he said " i am a member of the ku klux klan." i burst out laughing at him! i know a lot about the klan. it doesn't work that way. i thought this guy was pulling a joke on me. he took out his wallet and handed me his klan membership card. i stopped laughing, but the guy was generally friendly, generally interested in me. we talked about the kln and soman -- klan other things, but he gave me his card and told me to call him when i would be playing at this bar again so he could call his friends. i call him. when i called, he brought klansmen to see me play. they would get ther -- out there and dance. a couple of them would it up and move across the room. " we do not want to touch you, we just want to look at you." that is how that started. later, i decided to write a book on the klan. i wanted to interview these people, go down south, midwest, interview different klan members, and find out " how can you hate me when you don't even know me?' that was the basis for clandestine relationships. that became the first book written by a black author on the ku klux klan.

nathan bedford forrest was the first member of the ku klux klan.led the massacre of black union soldiers who had already surrendered. he is someone who was ardent in his beliefs of white supremacist as he. and this bust of him was put in the tennessee state legislature in 1978. that 1870 -- not 1878. there is no way to understand -- that is like when i talk about the relationship between public policy and symbolism. putting up a bust of the first grand wizard of the ku klux klan and confederate army general, there is no way to understand that without having it reflect a set of ideologies, priorities and policies that would be pushed and espoused and advocated by people whose interest is, in some ways, represented by the head of this man they intentionally placed in the space. host: let's hear from don from new orleans. go ahead. caller: love the book festival, love c-span and the library of congress peered we need to have more books to read. i have the issue of slavery, and we talk about thomas jefferson and his dominance of the african people, in

nathan bedford forrest was the first grand wizard of the ku klux klan. he was a general in the confederate army led the massacre of black union soldiers who would already surrendered. he is someone who was ardent in his beliefs of white supremacy. and this bust of him was put up in the tennessee state legislature in 1970. not 1878. 191860. i believe. i believe it was 1970 around there. and so there is the way to understand this is what i talk about the relationship between public policy and symbolism. is that putting up a bust of the first grand wizard of the ku klux klan and a general in the confederate army, there's a way to understand that without also having to reflect a set of ideologies, priorities, and policies that would be pushed and espoused and sorted advocated by people whose interest is, in some ways, represented by the head of this man who they are intentionally placed in that space. >> host: let's hear from don calling in from new orleans. go ahead, don. >> caller: yes. love the book festival your love c-span book festival and the library

justice department with the project of being able to protect new and free people against thea ku klux klan other forms of white racial and political violence against republicans and of all people. i imagine the equal protection, extending legal protection clause opposes an interesting challenge of the effort to protect the individual p liberty and it's a little bit like people wanting to do this before and the action and inaction. you didn't want to say that. that's out there entirely and there's no distinction between the state on the one hand and the public with the private and instead you introduce an interesting three part category, which we have public and governmental. public and nongovernmental and private and nongovernmental and these are categories i hadn't encountered before in my reading in this space and i imagine what's going on there and start inviting the state to manage between private parties and it's a complicated line for you and private sphere and stage management on your part. >> i think you're absolutely right toth call attention to the three categories and about to g

lights are johnson's father and uncle stood awake on their porch with arms at the ready in case the ku klux klan came. they defied the ku klux klan, refusing to yield to their racist and bigoted wishes, and i think that with a lesson to lyndon johnson, too. in many respects, lyndon johnson is our civil rights president. there is nobody with the possible exception of abraham lincoln who does more for the cause of civil right thing lyndon johnson. at least, as president. >> the role of ladybird in lyndon johnson's political career. >> there is no question that she was an absolutely indispensable asset to him. she was somebody you could rely on completely, could trust completely. she knew how he thought. she knew his heart. she knew his mind. i think in many ways, lyndon johnson let his demons roam knowing that they would be quietly warded off by lady bird johnson, who would summon the better angels of his nature. she could be relied on to do so. often, she saw the very worst in him and would expel all the while. his greatest doubts about himself, knowing that she would talk him off the ledge. but

and a newly formed ku klux klan. the president of the convention made it clear that their goal was to circumvent the 15th amendment, which prohibited the government from denying a citizen the right to vote based on race. and let's tell the truth of it 1st. the bottom of the university said we came here to exclude and other convention, delegates confirmed this notion mm. mississippi's constitution of 18. 90 included a poll tax and a literacy test that effectively prevented generations of black citizens from voting until the passage of the voting rights act. some 75 years later it was in this political climate that the flag of 1894 was born. ah, a flag draped the fire on the flags all over the street. you know, because i got the, the horizontal limbs hanging out. so i was like, wow, that's why i grew up. so i'm a true blooded, southern mississippi, southern man. right. and, and accept it. and i are relish in it because that's who i am. that's who i, where my family has came from. my family as live in the state of missi

precisely the failure of the parts on southern states to act in order to protect people from the ku klux klanoth the formerly enslaved people in their white allies against systematic violence. so, while the court claim is not new we do make an effort to reckon with that history and to show just how centrally important it was to those who ratified the 14th amendment into law and those who consider them their ideological successors to ensure congress could act if they failed to protect people in respect to their civil rights. >> one of the great virtues of the book is the statutory history of the klan act, reinforcement act these are all pieces of legislation by which congress tried to take this new thing, the 14th amendment and enact legislation to create the justice department at the same time with the project of being able to protect newly freed people against the ku klux klan and other forms of right white racial and violence against republicans, against the newly freed black o people. that'ss a wonderful part of the book. i think the reason why it struck me as i imagine the equal protectio

just at the same time with the project of being able to protect newly freed people against the ku klux klanother forms of white racial and political violence against republicans, against newly freed black people. that's a wonderful part of the book. i think the reason why it struck me is i imagine that the equal protection, extending equal protection clause oppose an interesting challenge for the effort to protect individual liberty, a challenge a little bit like that runs along following lines. you didn't want to say some people who have done this before say but there's a difference between action and interaction. you didn't want to say that. you also didn't want to challenge the state action doctrine entirely and say that there is no distinction between the state on the one hand, the public and instead the private. instead you introduce an interesting three-part set of categories which we have a public and governmental, public and nongovernmental, and private and nongovernmental. these are categories that i had not encountered before in my reading in the space and imagine that what is goi

there's a continued throughout the country the creation of the ku klux klan, the red shirts, who are a version that in south carolina, i talk in book it was very hard to write about this about riots in memphis, tennessee. we're not only in memphis, colfax and elsewhere, not only are hundreds of homes burned, thousands of people injured. but in these riots, often led by white sheriffs and business people, in these riots, quite often women are multiple, multiple times raped in public in fact, as a of white power. one congressional investigator and committee which the congress committees don't think that committees don't matter invest matter because they provide us with a historical if nothing else. the congressional committee investigations reported that it seemed as if rape was being used as a flagrant macina for intimidating all african-americans and any of their supporters in this region, this is the world after the civil war. now, while this is happening, the winners the good guys continue to push. well, it's not a one sided story. i write in the book about the extraordinary re act

we chose -- we all think we know the south, the civil war, gone with the wind, the ku klux klan, plantationsery, football, but in "south to america" imani perry shows that the meaning of being american is linked to the south, and that our understanding and its history and culture is the key to understanding the nation in its entirety. imani perry is that hughes rogers professor of african american studies at princeton university. she is author of many award-winning books as well as awards including the 2019 biography prize on the pan-american foundation. dr. perry a native of birmingham, alabama, grew up in cambridge, massachusetts, and chicago and currently lives in philadelphia. please welcome lee haber and doctor imani perry. [applause] >> welcome. so pleased to be here. i'm going to put my book down over here. so thank you, everybody, for coming, first of all. it's just, you know, a pleasure to be here and to be speaking about this wonderful book today. so i guess the first thing is that we sent out, we reach we do something about whether florida is considered part of the deep south, and

nathan bedford forrest west for the ku klux klan in general the army who led metzger black union strongundred soldiers who already surrendered any with somebody who was in his white supremacy. as for them the tennessee state legislature in 1978, and 1878, not eating cz you know believe it was nothing 78 or around there so there is no way to understand this what we want to talk about the relationship between la policy bring about boston first wizard and in general in the confederate army understandway to that without also having it reflect a sense of ideology, priorities, and policies that would be pushed and espoused sort of advocated by people whose interest is in some ways represented by the head of this man who they very intentionally place in that space. >> let's hear from don comingm n from new orleans, clint smith's hometown ago i had don. >> yes, i love the book festival, on c-span festival library of smoke festival and we need to have more books to read, open libraries. in the issue of slavery, and transcontinental slave trade which is questioned by my mathematics, was about tho

we think we know the south, civil war, gone with the wind, ku klux klan, patience, slavery, football. but in c-span.org imani perry shows the meaning of being american is linkedto the south and that's our understanding and its history and culture is the key to understanding the nation in its entirety . imani perry is professor of african-american studies at princeton university. anshe's the author of many award-winning books as well as awards including the 2019 biography prize from the pen american foundation. doctor perry, a native of birmingham alabama in ridge massachusetts in chicago and currently lives in philadelphia. please welcome lee haber and doctor imani perry. [applause] >> welcome, it's great to be here. i'm going to set my books down over here. so thank you everybody for coming first of all. it's just a pleasure to be here and to have this wonderful book today. the first thing is that we did something about whether florida is considered part of the deep south and it started a threadthat was interesting . >> it was. >> so imani what would you say in answer to that questio

not the first time trump said that, he claimed that when he was asked about david duke, former ku klux klan>> just so you understand, i don't know david duke, okay? i don't know what you're talking about whit seupremacy and white supremacists. i don't know. i know nothing about david duke and i know nothing about white supremacists. >> after charlottesville when he said there were fine people on both sides. there was the proud boys when he talked about the proud boys and he said stand back and stand by during a presidential debate. what has he offered in terms of an explanation? >> he has trieded to clean this up a couple of times now on truth social just in the last 24 hours, and i want to read you what he said. this past week kanye west called me to have dinner at mar-a-lago. shortly thereafter, he unexpectly showed up with three of his friends whom i knew nothing about and we had din or the back patio. the dinner was quick and uneventful and they then left for the airport and in a subsequent post think because kanye west has been engulfed in controversy over his anti-semitic remarks, tru

the ku klux klan probably had a dozen senators who were democrats. my party drove them out. went to the party of barack obama. ronald reagan helped to drive the john birch society out of the republican party. created the moderate conservative movement and made them dominant. republicans have to do that again. they have to drive these extremists out. if that includes donald trump and i think it does, it will be good for the republicans, good for america. >> thinking about this, too, taking a step back, you have of course this dinner. but you also have, we are all focusing on the idea of steven miller testifying. steven miller is the first known witness if i'm not mistaken to testify since the doj appointed a special council. >> it gets you close to the former president. the problem is we are not going to know what he said. and frankly, if anything that he provided the grand jury was all that useful or if he felt he had criminal exposure and just fled the fifth the whole time. but, it is a very senior staffer to the former president coming in and talking to a grand jury. every

. >> david duke, former grand wizard of the ku klux klan.ill cassidy's tweet. he was responding to the trump dinner saying this is not who the republican party is. but here's the thing. we just listened to george bush. it might not be who the republican party was. but it's absolutely who they are today. >> yeah. listening to that clip from president bush is like an artifact from a lost civilization. and that campaign, they got a former republican governor to run the campaign against republican david too. it's -- look. where the party is now, though, is not surprising. go back to when trump called for a complete ban on muslims. and noma in the party or very few said anything. this is just what happens when you don't believe anything. you allow whoever says they will help you get elected just for power to take over. and that's what the republican party has done. we used to say, i don't know, some of us believe that, it turned out to be completely false, but that character is destiny. that's what happened to the republican party. the character

the ku klux klan borrows the template of the freemasonry.most interestingly beginning and southern italy in the early 19th century space exactly template made its way from the political sphere into the criminal sphere that man you can see there in the green jersey in 2008 was the last man to aspire i never none on. as all of the other members of the ruling commission of the time. the man as it happened next to him, then colonel monai chino, general mineo g, a friend of mine who worked a lot and knows a lot of people involved. lucas american sister organization is a sworn secret brotherhood, members of organizations join families it's a metaphor not mean it's all related. it's a metaphor for how closely knit they are does not mean they're all none on. those families and cells of the organization like masonic lodges but like being a member of the masonic lodge you also become a member of a wider network with contacts particularly across the atlantic and that is when the secrets. initiation, codes and rituals and so on it is unmistakably stole

justice department and for a few years it did that ulysses grant's presidency led to the end of the ku klux klan, for example, and that was law enforcement that enforced laws in a nonpartisan can way. we've done this i think to some extent after january six, which is where i opened my book with the interact zone of january six, 2021, more than 900 people have been prosecuted breaking into the capitol that have been prosecuted because the prosecutors are democrats or republicans they've been prosecuted because they objectively broke the law. and we have people who are trained by law enforcement judges and law enforcement prosecutors, and that's their job. and they would prosecute a democrat or republican who broke into the capitol and they, of course, should prosecute people in that way. we have shown capacity even in very areas to develop and incentivize certain institutions to as much as possible not act in political ways, but act in ways that match up basic legal standards that we have applied throughout our society. if we didn't do that, our airplanes would fall out of the sky. right? our air

back to the 1970s, and really the rise of the paramilitary side of groups affiliated with the ku klux klanaramilitary training, and then that activity was highlighted by law enforcement, it was charged largely at the state level, and some folks were punished for that, and some of these sites were shut down. that prompted a change -- not the eradication of the we have to be more covert. but the underlying extremist beliefs will not go away. >> there's a lot of parallels to the way terrorist organizations organize themselves. >> it's the idea of a conspiracy, and overthrow the election. are there lessons from these convictions here that tell us any about the potential investigations? >> absolutely. there's show waves through the communities of future defendants. the current defendants are the proud boys trial, the second oath keepers trials, they're reevaluating their defenses right now. for those folks who may be on a next round of indictments, people at the higher levels of people responsible for the damage for the order nicing of that rally. they have to say, here's a guy who god punished