In 

the 1946 Fresno Community Book which presented small biographies on 

notable Fresnans, Euless’s achievements are presented in no short order. The 

book proudly proclaims his successful organization of the Euless-Dermer 

raisin pool which “[sold] the raisins of all its members for more than the 

outsider was able to obtain, and paid all the pools obligations, and still had 

money left in the treasury.”

25

 Euless had also been a member of the Fresno 

County Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau, a member of the Elks 

Lodge and Odd Fellows and had a “liveable [sic] six-acre estate, located 

at the corner of Huntington Boulevard and Peach street.”

26 

 The biography 

makes no mention of his previous affiliation with the Klan. J. M. Euless 

was not a man who existed on the fringes of society. He was a respected 

businessman with ties to the agrarian elite, a far cry from the dangerous 

vigilante that D.A. Gearhart was painting the local Klansmen to be.

 

The notion of the Klan being made up of ignorant members has roots 



in the same decade the organization resurfaced and is tied to the 1924 book 

by John Moffatt Mecklin The Ku Klux Klan: A Study of the American Mind

In his book, Mecklin states that the resurgent Klan’s “masks and parades, 

its anonymous threatening letters, its childish attempts to intimidate its 

enemies...can find no justification in a well-ordered society.”

27

 The typical 

 23.

 “Gearhart Condemns Klan As Violator Of Almost Every Right,” Fresno 



Morning Republican (Fresno, CA), May 1, 1922.

 24. 


Ibid.

 25.


 Ben R. Walker, Fresno Community Book (Fresno: Managing Editor and 

Publisher Arthur H. Cawston, 1946), 230.

 26. Ibid.

, 231.


 27.

 Floyd H. Allport, “Review of The Ku Klux Klan: A Study of the American 

Mind,” in The Journal Of Abnormal Psychology And Social Psychology 19, no. 4 (1925), 

430.


Geoffrey A. Ramirez


151

Klansmen, according to Mecklin, was a part of a “diminishing stock” who 

were dismayed by the arrival of foreigners and “the growing strength of 

the Catholic faith” in the United States.



28

 Mecklin further describes the 

movement as “small town” and states that the organization helped the 

members compensate for their mediocre existences along with senses of 

“personal or civic inferiority,” through the ornate pageantry.

29

 This stance 

on the Klan was hardly countered through the rest of the twentieth century. 

As Leonard J. Moore notes in his section of The Invisible Empire in the 



West, many historians tended to agree with the belief that the movement was 

made in response to “the benighted culture of rural, small-town America.”



30

 

Yet, Euless certainly did not embody this small-mindedness that Mecklin 



and others projected onto the average Klansman. He was a prominent 

businessman fully involved in the Fresno community. He had no need to 

compensate for an inferiority complex and his banking and organization of 

a grower’s pool certainly afforded no sense towards keeping Fresno small. 

Was Euless simply an anomaly? A rare, well-reasoned individual standing 

within a crowd of small-minded men?

 

On May 5, 1922, the Fresno Morning Republican printed a list 



of 240 alleged members of the Ku Klux Klan in Fresno County.

31

   This 


presented the opportunity for the author to analyze who the Klan had 

managed to attract as members. Several names were cross checked with 

the 1922 Fresno City Directory and produced interesting results. Fred W. 

Loomis was listed as a manager at Reliable Auto Trimmin Company; H. 

L. Owensbey was listed as a rancher; R. B. Tucker was a salesman; R. W. 

Goodell a carpenter; and J. G. Hewlings a tower man for Sante Fe rail.



32

 

Working men to be sure, but skilled ones. The names released earlier also 



 28.

 Allport, “Review of The Ku Klux Klan,” 430.

 29.

 

Ibid.



, 429-430.

 30.


 Leonard J. Moor, “Historical Interpretations of the 1920’s Klan,” in The 

Invisible Empire in the West, ed. Shawn Lay (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992), 

22.


 31.

 “District Attorney Announces Names On Kleagle’s Lists,” Fresno Morning 



Republican (Fresno, CA), May 5, 1922.

 32.


 Fresno City and Fresno County Directory 1922 (Sacramento: Polk-Husted 

Directory Company, 1922), Sections G, H, L, O, T.

”VIOLATORS OF ALMOST EVERY RIGHT”



152

listed doctors, businessmen, and a fireman meaning that the Fresno Klan 

did not fully encapsulate the social stereotype which Mecklin painted the 

organization with. How these men came to join the organization helps to 

paint a picture of the membership composition as well. In an exposé on the 

Fresno klavern, W. N. Gilliam stated that he had been approached by his 

friend, Dr. L. H. Irwin to join the local klavern and that initiates were sworn 

in at the Odd Fellows Hall of Fresno.



33

 This suggests that the kleagles who 

recruited in Fresno did so through the local fraternities which were likely 

comprised of educated, middle-class gentry, the complete opposite of 

Mecklin’s description. These were men who had influence and control over 

the affairs of the community and could have been organized into a well-

funded, and tactical, political arm.

 

The  findings  of  seven  historians  who  presented  their  work  in 



The Invisible Empire in the West also refute Mecklin’s portrayal of 

1920s Klansmen.  The collection of essays includes detailed analyses of 

membership demographics of the klaverns organized in El Paso, Denver, 

Anaheim, Salt Lake City, and Eugene and La Grande, Oregon. The findings 

are very similar to the cursory analysis of Fresno’s klavern. Due to a 

1924 application book, historian Robert Goldberg was able to statistically 

analyze the 17,000 members of the Denver Klan and found that members 

belonged to varying social classes with many of the early joiners being 

middle to upper-class as a result of recruitment techniques which focused 

on local fraternities.



34

 As the Invisible Empire grew in prominence within 

the city, the roster began to represent “a near occupational cross section of 

the local community.”



35   

To Shawn Lay, official membership rosters were 

unavailable but citing a study which found that the number of white collar 

workers were made up primarily of “Non-Spanish-surnamed workers,” he 

concludes that the majority of El Paso Klansmen were most likely white-

 33.


 “My Experiences As A Klansman,” Fresno Morning Republican (Fresno, 

CA), May 2, 1922.

 34.

 Robert A. Goldberg, “Denver: Queen City of the Colorado Realm,” in Invisible 



Empire in the West, ed. Shawn Lay (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992), 50-53.

 35




Ibid.

, 53.


Geoffrey A. Ramirez


153

collar workers.



36

 Christopher Cocoltchos’s analysis of Anaheim membership 

demographics concluded that they were “neither economically nor socially 

insecure” as Klansmen owned a fair amount of property and were very active 

in civic activities.

37

 Thus the Fresno membership reflected a middle-class 

composition which made up klaverns in other parts of the United States at 

this time.

 

The ultimate argument of The Invisible Empire in the West is that 



the driving forces behind the popularity of the Klan in the 1920s were 

entwined with grassroots social and political motivations. That is, that 

the broad “true American” values the Klan stood for could be applied in a 

variety of local situations and looked to be an answer to perceived failures 

or injustices that Klansmen saw present in their communities. Shawn Lay’s 

essay “Imperial Outpost on the Border: El Paso’s Frontier Klan No. 100” 

argues that the rise of the KKK in El Paso was due in part to “widespread 

anger and frustration over what was perceived to be a general breakdown 

of law, order, and social morality.”

38

 The years of chaos resulting from the 

1910 Mexican Revolution had scared residents along the border and fed 

into suspicions that Mexicans were inherently violent and cruel.

39

 When the 

Mexican vote helped defeat local prohibition in 1918, residents felt it was 

evidence of Mexican immorality allowing the Klan to appeal to this belief 

for support.

40

  Robert Goldberg found in his study of the Denver klavern that 

while the organization played on racial tensions to attract members they also 

pledged to clean the city of its crime problem, Denver having been plagued 

with bootleggers, brothels, and police corruption charges.

41

 The surging 

membership allowed the Denver Klan to secretly support the election of 

 36


. Shawn Lay, “Imperial Outpost on the Border: El Paso’s Frontier Klan No. 

100,” in Invisible Empire in the West, ed. By Shawn Lay (Urbana: University of Illinois 

Press, 1992), 84.

 37.


 Christopher N. Cocoltchos, “The Invisible Empire and the Search for the 

Orderly Community: The Ku Klux Klan in Anaheim, California,” in Invisible Empire in the 



West, ed. By Shawn Lay (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992),105-107.

 38.


 Lay, “Imperial Outpost on the Border,” 67.

 39. 


Ibid.

, 69.


 40. Ibid.

, 70.


 41.

 Goldberg, “Denver, ”44-46.

”VIOLATORS OF ALMOST EVERY RIGHT”



154

Benjamin F. Stapleton on a platform of city clean-up in 1923.



42

 He quickly 

set to purging the police department of corruption and amplified activity 

against criminal actions.



43

 Klan membership was fueled by these local 

concerns and the various klaverns acted as voting blocs that could influence 

local and state governments to desired effects.

 

Fresno Klansmen seemed concerned with upholding the law but not 



to the same extent as the klaverns researched by the seven other historians. 

One of the only instances where Klansmen were involved in promoting a 

measure of lawful activity came in the form of one article in the evening 

newspaper The Fresno Bee. On June 16, 1923 The Bee reported that a railroad 

worker named W. S. Armstrong was fined for possession of liquor in Big 

Creek, a city within Fresno County, but he claimed it was a frame up staged 

by Big Creek’s Klan.

44

 Armstrong asserted that he had been approached by 

an informal acquaintance on where to acquire liquor and was then jumped 

by a group of men after obtaining it, some of whom Armstrong recognized 

as local Klan members.

45

 Armstrong’s story concludes here but on June 

30 an order was passed banning the utilization of “stool pigeon tactics,” 

using a decoy to facilitate a transaction, for the purposes of liquor arrests in 

Fresno.

46 

This was possibly due to the entrapment utilized in Armstrong’s 

case but more importantly this is the only piece of information that could 

be found which indicated that Fresno County Klansmen were concerned 

over lawfulness in the local populace. The extent at which local concerns 

played into recruitment and activities of the Fresno Klan is not as apparent 

or existent as with other klaverns across the country in the 1920s.

 

Also unlike the cases presented in The Invisible Empire in the West, 



research into the Fresno klavern uncovered no evidence of extensive activity 

in local politics. This is likely due to the city’s quick response upon discovering 

the Klan’s presence. On May 2, 1922 Deputy Charles Farnam resigned after 

 42.


 Goldberg, “Denver, ” 47-48.

 43.


 

Ibid.

 44.


 “Gang Violence Is Charged [In] Liquor Arrest,” The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA), 

June 16, 1923.

 45. 

Ibid.

 46.


 “Death Knell Of ‘Stool Pigeons’ Sounded To-Day,” The Fresno Bee (Fresno, 

CA), June 30, 1923.



Geoffrey A. Ramirez


155

admitting he was a member of the local Klan and the following day Mayor 

Truman G. Hart “removed seven members of the [police] department who 

had taken the oath of allegiance to the Klan.”



47 

 These police resignations 

were the only real high profile removal of Klansmen in public positions but 

showcased how the city was quick to check the Klan’s ability to influence 

city affairs at any avenue. Where secrecy afforded the Denver and El Paso 

klaverns to exert large amounts of control over local government, the early 

exposure and response would have made it difficult for the Fresno Klan to 

operate on the same level.

 

The activity in neighboring Kern County, where the lawlessness of the 



Empire was displayed with vigor, almost certainly fueled public resistance 

to the Klan’s presence in Fresno as well. The Republican reported on May 

7, 1922 that several high-ranking members of Kern County were associated 

with the Klan, including the deputy sheriff, the chief of police, the chairman 

of the Board of Supervisors, and a former assistant district attorney.

48

 The 


days leading up to this revelation were also rife with reports of violence in 

the county. On March 6, 1922 the Republican reported incidents of  “night 

riders” who terrorized local citizens including George N. Bowman who had 

been ordered to leave town after being dragged through oil.



49

 The extent of 

control the Empire assumed in Kern County undoubtedly frightened Fresno 

officials, both in the methods and values it represented. The secrecy and 

underhandedness of the organization, no matter how patriotic it claimed to 

be, did not sit well with the accepted American values of the public. The 

Klan’s activities in Kern County and elsewhere flew in the face of legality 

and people did not want to be associated with it.

 

The Fresno Klan did not falter completely under the public glare 



and managed to garner new members in the following months. On May 4, 

1922 the local chapter boasted in the Republican of 12 new initiates who 

 47.

 “4 More Policemen of Fresno Found On Ku Klux Klan List,” Fresno Morning 



Republican (Fresno, CA), May 2, 1922; “City Policemen Discharged For Oath To Klan,” 

Fresno Morning Republican (Fresno, CA), May 3, 1922.

 48.


 “Chief of Police, Supervisor Head, Among Members,” Fresno Morning 

Republican (Fresno, CA), May 7, 1922.

 49.


 “Night Riders Halt Raids But Marked Victims Still Flee,” Fresno Morning 

Republican (Fresno, CA), March 6, 1922.

”VIOLATORS OF ALMOST EVERY RIGHT”




156

joined to “a great deal of applause” during the height of the exposure.



50

 The 


previous day, May 3, a threat letter was sent to District Attorney Gearhart 

which stated that he had underestimated the power of the Fresno Klan and 

claimed the group would only grow due to the exposure.

51

 On May 21, 1923 



The Fresno Bee quoted the Exalted Cyclops, the title of a klavern head, Dr. 

L. F. Luckie as claiming that nearly 100 people had joined the organization 

at a weekend gathering at Huntington Lake.

52

  Some of these new members 

had joined the Big Creek chapter and likely had a part to play in the scuffle 

with Armstrong the following month. While time proved the Fresno chapter 

slightly correct in their 1922 assertion that they would continue to expand, 

the slow rate at which it occurred is almost certainly attributed to the early 

exposure brought upon them. 

 

Klan activity largely stagnated in the city until the early summer of 



1924, being reduced to very minor news pieces in the interceding year since 

their exposure. In October of 1923, the klavern decorated the grave of a 

fallen member with an arrangement of K’s laid across a floral piece.

53  

 This 


disgusted a non-Klan associate of the deceased who then tore down, only 

to have the arrangements put back up with the support of the family.



54

 The 


only other quarrel the Fresno Klan was involved in was an editorial one. In 

December of 1922, the Fresno klavern sent a letter to The Fresno Bee decrying 

an editorial The Bee had posted which criticized the Berkeley klavern’s 

use of a school auditorium to hold a rally.



55

 The Klan’s letter denounced 

the piece as defamatory and claimed that the organization only stood for 

upholding American morals and values, not “hatred, religious prejudice and 

 50

. “12 Initiated Into Klan At Meeting On Friday Night,” Fresno Morning 



Republican (Fresno, CA), May 4, 1922.

 51.


 “Gearhart Gets Threat Letter Signed ‘K.K.K.,’” Fresno Morning Republican 

(Fresno, CA), May 3, 1922.

 52.

 “Many Joined Klan, Says Fresno Doctor,” The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA), May 



21, 1923.

 53


. “Invisible Empire Guards Grave,” The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA), October 11, 

1923.


 54. 

Ibid.

 55.


 “Fresno Ku Klux Klan Condemns Fresno Bee,” The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA), 

December 11, 1922.



Geoffrey A. Ramirez


157

mob rule.”



56

 The Fresno Bee published a response which offered a list of 

reported instances of violence perpetuated by the Kern klavern along with 

news that other fraternal organizations had declared the Invisible Empire 

un-American as evidence to the contrary.

57 

The editorial ended the assertion 

that “if the local...Klan does not know these facts then it has failed to follow 

the current events of the past two years.”



58

 Beyond these two instances, the 

Big Creek issue, and the claim of new members in May 1923 the Fresno 

Klan largely disappeared into the background of local affairs and it raises 

questions as to why. 

 

Beyond the obvious stunting affect early exposure had on the 



organization, another possible explanation for the relatively quiet two-

year period between major stories may be that the local chapter underwent 

serious internal reorganization. The 1922 December editorial to The Bee 

is signed Fresno Klan No. 1 but advertisements run in the Republican in 

1924 are signed Fresno Klan No. 2, indicating some type of restructuring. 

Internal friction between members may possibly account for this.  While it 

is possible that members of the group elected to retain a largely ceremonial 

and fraternal organization, a lack of strong leadership under the Exalted 

Cyclops Dr. L. F. Luckie in organizing the Klan’s activity could have stunted 

its potential in influencing the community. 

 

In W. N. Gilliam’s three-part exposé on the Fresno Klan he detailed 



the lack of true activity that the Fresno Klan seemed to possess in its early 

existence. According to Gilliam, the meeting he attended began with 

commendations for local officers whom upheld the law, denial of reports 

on Klan lawlessness, and making “defamatory remarks” against Jews, 

Catholics, Japanese, and African Americans.

59

  At the meeting it was also 

discussed how they could threaten officers for not enforcing city ordinances 

but  “No  actual  threats  against  officers  were  made”  while  Gilliam  was  a 

 56. 

“Fresno Ku Klux Klan Condemns Fresno Bee,” The Fresno Bee, December 



11, 1922.

 57.


 “Mirror Of Facts For The Ku Klux Klan,” The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA), 

December 11, 1922.

 58. 

Ibid.

 59.


 “My Experiences As A Klansman,” Fresno Morning Republican (Fresno, CA), 

May 3, 1922.

”VIOLATORS OF ALMOST EVERY RIGHT”



158

member.


60

 Gilliam also mentioned that when a “citizen” of the Invisible 

Empire, Clyde Young, attempted to offer a suggestion of what the Klan 

could do in the city he was told sit and be quiet.



61

 Gilliam claimed that 

Cyclops Luckie had ruled that “he [Luckie] was boss, and that any subject 

that he did not want discussed would not be allowed.”



62

 The next day, 

Young was expelled without reason and 31 members, including Gilliam, 

withdrew themselves from the organization due to its practicing of what 

they deemed to be undemocratic fraternal practices.

63

 If Luckie had actually 

acted in such a manner then it would suggest that he was a very incapable 

leader. Rather than organize members into a cohesive unit, it is possible 

that Luckie’s dictatorial leadership only compounded the issues the klavern 

found itself in. While Gilliam’s expose is undoubtedly biased with his own 

desire to downplay his support and involvement with anything illegal or 

reprehensible, his depiction of Luckie seems to be an accurate representation 

of the man.

 

Information on the internal workings of the Fresno Klan is scarce, but 



Luckie’s public boasting of gaining new members in May of 1922 and 1923 

showed his devotion to the Klan. He also appears in the story concerning 

the decorations of the dead Klansman, having supported the family’s 

decision to reinstall the floral K’s which were torn down. His appearances 

set a precedent for his presence in any news concerning his klavern. Where 

the Fresno Klan needed a voice, he was there. Yet, no mention of Luckie 

is made in a 1924 report by the Republican of 100 women being sworn 

into the organization at the Fresno Fairgrounds, nor of those in subsequent 

articles posted by the Fresno Bee.

64

  This suggests that at some point before 

May 1924, Luckie was either removed or voluntarily left the klavern. It 

can be assumed that this would have occurred during or resulted from the 

reorganization of the klavern as Fresno Klan No. 2. The combination of 

 60. 

“My Experiences As A Klansman,” Fresno Morning Republican, May 3, 1922.



 61.

 “Klansman’s Experiences,” Fresno Morning Republican (Fresno, CA), May 4, 

1922.

 62. Ibid.



 63. Ibid.

 64.


 “Klan Initiate 100 Women In Public Service,” Fresno Morning Republican 

(Fresno, CA), May 20, 1924.



Geoffrey A. Ramirez


159

exposure and poor leadership may have stunted the growth and activity 

of the Fresno Klan from 1922 to 1923 and despite reorganizing itself the 

Fresno Klan would never fully recover.

 

News of the Fresno klavern remained scarce until May 13, 1924 



when an advertisement in the Republican  marked  a  month-long  flurry 

of Klan activity in Fresno. On page seven of the paper, dominating the 

bottom right corner, ran an ad proudly presenting the “Ku Klux Klan State 

Wide Fiesta” which included such attractions as a Klan wedding, no less 

than three ceremonials, and lectures by prominent Klan officials all to be 

held at the Fresno Fair grounds.



65

 In a display of journalistic humor, the 



Republican reported on this new development the following day with a 

small article hidden on page nine which simply was simply titled “Klan 

Expects To Add Many New Members.”

66

 Despite running advertisements 

for the fiesta throughout the month, the Republican offered little exposure 

to the event compared to The Fresno Bee. The Bee followed  the  fiesta 

throughout its duration and presented detailed, if sometimes minor, reports 

on the lectures made by Reverend Horace Lackey and other speakers. Rev. 

Lackey lectured on a series of topics ranging from alcoholism to reasserting 

that immigrants should be made to “kiss that starry flag and swear allegiance 

to the constitution.”

67

 On May 25, the Republican offered one of its few 

reports on the Fiesta stating that around 600 people had marched in a Klan 

parade through the city.



68

 While certainly grand in scale and pageantry, the 

Fresno fiesta would prove to be the last big hurrah of the Klan in the county 

in the 1920s. 

 

On May 29



 

the Fresno Bee reported on the end of the fiesta, stating 

in a tiny column on page two that, after all the glowing words and parades, 

a collection hat was passed around the gathered Klansmen in order to solicit 

 65.

 “Fresno Ku Klux Klan State Wide Fiesta And Public Ceremonial,” Fresno 



Morning Republican (Fresno, CA), May 13, 1924.

 66.


 “Klan Expects To Add Many New Members,” Fresno Morning Republican 

(Fresno, CA), May 14, 1924.

 67.

 “Klansman Vows Alien Convicts Must Kiss Flag,” The Fresno Bee (Fresno, 



CA), May 21, 1924.

 68.


 “600 March In Klan Parade,” Fresno Morning Republican (Fresno, CA), May 

25, 1924.

”VIOLATORS OF ALMOST EVERY RIGHT”



160

donations for cause.



69

  Information on the Fresno Klan becomes scarce 

beyond this point but it would be presumptuous to declare what fate the 

klavern succumbed to. More importantly, the Fiesta proved that the Fresno 

Klan had major connections with klaverns across California and the United 

States and also had the means of organizing mass activity. But it the Fiesta 

occurred two years after being discovered in the city and during a time when 

Klan activity was starting to taper off across the nation. The Fiesta came at 

the height of the Fresno Klan’s power yet fizzled away just as quickly.

 

The Fresno Klan was not overtly political in its motivations like 



Denver, El Paso, or Anaheim, nor did it commit to violent acts like the 

klavern of Kern County. But the klavern’s middle-class and skilled worker 

membership  certainly  reflects  the  roster  of  other  klaverns  in  the  United 

States and thus counters the idea of John Moffatt Mecklin that Klansmen 

were mostly ignorant, rural, working class men. The Fresno Klan shared the 

core beliefs of the organization, standing for white supremacy, adherence 

to the Constitution, and general Americanism and gathered a few hundred 

members over its lifespan suggesting wider appeal in the area for these 

ideals. While the Fresno Klan embodies some of the ideas that are presented 

by the works of Shawn Lay and his colleagues it was not fully motivated 

to act in accordance to grassroots concerns. The Fresno chapter seemed 

content with remaining a fraternal organization even after reorganizing into 

an effective body. A basic summation of the reports on Fresno Klan activity 

can be read as having burnt a few crosses, sent a few letters one of which 

sparked an editorial tiff with The Fresno Bee, been associated with a beating 

in Big Creek, decorated a grave, and helped to organize a statewide fiesta. 

Due to the combination of public pressure and poor leadership, the Fresno 

Klan never grew into a secretive political arm or violent band. It instead 

focused on fraternal pageantry as a means of promoting Klan ideals within 

the community.

 

When District Attorney B. W. Gearhart declared the Invisible 



Empire to be “Violators of Almost Every Right” he was certainly correct in 

regarding it to the organization as a whole. The Fresno Klan was a branch 

of a fraternity which promoted racism, participated in mob violence, and 

 69.


 “Donations Asked At Klan Fiesta,” The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA), May 29 

1924.


Geoffrey A. Ramirez


161

attempted political manipulation of cities and states. These facts are damning 

and should not be ignored when analyzing any part of the Invisible Empire. 

Yet, taken by itself the Fresno Klan seems to have been far a “Violator of 

Almost  Every  Right.” The  Fresno  Klan  largely  failed  in  influencing  the 

city’s actions or its citizens. It had been forced, through pressure or choice, 

to focus on the public image of itself and the Klan as a whole. The Fresno 

Klan of the 1920’s ultimately existed as an ineffectual, perverse fraternity 

with only one grand fiesta to its name.

”VIOLATORS OF ALMOST EVERY RIGHT”




162

B

iBliograPhy

P

rimary



 s

ourcEs


“4 More Policemen of Fresno Found On Ku Klux Klan List,” Fresno 

 

Morning Republican. May 2, 1922. 

Fresno Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center



 

Fresno, CA.

“12 Initiated Into Klan At Meeting On Friday Night,” Fresno Morning 

 Republican. 

May 4, 1922. 

Fresno Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA.

“600 March In Klan Parade.” Fresno Morning Republican.  May 25, 

 

1924. Fresno Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 



 

131, Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 

 

Fresno, CA.



Associated Press. “Fatal Los Angeles Raid Attributed To Klan After 

 Inquest.” 



Fresno Morning Republican. April 26, 1922.

Fresno Morning Republican Daily April 16- May1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA.

Associated Press. “Officials Seize Klan Papers Of Grand Goblin.” Fresno 

 

Morning Republican, April 27, 1922. 

Geoffrey A. Ramirez



163

Fresno Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA “Death Knell Of ‘Stool Pigeons’ Sounded To-Day.” 

 

The Fresno Bee, June 30, 1923. 

The Fresno Bee July 1923, Box 5, Microfilm, San JoaquinValley Heritage 

 

& Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.



“District Attorney Announces Names on Kleagle’s Lists.” Fresno Morning 

 Republican, 

May 5, 1922. 

Fresno Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA.

“Donations Asked At Klan Fiesta.” The Fresno Bee, May 29, 1924. 

The Fresno Bee May thru June 1924, Box 10, Microfilm, San Joaquin 

 

Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.



“Chief of Police, Supervisor Head, Among Members,” Fresno Morning 

 

Republican (Fresno, CA), May 7, 1922. 



Fresno Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA.

“City Policemen Discharged For Oath To Klan,” Fresno Morning 

 

Republican (Fresno, CA), May 3, 1922. 



Fresno Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA.

”VIOLATORS OF ALMOST EVERY RIGHT”



164

“Coolidge Losing For ‘Dirty Trick,’ Aver Klansman,” The Fresno Bee 



 

(Fresno, CA), May 22, 1924. 

Fresno City and Fresno County Directory 1922.

Sacramento: Polk-Husted Dirctory Company, 1922. 

Fresno City Directories 1922-1923, Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley 

 

Heritage & Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.



“Fresno Ku Klux Klan Condemns Fresno Bee.” The Fresno Bee, 

 

December 11, 1922. 

The Fresno Bee Oct. 17. 1922 – Dec. 20, 1922, Box 1, Microfilm, San 

 

Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.



“Fresno Ku Klux Klan State Wide Fiesta And Public Ceremonial.” Fresno 

 

Morning Republican, May 13, 1924. 

Fresno Morning Republican Daily May-June 1924,  Box 145, Microfilm, 

 

San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.



“Gang Violence Is Charged [In] Liquor Arrest.” The Fresno Bee, June 16, 

 1923. 


The Fresno Bee July 1923, Box 5, Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage 

 

& Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA. “Gearhart Condemns Klan As 



 

Violator Of Almost Every Right.” Fresno Morning Republican. 



 

May 1, 1922. 

Fresno Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA



Geoffrey A. Ramirez


165

“Gearhart Gets Threat Letter Signed ‘K.K.K.’” Fresno Morning 



 Republican. 

May 3, 1922.    

Fresno Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA.

“Inside Fresno Klan Story Bared.” Fresno Morning  Republican, May 1, 

 1922. 


Fresno  Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA.

“Invisible Empire Guards Grave.” The Fresno Bee, October 11, 1923. The 

 

Fresno Bee October thru December, Box 7, Microfilm, San Joaquin 



 

Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.

“Investigation Of Ku Klux Klansmen Turned To Fresno.” Fresno Morning 

 Republican. April 29, 1922. 

Fresno Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA.

“Klan Bars ‘Isms’, Asserts Lackey,” The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA), May 

 

27, 1924.



 The Fresno Bee May thru June 1924, Box 10, Microfilm, San Joaquin 

 

Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.



“Klan Initiate 100 Women In Public Service,” Fresno Morning Republican 

 

(Fresno, CA), May 20, 1924. 

”VIOLATORS OF ALMOST EVERY RIGHT”



166

Fresno Morning Republican Daily May-June 1924, Box 145, Microfilm, 

 

San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.



“Klansman’s Experiences.” Fresno Morning Republican. May 4, 1922. 

Fresno Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA.

“Klan Expects To Add Many New Members.” Fresno Morning 

 Republican. 

 May 14, 1924. 

Fresno Morning Republican Daily May-June 1924, Box 145, Microfilm, 

 

San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.



“Klansman Vows Alien Convicts Must Kiss Flag.” The Fresno Bee. May 

 

21, 1924. 



The Fresno Bee May thru June 1924, Box 10, Microfilm, San Joaquin 

 

Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.



“Many Joined Klan, Says Fresno Doctor.” The Fresno Bee, May 21, 1923. 

The Fresno Bee May thru June 1923, Box 4, Microfilm, San Joaquin 

 

Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.



“Mirror Of Facts For The Ku Klux Klan.” The Fresno Bee, December 11, 

 1922. 


The Fresno Bee Oct. 17. 1922 – Dec. 20, 1922, Box 1, Microfilm, San 

 

Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.



“My Experiences As A Klansman.” Fresno Morning Republican. May 2, 

 1922. 


Geoffrey A. Ramirez


167

Fresno  Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA.

“My Experiences As A Klansman.” Fresno Morning Republican. May 3, 1

 922. 


Fresno  Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 131, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA.

“Threat Letter Sent in Fresno.” Fresno Morning Republican, May 1, 

 

1922.  Fresno  Morning Republican Daily April 16-May 1922, Box 



 

131, Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 

 

Fresno, CA.



“Night Riders Halt Raids But Marked Victims Still Flee.” Fresno Morning 

 Republican. March 6, 1922. 

Fresno Morning Republican Daily March-April 16 1922, Box 130, 

 

Microfilm, San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, 



 

Fresno, CA.

“We Stand For the Following – Do You?” Fresno Morning Republican, 

 

May 18, 1924. 

Fresno Morning Republican Daily May-June 1924, Box 145, Microfilm, 

 

San Joaquin Valley Heritage & Genealogy Center, Fresno, CA.



s

EconDary


 s

ourcEs


Allport, Floyd H. 1925. “Review of The Ku Klux Klan: A study of the 

 

American mind.” The Journal Of Abnormal Psychology And Social 



 Psychology 19, no. 4 (1925): 429-431.

”VIOLATORS OF ALMOST EVERY RIGHT”




168

Lay, Shawn. The Invisible Empire in the West: Toward a New Historical 



 

Appraisal of the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920’s. Urbana: University of 

 

Illinois Press, 1992.



Walker, Ben R. Fresno Community Book. Fresno: Managing Editor and 

 

Publisher Arthur H. Cawston, 1946.



Geoffrey A. Ramirez


169

”VIOLATORS OF ALMOST EVERY RIGHT”



Yüklə 162,42 Kb.

Dostları ilə paylaş:




Verilənlər bazası müəlliflik hüququ ilə müdafiə olunur ©genderi.org 2024
rəhbərliyinə müraciət

    Ana səhifə