Broadside promoting Ku Klux Klan Rally in Swansea, 20 April 1957
Document Description:
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) resurfaced almost immediately after the landmark Supreme Court case decision of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, which unanimously declared on 17 May 1954 that the doctrine of “separate but equal” was unconstitutional. The KKK used public demonstrations to voice its opposition to desegregation, and to proclaim views of racial hatred. The following announcement for a Ku Klux Klan rally in Swansea reflects some of the most radical opposition to integration, and sheds light on one of the darker truths of South Carolina’s history.
Citation:
Ku Klux Klan, KKK Public Speaking (Swansea, South Carolina), “...the Truth about Segregation!” Broadside, 20 April 1957, Manuscripts Division, South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
Correlating SC Social Studies Academic Standards:
Standard 3-5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the major developments in South Carolina in the late nineteenth century and the twentieth century.
Indicator 3-5.6 Summarize the key events and effects of the civil rights movement in South Carolina, including the desegregation of schools (Briggs v. Elliott) and other public facilities and the acceptance of African Americans’ right to vote.
Standard 5-5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the social, economic, and political events that influenced the United States during the Cold War era.
Indicator 5-5.3 Explain the advancement of the civil rights movement in the United States, including key events and people: desegregation of the armed forces, Brown v. Board of Education, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X.
Standard 8-7: The student will demonstrate an understanding of South Carolina’s economic revitalization during World War II and the latter twentieth century.
Indicator 8-7.4 Explain the factors that influenced the economic opportunities of African American South Carolinians during the latter twentieth century, including racial discrimination, the Briggs v. Elliott case, the integration of public facilities and the civil rights movement, agricultural decline, and statewide educational improvement.
Standard USHC-9: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the social, economic, and political events that impacted the United States during the Cold War era.
Indicator USHC-9.5 Explain the movements for racial and gender equity and civil liberties, including their initial strategies, landmark court cases and legislation, the roles of key civil rights advocates, and the influence of the civil rights movement on other groups seeking ethnic and gender equity.