Ku Klux Klan Sound Recordings Collection
Collection Overview
Scope and Contents
Collection consists largely of recordings of songs related to KKK activity, though some contain spoken content. Many of the 78rpm records were recorded at Gennett Records in Richmond, Indiana, though they were not released on the Gennett label, while many of the items released on 45rpm disc and LP were recorded in Louisiana. The content of the recordings, while offensive, also documents the melding of social, cultural, and political themes in anti-integration movements during both the second and third wave of the Ku Klux Klan, as well as the underlying stereotypes and ideologies about race and class that drove and continue to drive anti-integration movements.
Dates
- Creation: 1920s-1971
Extent
27 Items (1 box and 2 envelopes)
Creator
- Ku Klux Klan (1915-) (Organization)
Biographical / Historical
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is a white supremacist hate group originally established after the Civil War in the Southern United States to target and terrorize African Americans as well as other racial and ethnic minorities. The Klan had a later resurgence, beginning in Georgia in 1915 and spreading to other areas of the country through the 1920s, particularly the South and Midwest. The third and most recent manifestation began in the 1950s as a reaction to the Civil Rights Movement. Unlike the 1920s incarnation, which was nationally organized as a fraternal organization, the most recent iteration of the KKK consists of isolated and disparate cells throughout the United States.
Conditions Governing Access
Available for on-campus use only.
Conditions Governing Use
Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Arranged by audio format into three series: I. 78rpm records, II. 45rpm records, and III. Other formats.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Received from unknown donors, unknown dates.
General
Collection contains racist and stereotypical depictions of African-Americans and other minority groups; record jackets and sleeves may also contain racist imagery and language.
- Title
- Guide to the Ku Klux Klan Sound Recordings Collection
- Author
- David R. Lewis
- Date
- 2021
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin