Imperial Palace, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Atlanta, GA [postcard]

Files

VCU_M172 B1 Stone Mt Imperial Palace Richmond Klan alt rsz.jpg
VCU_M172 B1 Stone Mt Imperial Palace back Richmond rsz.jpg

Title

Imperial Palace, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Atlanta, GA [postcard]

Description

Postcard showing Imperial Palace, Stone Mountain, GA surrounded by seven Klansmen brandishing torches, mounted on horseback. A portrait of William Joseph Simmons, founder and leader of the second Ku Klux Klan, appears at upper right corner. 

Portrait caption: "Col. W. J. Simmons, Founder and Imperial Wizard."

Text: 
"Imperial Palace, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Atlanta, GA. 

Stone Mountain, Largest Solid Stone in the World, one mile from Base to Summit. On its highest pinnacle the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Oranized at Midnight, Nov. 25th, 1915."

On reverse: "Published by a Klansman"
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The birth of the second Ku Klux Klan was partly inspired by D. W. Griffith's 1915 film, The Birth of a Nation.

The face of Stone Mountain became the site of the Confederate Memorial Carving, the largest bas-relief sculpture in the world. This bas-relief depicts the  three Confederate leaders of the Civil War: President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The sculptor was Gutzon Borglum, whose next major project was Mount Rushmore. 

In his "I Have A Dream" speech (28 August 1963), Martin Luther King, Jr. invoked the imagery of "My Country 'Tis of Thee" saying, 
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring. 

Source

M 172 Box 1, Calvin T. Lucy papers, James Branch Cabell Library, VCU Libraries

Contributor

Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, VCU Libraries

Rights

The organization that has made the Item available reasonably believes that the Item is not restricted by copyright or related rights, but a conclusive determination could not be made. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/

Notes

Learn more: 

Backlash to Reform: Hatred and Extremism, Social Welfare History Image Portal 

Martin Luther King, Jr., Social Welfare History Image Portal 

Ku Klux Klan, Social Welfare History Image Portal

Mapping the Second Ku Klux Klan, 1915-1940, Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries 

New York World Expose of the Ku Klux Klan, Wikipedia 

Ku Klux Klan, New York 1921. Chronicling America. Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress 

White supremacy, Social Welfare History Image Portal

Citation

“Imperial Palace, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Atlanta, GA [postcard],” Social Welfare History Image Portal, accessed December 22, 2024, https://images.socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/items/show/542.