The KKK wasn't just one peculiar agent of white supremacy: it was the keystone that made it so effective. If you were a black man engaged in any kind of politi

The KKK wasn't just one peculiar agent of white supremacy: it was the keystone that made it so effective. If you were a black man engaged in any kind of political, economic, or social organizing, you stood a decent chance of being murdered by the KKK, which was implicitly supported by the white-dominated State. This created a system where people were too scared to even begin organizing, leading to all kinds of disempowerment and social malaise. Those inner city gun deaths have the KKK in their genealogy.