Ku Klux Klan - Hugo L.

Black And The KKK

http://law.jrank.org/pages/8014/Ku-Klux-Klan-Hugo-L-Black-KKK.html

Hugo L. Black is remembered as a distinguished U.S. Supreme Court justice, a

progressive U.S. Senator, and an able trial attorney. Black also was a member of the Ku
Klux Klan (KKK) in the 1920s. Public disclosure of this fact came shortly after his
appointment to the Supreme Court was confirmed by the Senate in 1937. The resulting
public uproar would probably have doomed his Court appointment if the disclosure had
come just a few weeks earlier.

In 1923 Black was a trial attorney in Birmingham, Alabama, which at the time was
controlled by members of the Klan. After rebuffing membership several times, he joined
the KKK on September 23, 1923. Black later claimed to have left the group after several
years, but no clear evidence documented his departure. In 1937 there were allegations
he had signed an undated letter resigning from the Klan, which was to have been used
to establish a false resignation date if public scandal occurred.

In 1937 Black made a radio address to the nation, in which he admitted his Klan
membership but claimed he had resigned and had not had any connection with the
group for many years. He also stated he harbored no prejudice against anyone because
of their race, religion, or ethnicity.

During his Court career, Black was reluctant to discuss his KKK membership and offered
various reasons for why he had joined. To some people he admitted it was a mistake,
whereas to others he said the KKK was just another fraternal organization, like the
Masons or Elks. It is clear, however, that as an ambitious politician, Black had sought
Klan support for his political campaigns. In the 1920s KKK support had been critical to a
Democratic politician in Alabama.

Despite his later denial of holding any prejudices, Black was an active member of the
KKK for several years. He participated in Klan events throughout Alabama, wearing the
organization's characteristic white robes and hood, and initiated new Klan members into
the Invisible Empire, reading the Klan oath, which pledged the members to "most
zealously and valiantly shield and preserve by any and all justifiable means … white
supremacy."

CROSS-REFERENCES

Black, Hugo Lafayette.

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