The Ku Klux Klan in Fairfax County
Title
The Ku Klux Klan in Fairfax County
Date
1978
Description
In 1867, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was organized in Fairfax County for the “maintenance and supremacy of the white race.” When blacks voted for the first time, white men targeted the blacks for not voting the way the whites expected. The Klan did not survive for long in Virginia when newspapers began to condemn the violence exhibited by the Klan.
The Klan was reorganized in Virginia in 1915 because of the many changes in the state: the decline of rural life, the increase in immigration, economic hardships, and the increased recognition of the accomplishments of blacks. Large crowds attended the KKK initiations and ceremonies of white robed men who carried torches and burned crosses. A local black leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Edwin B. Henderson received threatening phone calls and death threats in letters. Later, a resurgence of the KKK occurred during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
The Klan was reorganized in Virginia in 1915 because of the many changes in the state: the decline of rural life, the increase in immigration, economic hardships, and the increased recognition of the accomplishments of blacks. Large crowds attended the KKK initiations and ceremonies of white robed men who carried torches and burned crosses. A local black leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Edwin B. Henderson received threatening phone calls and death threats in letters. Later, a resurgence of the KKK occurred during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
Creator
John Kneebone
Source
- Encyclopedia Virginia Virginia Humanities www.encyclopediavirginia.org By John Kneebone "Ku Klux Klan in Virginia"
- Fairfax County, Virginia a History 1978 Fairfax County Public Library 975.529 N
Collection
Citation
John Kneebone, “The Ku Klux Klan in Fairfax County,” Fairfax County African American History Inventory, accessed October 24, 2026, https://fairfaxaahi.centerformasonslegacies.com/items/show/344.