>> next on real america, "the ku klux klan: the invisible empire" a september 1965 documentary reports. by cbs it traces the history of the its resurgence in 915 inspired by birth of a nation through the post-world war ii years. of ku klux klan ceremonies and interviews with might findch viewers disturbing. it earned cbs reports and david lou a 1965 award. >> the driver of this car was li everyone tzo the

other of five children a car overtook her, several shots were fired. to a iverless car came stop and she was dead. charged with murder were three alleged members of the ku klux klan. and the jury was unable to reach a verdict this. temporary grave of three civil rights workers. white one negro beaten and shot to death. six menem indicted were identified as members of the ku klux klan. to trial.een brought in this reserve lieutenant penn killed by a shotgun blast in colbert georgia. arrests were four knights of the ku klux klan. two were tried and acquitted. a few short months five murders, 13 alleged members of said to be klan involved in the killings.

this moves in is and takes over the police power you are at their mercy. their atrocities and iolence can be visited on anybody that disagrees with them. joke 100 arted as a years ago when a group of men for a romp hasts attracted persons charged with intimidation ent, and violence throughout the south. even though the nation has been the ku klux years klan persists with its bizarre ritual. but 100 years is a long time for a joke. presents "the ku klux klan: the invisible empire." ere is cbs news correspondent charles kuralt. >> good evening. the ku klux klan is a secret

which for 100 years has been allowed to exist in this country. every president of the united states in the past entury has said the klan has little regard for constituted authority. johnson defined the ku klux klan as a hooded society of and warned them to get out and return to a decent it is too late. after the president's warning american activities committeed a investigation and hearings are scheduled next month. they will present witnesses not klanmen but victims of klan activity but the committee will to show the klan in action. for the next hour we will take a ku klux klan the from the inside out, examine its secret ritual and initiation and record of violence.

us look at klansmen without their robes. after anday the morning ku klux klan meeting in durham, north carolina. members of the united klans of america knights the most kwaoupb of exclusive organizations in america. ants ludes many protest roman catholics, jew, negroes, puerto ricans ns and anyone else who is not 100% pure american. i i don't hate anythiniggers bt tkdon't associate with common white crash or jews or catholic. >> that the grand dragon jay sailor ones former bricklayer, lightning rod sales salesman rules over 50 chapters members. > i think the tpheufinninger rs

has equal right and separate. he was the nicest fellow and inden johnson said i have to associate with you i would tell him to go to hell. matt murphy e late until death was chief legal klans.l of united his favorite targets were andoes jew, federal reserve international bankers. >> i made speeches before the america and they were the only organization that i had nt on record after talked for two solid hours on the federal ss of reserve corporation and how had taxpayers and great britain has removed the international bin bankers. hawk of the knight united klans.

that is responsible for the klavern.of a >> why did you join the klan? >> i have a wife and five kids. i think that is enough reason. e, have a m to b country to be raised in like i was. forced to go to school with niggers. i want them to have the right i had. >> this is mr. outlaw. jones he is mr. outlaw the guard is at his side. are the three defendants indicted for the liutzo. of mrs. eaton and , william leroy wilkins. they had little to say. listening to their counsel. was red the tpheufrger race inferior and that was when i was in school. was not too long ago. >> they always have been.

> where do you think the money behind the civil rights party. jews.m the christ killing their relatives can be trailed back. role of the the catholics in this? >> reason the catholic can't get organization his first allegiance is not to the united states but to the pope. the church that should rule the government with the pope at the head and if they a bunch of ere's people in this country that are wrong. e have never had a drop of blood spilled between a white man and black that we had the doing ganized and we are our best to keep down trouble. everybody is -- organized with the exception of white protestant gentile. niggers have the naacp with trash and your knights of e and

columbus which is a secret fraternal order and nobody investigating that which they should. gentilewhite protestant the only hope they have left is of america lans incorporated. we saved the south twice and we again.ave to do it >> one more than ku klux klan official was not at this meeting klud or chaplain. there was one in action the night before. a bunch of people over here with cameras and their things. half of them ain't got tphufrb work.one to go to want to tell you fellas, you fellas over here they will print alf the story and not enough backbone to tell the truth. you are going to die and go to god. without ought to b.i.

investigate them. my name is roy and i'm not klansman. be a amen. klan klud in action a preacher, hellfire rouser. rabble he entertains with comedy and above all he ut preaches racial hatred. > you think children is grown up to mix black and white together. do you know your horse won't your cow and your dog would mate with your hog and you ay white people have [inaudible]. we need it turn it tpwogod. we had fore fathers died. barefooted in the snow to give us freedom and here

a set back because we have dictator in the white house, you ending your money there and ain't willing to stand,and willing to be counted. a man to stan. anybody can go to nigger town to adultery but it takes a man it stand for god and they farmers he raising hogs a you know when they have little pig she will try to protect them. have pups they protect them and you have white children in your yard and you are going to stand by and see them sold niggers. god has me it wake up and do what you have to do. own.ct your act like a decent person. if you don't want to do that hypocrite. go to nigger town and forget about it. -- born an was boston

100 years ago in pulaski, club.see as a social six years later they had a half the burning cross became a symbol to keep negroes place.ir in 1915 d.w. griffith produced length t great feature motion picture the birth of a nation whose subject was the ku klux klan. today it is still shown to other n as what generations did to protect white supremacy. these are scenes from the birth a nation. a chance witness of two white bed sheets a scaring negro children as of the as the birth idea for the klan. the idea is successful. obed and masked klansmen are able to frighten the negroes.

sought for he negro scaring a white girl and cause jump to her death kills a white man. captured the killer is taken woods and put on trial. the klan passes judgment. the culprit is killed and his deposited at the door of the lieutenant governor. in the same year the birth of a released a new leader rose to head the klan simmons leads his ollowers up stone mountain in

georgia for the first initiation ceremony. added something new to the union form a stylized facemask wear.he alone could he insisted the klan operate in total secrecy. klan's sinister power grew as new recruits joined some and the oercion activities increased. world st 14 months after war i 70 negroes were lynched, burned. n 1922 he could not overcome int intraklan difficulties and was eplaced by dr. hiram evans who treasury.a depleted in 1923 evans established headquarters in washington to be closer to congress. the klan's next target. the klan was so powerful in 1923 that it was able to elect the president of the

the senate and speaker of house. in ohio klan supported of idates became mayors toledo, akron, columbus and other cities. at the national democratic new york in 1924 it is estimated at least 350 klansmen and they were responsible for the deviate of smith as the democratic. business was big almost six million americans belonged to the klan and the $75 ization was grossing million a year. klansmen and women down pennsylvania avenue to help the klan coffers a flag catch money thrown by spectators. imperial 0's the was indicted ana on a number of charges and found

guilty. caused a sharp drop in klan membership. mild 0 there was a flirtation between the german american bund the believers in master race appear ku klux klan the believers of the supremacy of the white race. they joined at a camp in new jersey. there is evidence it the klan nazi friendship is being revived. this year had houston gerald was interviewed by ktrh and paid by check for his appearance. when the canceled check was returned it had been endorsed by head of the ell merican nazi party with a swastika. bill from eceived a internal tor of revenue for back taxes. nable to pay he disbanded the

klan. four years later his former glean dr. samuel reactivated the klan and many onverts were initiated motivated by a desire it keep place.ro in his in macon georgia he defended the new klan. don't hate the negro. god made him black and he made white. and you will find this laid out in the 11th chapter of genesis. which he segregated the races nd we knowing that for 5,000 years the white man has been the upreme race, we the knights intend to keep it the white race. today it differs in that they are willing to appear in their daylight.hoods in with the advent of the simple rights struggle it has become militant. some have paramilitary units such as this one in north

carolina. dragon jones security guards are trained to take care atanything that might happen khrpb klan rallies. hey sponsor softball teams since it can't be played in k.k.k. letters appear to remind the spectators this team pure white f 100% american protest attendaant bal players. sometimes they engage in more bizarre sport. the letters were carved with pen on the chest an stomach of this man in houston after he had his knees from an oak tree and flogged with a chain. he attorney general of alabama richmond flowers who is currently investigating the ku us. klan in his state told tkhraklan is a group primarily would use the civil rights issue to foster an

klan as they r a the law into ake their own hands. they have become more or less their own police power. they are a police group within themselves. defiance of law, violen violence. hey are as i have expressed it before, they are a hooded bunch f killers and night riders and flog e floggers that this nation and state has no use for whatsoever. >> the strengths of the ku klux klan is difficult to estimate. its many secrets is the actual membership total. students of klan affairs say at least 30 to 50,000 active members but there are as as a million or more americans who are strongly ympathetic to the aims of the klan and if pushed to a decision would join the klan. when a 100% pure white american citizen amaze for membership his

is carefully checked. if accepted he can then leave alienr the klan calls the world and become a member of the invisible empire. klan e first time in history cbs news cameras filmed art of a secret initiation ceremony in georgia. it had to be done with available ight and only parts of the ritual we could not film were the secret handshake, password y which they identify themselves to each other and the secret oath of allegiance to the the klan.uthority of this is the ceremony we filmed. >> i pledge allegiance to the lag of the united states of america and one nation under god

indivisible with liberty and justice for all. five appear before the group to president, ng lecturer, chaplain and secretary. presented by the k out by the checked investigating committee. before a shift altar the sword andss are flag and open bible is laid on the flag. a glass of water which is used to consecrate them completes the

symbolic a i -- array. >> an inner guard sits at the door. side is a outer guard. and two assistants report. waiting [inaudible].

>> you will resume your station. >> the men will approach. prayer.d to the man in god give us men who can stand [inaudible]. >> right face. hut.

face. >> this is the eyes of scrutiny initiation ceremony. klan members pass by them for look.st searching face.ht march.d, the initiates swear allegiance to the klan. secrecy and rich wuhl of the ritual have a grim ly serious purpose. t can hold sway over a community. hen men are initiated in neighbors won't know. fellow are deputies

officers won't know and fellow jurors won't know. this secret ak of si the klan can take over positions of influence and power. >> i beseech you by the mercy of god you present your body as a living sacrifice be transformed renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good will ceptable in perfect of god. torecognize our relationship the governor of the united states and constitution and nion of states and constitutional law thereof and faithful ver be truly to white supremacy and up hohol thereof in any and all things. are you a native been white american citizen? >> yes. >> do you believe in the christian religion? yes. > [inaudible]

>> yes. >> i ask you to kneel on your right knee. >> let us pray. on behalf of all lansmen assembled welcome to citizenship of the knights of the ku klux klan. five new klansmen are no longer part of the alien world. of the are members invisible empire entitled to and hood and have the secret handshake and

attend meetings and rallies such as this in dunn, north carolina. has many elements of a carnival. it is an outing for the family. attending at an early age. robles for the youngsters are follow mothers an pattern of adult hoods. they always have entertainers material is tailored for the audience. this one recites a poem. married a nigger and sin appears on the wedding and men stand there while ooking a the this strange robe [inaudible]. he e details and nights

[inaudible] [inaudible]. poem]ing a > the featured speaker is usually a well-known personality. at this rally it was the hraela murphy chief legal counsel. you this.tell because what to do they are about to pay the bill of your sufficiently rights and offense and they [inaudible]. head off thet your federal penitentiary. that is the way they call the shots. he doesn't do it or they will [inaudible]. > as extra added attraction he

introduced the three men indicted for the murder of liutzo.la boyr. eugene thomas and the who stood there leroy wilkins. [cheers and applause] befitting the occasion of a ku klux klan rally they were bee sieged by -- besieged by autograph hunters. klan members accused of crimes must be defended. paid and moneybe is required for operating salaries d leader which are as high as $1,500 a month. the money comes from and how much is a secret. initiationwn is that fees are between $10 and $25 and

dues are from $3 to $15. conservative estimate is the klan is a million dollar a year initiation fees, sales, individual contributions a klant can be raised by klud at a rally. >> you can afford to give $1,000. pay one man's salary. that might be a businessman. there he is. you could write a check for one salary to do nothing but settle up units throughout north carolina. you have, $10, walk do you know with it. do that? ou know we ought to be able tonight to come way on up the ladder.

this. going to count >> the men and >> ♪ the old rugged cross [indiscernible] >> ♪ and i love that old home [indiscernible] ♪

charles: what you are watching, 700 robed and hooded men marching around a burning cross, took place in the united states in 1965. ♪ >> ♪ to the old rugged cross i will ever be true ♪ [indiscernible] charles: klan leaders are sensitive about the reputation the klan as for intimidation and violence. in attempt to arrange this image, they have adopted a new policy which in effect says look at us. we are a fraternal organization. we have nothing to hide. imperial wizards and grand dragons no longer avoid the press.

klan leaders sport crew cuts, buttoned down collars, and well-tailored suits. the most publicized and best organized klan leader is imperial leader robert shelton of the united clans knights of kkk. shelton spends much of his time in his tuscaloosa, alabama office, constantly listening to recordings of dr. martin luther king junior while he looks at pictures of civil rights demonstrators. those he can identify are circled and filed. he explains why. robert: we have an organization called the kbi, the klan bureau of investigation. charles: the klan says it does not advocate intimidation or harassment or violence, that it is a peaceful organization. let us take a look at some proven klan activities. in the small community of gray, georgia, the only movie theater in town permitted negroes to sit in the balcony. the klan decided this was not a

healthy thing for the white people, and every friday night, 50 car loads of klansmen circled the theater. today the movie house gray, georgia is closed. a victory of the klan. further examples of klan intimidation were uncovered in a lawsuit in new orleans. the hearing revealed that in bogalusa,oko loser, louisiana, sometimes called called klantown usa in of the city's 19,000 klan members were city policemen. the city attorney was himself identified as a klansman. the powerful klan moved this year against radio station wbox, who invited former arkansas congressman to make a speech on race relations in bogalusa. they made hundreds of calls.

the effect was immediate. 75% of the commercials were canceled. wbox is still broadcasting but at a loss. although the klan says it has respect for law and order, there are records of countless crimes which some klansmen performed for reasons they deemed proper. judge daniel duke, who has bought the klan for 25 years in georgia, tells how the klan demonstrated its own kind of justice. george duke: they would have the klokann committee or the committee that administered the floggings. one would get on one side of this man who was doubled up with his wrists handcuffed to his ankles, who had been taken from his home. he thought by a legal warrant, and who had, unknown to him, been reported by someone to be a labor organizer, and they equated that to communism, and then they equated that to race mixing. and they would usually equate

that to say some jewish person was back of it. and the multiplicity of things, anything that appealed to hate, prejudice -- they took this man, and they beat him unmercifully. charles: the ku klux klan does not stop at floggings. at years ago in birmingham, alabama, the klansmen conducted the most heinous crime short of murder. they abducted this man and castrated him. >> they hit me in the back of the head, told me to lay down, they'll grabbed me, and stretch me out. one stood on this arm and one stood on this one. one caught my legs and spread them apart. then he got help from the other one, and they spread my legs apart. the boss ordered him to do your way, and they went to cutting on me. when they got through cutting me, they put turpentine on me

and said i wasn't hollering, put turpentine on me to make it hurt more. i don't believe they are human. charles: but not only individuals suffer at the hands of the klan. sometimes whole cities are victims. in one large city, there is evidence that klan-inspired violence touched off one of the most vicious racial riots in recent history. the place was st. augustine, florida. this klansman was responsible primarily for what happened. reverend ronnie lynch is the most effective rabble-rouser and preacher of bigotry that the klan has to offer. rev. lynch: most people would kill if you put a jersey bullet in a white girl. but i have to fight to protect the white man. they tell me i do not have the right to fight. they said it was going to be settled in the bedroom. i got news for them. there may be some bedroom cases, all right, but when the smoke clears away, there won't be no bedroom cases. charles: little rock,

birmingham, bogalusa, connie lynch was there. and when racial violence was predicted for saint augustine, florida, connie lynch went there too. negroes were trying to integrate the bathing beaches, and the florida advisory committee to the u.s. civil rights commission warned that the city was becoming a racial super bomb with a short fuse. >> when the police stand up on the corners and hit the black fellas standing on the corner, -- [indiscernible] that is hate. [shouting] charles: the tempo of violence increased rapidly. the klan paraded in the streets, unmindful of the rain. >> and i will say this to the stooges that want to take us back to the enemy and all of niggers and all of their cohorts, we white people are going to rise to 40 million strong. [cheers and applause] charles: on the night of june 25, 1964, the fuse burned down, and the racial bomb exploded.

st. augustine was the scene of a frightening riot. scores of people were injured, 19 hospitalized. connie lynch had done his work. rev. lynch: i spoke for the white people. the while people rallied behind it, and we kicked the living hell out of the niggers, kicked them back to their hometowns. they all then, the niggers of saint augustine went quiet and went back over where they belonged. charles: these examples of klu klux klan activity are not unusual. for the past 100 years, the invisible empire, the self-proclaimed second national government, has reserved to itself police authority and the right to correct what it considers wrong. although some klansmen have been apprehended and tried for their crimes, the fact remains that the perpetrators of more than 225 bombings and 1000 acts of

racial acts of violence, reprisal, and intimidation have not been arrested. the problem is that law enforcement itself is often in the hands of authorities who either belong to or sympathize with the ku klux klan. the publisher of "the atlanta constitution," ralph mcgill, explains why citizens are powerless to protest in such situations. ralph: in the small community, you too often find that the sheriff is a member, or that the deputies are members, and the poor white man, or more particularly the poor negro in a small community, he well knows that the law isn't going to help him because the law is more often than not in the klan or sympathetic with it in a small southern community. charles: the klan is not a single, strongly organized group. it is composed of splinter groups fighting each other for new members and new territory. on memorial day weekend, robert

shelton's chief rival, james venable, head of the nationals knights of the kkk, took his klan north to a side 25 miles from cincinnati, ohio. both venable and shelton believed the whites in the north , worried about negro civil rights demands in their own communities, are really to embrace the klan. this was the first open klan rally in ohio in more than 30 years. the fact that the klan is getting bolder was demonstrated by the site which was selected, right alongside super highway 75. klan robes, many of which had been stored away for years, were put out for an airing. since the building of a cross for the klan ritual requires skill, out of stators volunteered to hammered the cross pieces, wrapped the burlap carefully, and then soaked their handiwork with gasoline and motor oil. five pounds of oil for every foot of the cross. [indiscernible]

charles: the klan added a new touch to attract crowds. a skydiving show with parachute jumpers releasing klan flags and then landing on klan-blessed land. the northern most penetration of the klan took place last month near cleveland, ohio. all cars headed for the rally were searched for weapons. police confiscated high-powered rifles, shotguns, and pistols. there were the usual preparations, including the raising of the cross. at a nearby restaurant, men lined up to get applications for membership in imperial wizard venable's knights of the ku klux klan. men and women,5 kept at a safe distance, picketed the meeting. the burning of the cross was the high point of this rally. only 21 miles from cleveland. does the invisible empire have a

right to continue its activities either in the north or the south? in our democracy, freedom of speech must be accorded this organization. klansmen have a right to meet and wear uniforms. if the klan is a fraternal order, it should enjoy the privileges of other orders. but the truth is that among all such organizations, only the klan has a history of violence. lawmakers have not ignored the klan. 22 states have passed laws prohibiting the wearing of masks in public, and 52 southern communities have outlawed masks and cross burnings. but even these laws have been ineffective. klansmen can still legally wear masks and burn crosses on private property. they still intimidate and harass citizens. now the office of the attorney general is working on new anti-klan legislation. attorney general katzenbach was asked what form the legislation might take. ag katzenbach: well, i think it

could take a number of forms. one would be to follow the analogy with respect to the communist party, and to seek full disclosure of their membership and a listing of the klan and its members and its officers as a glare of publicity. another approach, perhaps a better approach, would be to follow the pattern of the existing laws, but to expand their scope of federal jurisdiction under them and to increase the penalties under them so that the federal government could get a more deep involvement. charles: we have put up with the klan for 100 years in this country. how long is it going to take for us to see the end of the klan? ag katzenbach i don't know when : we will see the end of the

klan. i think the end of the klan of -- as any kind of an effective organization of any sort at all -- is within sight. i doubt that the klan is going to be a very effective force anywhere 10 years from now. charles: earlier in this program, we showed reverend roy woodahl, a klan klud, in action. a few days ago, woodahl quit. at his home in north carolina we , asked him why. rv. woodahl: well, if people would just check the record and see who is leading the klan, what are they, and what do they stand for? that would be a logical question. so take take any individual, if he be in the klan or out, check the leadership. say for example we have people was painter contractors. as far as i know, failures. we have people who was insurance agency. far as i know, failures. we know people with concrete

business, as far as i know, failures. and such as that. just failed out and flunked out, could not promote leadership, and lost out everything they had. when they couldn't find nothing else to do, they made him a klan leader. charles: after every klan meeting, they go around and collect money. what happens to that money? where does it go? woodahl: as far as we know, it all finds its way into the pockets of leaders now. if you know any -- i don't myself as an individual, i just could not tell you now. we know that they do take up money every rally. now we know that. the news knows it. everybody there knows it. they pass their buckets around , and they do take up money. but as far as we know, that is the end of it. we don't have no record or nothing else as far as i know now. somebody else may know something i don't know. all we know is people ride around, lives in their motels, drives their cadillac, eats the ribeye steak, and laughs at the

poor people as they go by. charles: whatever happens to the klu klux klan will not finally happen in washington. it will happen in those small towns of the south, whose natural spirit of justice and generosity has been damped. it is leaders have fallen silent. if the klan prospers, it will draw its strength from such communities. if the klan falls, it will be because one man and then another in such places have made up their own minds that a free society cannot co-exist with an invisible empire. this is charles curalt, good night. ♪

narrator: "the klu klux klan: the invisible empire" was filmed and edited by the staff of cbs report under the supervision and control of cbs news. ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ >> coming up this weekend on american history tv on c-span3, america," a 1950's film

on the detroit news. >> in some things, we are liberal, an in others, where conservative. our readersto give information from which they can sort their own opinion. eastern, at 11:00 a.m. author robert sutton on the integration of new england abolitionists to kansas. amost: particularly lawrence, does that name sounds familiar? he was so upset that he wrote a letter to his uncle, and in the letter, he said, "we went to bed old-fashioned conservatives and wake up start matt abolitionists. historian spencer crew

on the great migration of african-americans from the rural south to various north and west after world war i. supply had a lack to the munitions and supplies for the war effort. we found the people, and for the fort time ever, the mission african-americans began to become available. >> american history tv, all weekend, every weekend, only on c-span3. this year marks the 100 anniversary of buffalo bill's death, and the buffalo bill cody, wyoming hosted a symposium. western historian paul hutton

delivered the keynote address. he described how william cody, best known as buffalo bill, became a symbol of the frontier and the american perception of western culture. this is just over an hour. >> welcome, everyone, to the final event of what has been a terrific three days. you know when you start to plan these things, and you think we will have this person and that person, and we will do all this stuff. there was this moment when we started to put the program on the paper and went, we have 36 different speakers on this thing. and it became, exceeded our expectations certainly. and so thank you to everyone for all of their terrific presentations. thanks very much. [applause] >> and this won't be the last you will have heard from the gathered scholars. we are going to compile and edit a new volume in our william f. cody series of the american west with the uniit