Notre Dame vs. the Ku Klux Klan

[struggle4progress]

More than 90 years ago, the University of Notre Dame gained national attention when staff and students alike battled the Ku Klux Klan.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

1. Thanks for this. Still learning, I was unaware of this event. K and R

[erronis]

2. I remember living in Louisville, KY (south of Indiana) and being told that the klan was still strong up there.

It's amazing that this hatred and irrationality can live on for so many hundreds of years (in the US) --- perhaps millennia across the planet.

[Evolve Dammit]

3. same. 40? other states in there. Very popular in early 1900's. March on DC, MSG etc.

[DaBronx]

4. Thanks for posting

Very interesting history that is brand new to me.

[canuckledragger]

5. Those white robes and hoods the cowards hide their identities behind...

...look pretty flammable. Just sayin'

[FakeNoose]

6. The University of Notre Dame has always stood for liberal education and patriotism in America

The Notre Dame mascot is called the "Fightin' Irish" because the Brothers of the Holy Cross originally emigrated from Ireland to northern Indiana in the 1850's and established the university. There was never a question of their loyalty to any government or entity other than the USA. As an undergrad student at UND (many years ago) I learned about this skirmish with the KKK in the 1920's but I never saw the photos until now.

Thanks for posting this!

[hoosierspud]

7. There was a family story about my grandfather

Throwing potatoes at the Klan when he was a student at Notre Dame. We all thought it was like most family stories, an exaggeration or simply not true. I read "Fever in the Heartland" by Timothy Egan and found out that it really happened.

[Nululu]

8. Excellent article about antiKlan battles in 1924

https://www.workers.org/2024/10/81354/

[Emile]

9. The KKK has always had a prominence in Indiana.

I remember in the early 80's they burned a cross in front of the factory I was working at. A white girl and a black girl got into a fight at work. The company fired the white girl who started the fight. Three days later the KKK burned a cross in front of the factory. KKK printed propaganda literature was found all over the inside of the factory.