KKK USA

The 1960s were a turbulent time in American

history, marked by significant social and political upheaval. Amid the civil rights movement and calls for racial equality, a darker resurgence was taking place in North Carolina. The PBS American Experience episode, *"Klansville U.S.A., Chapter 1,"* sheds light on the rapid growth of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in this southern state under the leadership of Grand Dragon Bob Jones. 

Bob Jones emerged as the most influential Grand Dragon in the United States during the early 1960s. In just three years, he transformed the North Carolina Klan from a small, fragmented group into a powerful organization boasting approximately 10,000 members. This explosive growth earned North Carolina the chilling nickname "Klansville, USA," highlighting the state's central role in the Klan's national resurgence.

Bob Jones

The episode explores how this expansion did not go unnoticed. As the Klan's influence grew, so did federal scrutiny. The FBI began closely monitoring the group's activities, recognizing the threat it posed to civil rights and public safety. This attention marked the beginning of a broader effort to curb the Klan's intimidation tactics and violent actions. 

KKK

But still there numbers where so many it was har to keep track of all there actions and other minorities especially African Americans where still kept in fear of another attack no knowing when it would happen. Overall even today there are still signs of Klan activity and the history behind the white robes show the dark side of American history that we cannot forget because if we do we are doomed to repeat it.

Final blog prompt

Starting college can feel overwhelming, but participating in our Summer Advantage program gave me the tools and confidence I needed to succeed. This pre-semester program focuses on three essential areas that every incoming student should master: academic preparation, communal living, and time management.

The Summer Advantage program allowed students to earn eight

credits before the fall semester, giving us a significant head start on our degree requirements. We became familiar with our course loads and academic expectations in college, learning firsthand how different the workload is from high school. Most importantly, we learned the locations of classrooms and key campus buildings ahead of time, eliminating the stress of getting lost during our first official week.

The program provided early opportunities to meet future classmates, roommates, and suitemates, creating bonds that would prove invaluable during stressful times. Forming friend groups before the school year helped ease the social transition into college life, making campus feel less intimidating and more like home. Living in shared spaces taught us about communal living, compromise, and respecting differences, while early experience with a roommate helped us navigate personal boundaries and shared responsibilities. 

Summer Advantage fostered improved time management skills,

teaching us to balance academic responsibilities and personal time effectively. We learned the importance of making mature decisions, understanding that college consequences carry more weight than in high school. Learning to say “no” to social invitations when necessary helped us maintain focus and protect our academic success, while the program highlighted the independence of college life and the need for self-motivation.

Perhaps most importantly, we realized that professors do not monitor attendance closely, making personal accountability essential. Attending classes and completing assignments on time became our own responsibility, preparing us for the self-directed nature of college learning.

This foundation has been invaluable as I continue my college journey.

In the heat of the night

 The heat of the night was such a heart taking movie that really showed

a piece of history in the USA. Virgil had the task of helping an all white police force who discriminates him and beats him cause he I black. Soon they realize he is African American police man and is one of the best in Philadelphia. In the Heat of the Night made me feel both sad and hopeful at the same time.

The movie was really hard to watch because of all the racism. Virgil

IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT

Tibbs gets treated terribly just because he’s Black, and you can see how unfair everything is. The murder case is scary and violent, and watching people be so mean to Tibbs made me angry. It showed how bad things were in the South back then.

But the movie also had some good parts. Even though Chief Gillespie starts out being racist, he slowly begins to respect Tibbs. You can see him changing his mind little by little. When Tibbs says “They call me MISTER Tibbs!” it was in thereally powerful. He was standing up for himself and showing that he deserved respect.

By the end of the movie, Gillespie and Tibbs actually work together and seem to understand each other better. It made me think that even when people have different backgrounds and don’t like each other at first, they can still learn to get along if they try.

The movie was definitely heavy and made me think about serious problems. But it also gave me hope that people can change and treat each other better. Even though racism is still a big problem, the movie showed that individuals can make a difference by respecting each other.

Overall, I think it left me feeling more hopeful than sad, even though parts of it were really tough to watch.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ I do recommend it to many to watch the movie cause it can be really educational to most and show the impacts of racism in America then.

The Edmund Pettus Bridge: Bloody Sunday - March 7, 1965

 The Edmund Pettus Bridge: Bloody Sunday - March 7, 1965

On a crisp Sunday morning in Selma, Alabama, 600 peaceful protesters gathered at Brown Chapel AME Church, preparing for a 54-mile march to Montgomery to demand voting rights. Led by 25-year-old John lewis and Hosea Williams, the marchers carried bedrolls and supplies, walking in double file through Selma’s streets toward the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

As they approached the steel arch bridge spanning the Alabama River, tension filled the air. The bridge’s curved design meant the marchers couldn’t see what awaited them until they reached the top. When they crested the bridge, a chilling sight greeted them: a wall of Alabama state troopers in gas masks, flanked by Sheriff Jim Clark’s mounted posse.

Major John Cloud commanded the marchers to disperse, giving them two minutes. Within one minute, without waiting for the deadline, he barked: “Troopers, advance!” What followed was a coordinated assault that shocked the nation. State troopers fired tear gas canisters directly into the crowd while officers on horseback rode down fleeing protesters. Nightsticks and bullwhips cracked against defenseless marchers.

John Lewis suffered a fractured skull but continued helping others. Amelia Boynton was beaten unconscious, her photograph becoming an iconic image of the brutality. Nearly 60 marchers were hospitalized as the attack continued across the bridge and into Selma’s streets.

ABC interrupted its Sunday night movie to broadcast the violence live. Americans watched in horror as peaceful citizens were brutally beaten for seeking basic constitutional rights. The images galvanized national support and directly led to President Johnson’s push for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law five months later.

The brutal attack created lasting trauma for participants and the broader civil rights community. Many activists developed psychological wounds that never fully healed, while others became too frightened to continue their involvement. The violence exposed deep strategic divisions within the movement, particularly after Martin Luther King Jr.’s controversial decision to turn back during “Turnaround Tuesday.”

Economic retaliation devastated Selma’s Black community. Participants lost jobs, faced eviction, and saw their businesses boycotted. The national attention also triggered intensified white supremacist violence across the South, making civil rights work exponentially more dangerous. 

The media focus on dramatic violence sometimes overshadowed the movement’s deeper organizing strategies and goals. Additionally, the rapid passage of the Voting Rights Act created a false impression that the struggle was largely over, leading to decreased donations and volunteer participation when sustained effort was still desperately needed.

The federal intervention strengthened states’ rights arguments and contributed to long-term political backlash that would later fuel the Republican Party’s “Southern Strategy,” ultimately hindering future civil rights progress.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Green book

Green Book absolutely shattered me, and I’m still processing the

emotional weight of watching two completely different men discover they’re more alike than they ever imagined. If segregation was still  thing this is what I would imagine what would never come to happen that is American culture would be unrecognizably impoverished - no jazz, blues, rock, hip-hop, R&B, or gospel. Literature would lack voices like Baldwin, Morrison, Hughes. Theater and film would miss transformative performances and perspectives that shaped our national identity.

Tony Vallelonga and Dr. Don Shirley couldn’t have been more different on paper. Tony was a street-smart bouncer from the Bronx who solved problems with his fists, while Dr. Shirley was a refined classical pianist who lived above Carnegie Hall in elegant isolation. When Tony took the job as Dr. Shirley’s driver for a tour through the Jim Crow South, neither expected anything beyond a professional arrangement.

What broke my heart was watching their walls crumble through the smallest, most human moments. Tony teaching Dr. Shirley how to eat fried chicken with his hands wasn’t just about food – it was about letting someone into your world. Dr. Shirley helping Tony write love letters to his wife showed a vulnerability that transcended their employer-employee relationship.

The transformation happened gradually. Tony began seeing the daily

humiliations Dr. Shirley endured – being denied entry to restaurants where he performed, having to use separate facilities, facing constant dehumanization. Meanwhile, Dr. Shirley discovered Tony’s fierce loyalty and genuine heart beneath the tough exterior.

By the time Dr. Shirley showed up at Tony’s family Christmas dinner, they weren’t boss and employee anymore. They were family. Two men who had filled the emptiness in each other’s lives without even realizing it.

The most beautiful truth Green Book revealed is that real understanding doesn’t come from good intentions or political correctness it comes from spending time together, sharing stories, and recognizing our shared humanity. Sometimes the most unlikely friendships teach us the most about ourselves and the world around us.

EOTO1 Reflection

Reconstruction period

The Reconstruction era (1865-1877) represents one of America’s most complex and pivotal periods—a time when the nation attempted to rebuild itself after the Civil War while grappling with fundamental questions about freedom, citizenship, and civil rights.

Constitutional Revolution

The Reconstruction Amendments transformed American law forever.

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, the 14th granted citizenship and equal protection to all born or naturalized Americans, and the 15th prohibited voting discrimination based on race. These amendments laid the groundwork for modern civil rights legislation, though their enforcement would prove challenging.

The Freedmen’s Bureau: A Beacon of Hope

Despite being underfunded and understaffed with never more than 900 agents, the Freedmen’s Bureau achieved remarkable things. It aided 4 million freed African Americans transitioning to freedom, provided medical care to over 1 million people, and supported historically Black colleges like Clark Atlanta University and Fisk University. The Bureau helped locate separated family members, assisted Black soldiers in obtaining back pay, and administered confiscated Southern lands.

Groundbreaking Political Leadership

This era saw unprecedented Black political representation. Joseph Rainey became the first African American in the House of Representatives (1870-1877), advocating for civil rights and opposing the KKK. Hiram Revels, of mixed African and Native descent, served as the first African American U.S. Senator (1870-1871), later becoming Alcorn University’s first president.

The Dark Response

Unfortunately, progress met violent resistance. The KKK emerged to undermine Reconstruction through terrorism, committing nearly 200 murders in one year in the Carolinas alone. Black Codes systematically restricted freedoms through vagrancy laws, debt peonage, and denial of basic civil rights, effectively re-establishing control through legal loopholes.

The Reconstruction era’s legacy reminds us that progress requires

constant vigilance—and that the fight for equality is never truly finished. Understanding Reconstruction helps us recognize patterns that persist today. The era’s successes—constitutional protections, educational institutions, and political representation—created lasting foundations for civil rights. Yet the violent resistance and legal circumvention of these advances reveal how deeply entrenched systems of oppression can adapt and persist. As we continue working toward true equality, Reconstruction serves as both inspiration for what’s possible and a sobering reminder of the ongoing struggle required to protect democratic progress.

The Legal Fight Against Segregation: Homer Plessy’s Case (1896) EOTO1

May it please the Court:

I’m here today representing Homer plessy , a Louisiana citizen arrested for sitting in a railroad car. Not for stealing, not for violence, but for violating Louisiana’s Separate Car Act—a law that forces racial segregation based purely on skin color.

The Constitution Says No to Segregation

The Fourteenth Amendment couldn’t be clearer: “No State shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This was written after our Civil War specifically to guarantee equal treatment regardless of race. Louisiana’s law violates this by forcing different treatment based solely on ancestry—something no person can control.

The state claims “separate but equal” satisfies the Constitution. This is legal fiction. Separation itself brands one race as unfit to associate with another, creating an official badge of inferiority that makes true equality impossible.

This Is Just Slavery in Disguise

The Thirteenth amendment didn’t just end slavery—it ended slavery’s “badges of servitude.” During slavery, masters forced enslaved people into separate quarters and facilities. Louisiana’s law continues this same racial hierarchy. If we allow states to segregate by race, we’re letting slavery’s core principle return through legal trickery.

Integration Actually Works

History proves racial integration works. From 1865 to 1877, integrated schools and public facilities operated successfully throughout the South. The 1875 civil rights act guaranteed equal access to public accommodations, and society didn’t collapse. Integration worked when supported by law—problems only arise when legal barriers are erected.

“Separate but Equal” Is a Lie

Evidence from Louisiana and other segregated states proves “separate but equal” is impossible. Accommodations for Negroes are systematically inferior—older cars, less comfort, less safety. This isn’t accidental; it’s inevitable when the politically powerful majority controls resources.

Even if facilities were identical, enforced separation creates inequality. When the state officially declares Negro citizens can’t share accommodations with white citizens, it makes a pronouncement of racial hierarchy that no physical equality can fix.

This Betrays American Democracy

Louisiana’s law contradicts our founding principles. The Declaration of Independence says “all men are created equal”—not just white men. Our democracy depends on all citizens having equal rights before the law.

Mr. Plessy pays taxes supporting Louisiana’s railroads but is denied equal access to accommodations his tax dollars help maintain. This is taxation without equal representation—the very principle that sparked our 

Revolution.

A Dangerous Precedent

If this Court allows Louisiana to segregate railroad cars by race, where does it end? If race determines access to public transportation, what stops states from segregating by religion, national origin, or economic status? We risk creating a society divided into countless segregated groups with different rights and privileges.

This case’s precedent will echo far beyond Louisiana’s railroad cars. Upholding segregation provides constitutional approval for the comprehensive racial separation emerging across the South, licensing states 

to segregate schools, public buildings, and all public life.

The Founders’ Clear Intent

The Reconstruction Amendments were passed by legislators who fought a civil war to end slavery and create racial equality. Many serve in Congress today. Their intent was unmistakable: ensure full citizenship rights for formerly enslaved people. Louisiana’s law directly contradicts this clear constitutional purpose.

Our nation’s moral authority suffers when we maintain racial segregation. Other civilized nations abolished slavery without implementing systematic segregation. How can we promote democratic ideals abroad while denying them to our own citizens at home?

Real Harm to Real People

Mr. Plessy suffered immediate harm when arrested and jailed for exercising his constitutional right to equal treatment. But the damage extends beyond one man. Every Negro citizen suffers psychological harm when the state officially declares them unfit to associate with white citizens, creating feelings of inferiority that hinder individual development and social progress.

The economic harm is equally severe. When African Americans citizens can’t access the same transportation, education, and public facilities as white citizens, they can’t compete equally in the marketplace. This systematic exclusion wastes human potential and weakens our entire economy.

The Bottom Line

Your Honors, Louisiana’s Separate Car Act fundamentally violates the Constitution and betrays the principles for which our nation fought a civil war. It violates the 14th amendement Equal Protection Clause, perpetuates slavery’s badges prohibited by the Thirteenth Amendment, and contradicts the democratic ideals upon which our republic was founded.

“Separate but equal” is a legal fiction never achieved in practice and impossible in principle. Segregation by its very nature creates inequality, perpetuates racial hierarchy, and denies the fundamental American promise that all citizens are created equal.

We urge this Court to strike down Louisiana’s Separate Car Act and affirm that the Constitution must be colorblind. Mr. Plessy and all American citizens deserve equal protection under the law—not separate protection, but equal protection. The Constitution demands it, and justice requires it.

LThank you.

I used Claude ai to formate my speech

Reconstruction period after civil war

After the civil war the reconstruction period started it was the time where America became free also to grow. There was a lot of backlash in the period of reconstruction with hope and violence. April 9 1865 Robert e Lee surrendered to general Grant ending the civil war in Appomattox. When the for er slaves figured out they where free it was like a bird set free they either would freeze or strange but at that moment it did no matter they where free. Reconstruction is the process by which the American society

north south east west tried to come together to discuss land. What I found interesting is that  most of the southern white men didn’t want the war. Lincoln said the intelligent and the veteran African Americans should be allowed to vote and should have every right. John Wilkes booth who was in attendance at that meeting made sure that would be the last speech Lincoln would give. On April 14 1865 on good Friday John Wilkes booth kills Lincoln at a play and escapes.

Andrew Johnson sworn in at a hotel nearby Fredrick Douglas meets him and they hate each other. He says that he is not a friend of the black man. In November of 1865 passed laws that only applied to African Americans called the black codes. It did not last long a lot of the African Americans start to fight back on it. The ku klux klan created in 1866 in Tennessee was created to target African Americans and scare them away using threats that could be concluded to death. In April 1866 there was a call to veto the Black codes anyone born in the country are citizens.

May first 1866 south Memphis in the late afternoon the city black garrison was celebrating and was not on guard. That same afternoon a gang of white man started to shoot and kill many black men and women killing as many as they can they also raped and burned them alive. All but two African Americans soldiers where killed that afternoon it was a massacre.  With that every black church school and shop was burned to the ground word got around quick and people where sacred to go out and even vote. The African Americans found out a way to get around and always from the gangs to vote over a half a million African Americans votes that days and Ulysses S. Grant was sworn in to office.

This didn’t solve all the problems of slavery and racism there was still the ku klux klan terrorizing the African American community trying to break there will power to live. A lot of hatred towards African Americans are still around to day in 2015 a mass shooting happend at a church his name was Dillon rough and he murderd many African Americans because of the hatred towards the color of there skin.And in 2020 the George Floyd Black Lives Matter movement where a lot of people believe a cop intentionally killed a man by suffocation. The fight for equality that started reconstruction period is still around today working to give not just a singular race freedom but freedom for all. 

Gone with the wind

What surprised me in the movie In Gone with the Wind, the scene where Atlanta burns is one of the most iconic in film history—and it was shot using real fire in a single, carefully coordinated take. What many viewers don’t know is that the filmmakers actually burned old movie sets, including parts of King Kong (1933), to create the massive flames. The fire was real, dangerous, and captured in just one dramatic shot, with actors and crew fully aware of the risk. The heat and

destruction were so intense, it shocked audiences then—and still surprises viewers today with its raw, unrepeatable realism.

  That’s a fascinating piece of film history that really showcases the extraordinary lengths filmmakers went to achieve authenticity in the golden age of Hollywood. The burning of Atlanta sequence in “Gone with the Wind” represents a perfect example of how practical effects, when executed with precision and courage, can create moments of cinematic magic that digital effects still struggle to replicate today.

The decision to burn actual movie sets, including remnants from “King

Kong,” was both economically shrewd and artistically brilliant.

Rather than letting these expensive sets rot in storage, producer David O. Selznick transformed them into cinematic history. The logistics alone must have been staggering—coordinating multiple camera angles, ensuring actor safety, and timing everything perfectly for that single take. There were no second chances; if something went wrong, months of preparation would be lost.

What makes this scene even more remarkable is how it demonstrates the collaborative trust between cast and crew. Everyone involved knew they were participating in something potentially dangerous but cinematically unprecedented. The actors had to deliver their performances while surrounded by genuine flames and smoke, adding an authenticity to their reactions that couldn’t be manufactured in a studio.

The technical achievement extends beyond just the fire itself. The cinematographers had to account for the unpredictable lighting conditions, the shifting smoke patterns, and the intense heat that could damage equipment. The sound engineers captured the genuine roar and crackle of massive flames. Every department was pushed to their limits.

This scene also represents a bygone era of filmmaking where practical effects were the only option. Today’s safety regulations and insurance requirements would make such a stunt nearly impossible. The raw, visceral impact of real fire consuming real structures created a visual authenticity that continues to captivate audiences nearly a century later, proving that sometimes the most dangerous creative choices yield the most memorable artistic results.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​