Collection Details:

Collection Name and Number: Ku Klux Klan Collection (Z/2432).
Creator/Collector: Ku Klux Klan; United Klans of America, Inc.; etc.
Date(s): 1961-1965; n.d.
Size: 0.33 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: Laura Anne Heller, 2026.
Provenance: Transfer of Department of Public Safety, Jackson, MS, on March 18, 2026; Z/U/2026.008.
Repository: Archives & Records Services Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Rights and Access:

Access restrictions: Collection is open for research.

Publication rights: Copyright assigned to the MDAH. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Reference Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the MDAH as the owner of the physical items and as the owner of the copyright in items created by the donor. Although the copyright was transferred by the donor, the respective creator may still hold copyright in some items in the collection. For further information, contact Reference Services.

Copyright notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred citation: Ku Klux Klan Collection (Z/2432), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Related Collections:

Government Records: Series 2985: Department of Public Safety Freedom Rider Files. 1960-1966.
Museum Division, Historic Objects Collection: Blue suitcase

 

History:

The Original Knights of Louisiana, an independent klan organization, established a klavern (chapter) in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi, around October 1962. The Natchez klavern split from the Original Knights of Louisiana and assumed the name of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of Mississippi in February 1964. The organization elected Samuel Holloway Bowers as imperial wizard in April 1964, and he served for five years. Throughout the 1960s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation monitored the activities of the klavern. In October 1967, the United States government won the convictions of Bowers and six other individuals for the 1964 murders of civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner near Philadelphia, Neshoba County, Mississippi. After more than two years of appeals, Bowers and the others were sent to prison in 1970.

 

Scope and Content Note:

Contains a charter from Salem, MS, organizational documents; a single-entry ledger containing names, concerning scattered dates between April 1964-January 1965; a yellow spiral bound notebook containing meeting notes from April 9, 1964 to September 10, 1964; a Blue Horse composition notebook containing nominations and votes, names abstained, among other unidentified notes; an empty Tylertown Bank deposit book; blank membership applications; and other ephemera concerning the United Klans of America, Inc., Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and The White Knight of the Ku Klux Klan of Mississippi. Also included are forms and receipts from the Mississippi Constitutional Council. Items transferred without clear historical provenance.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. n.d. 3 folders.
This series consists of klan leadership materials produced or concerning the Invisible Empire of the Ku Klux Klan. Among the items included is a chart of leadership hierarchy by titles, a kloran, and a blank application form for membership in the Invisible Empire of the Ku Klux Klan.
Box 1, folders 1-3

Series 2: White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of Mississippi. Circa 1960s; n.d. 4 folders.
This series consists of klan leadership materials produced or concerning The White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of Mississippi. Among the items included is a kloran specifically for the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Realm of Mississippi which was originally kept in a white folder with brads, a blank application form for membership, and a flyer titled "My Fellow American."
Box 1, folders 4-7

Series 3: Propaganda. 1964; n.d. 5 folders. 
This series consists of a variety of handouts and ephemera that shared the message of the Ku Klux Klan, however unidentified as items from the Invisible Empire or the Realm of Mississippi. These items could have been used by either group. Items cover topics such as harassment, secrecy, and why one should be a klan member. Two documents may be mass produced memorandums and lectures from early 1964.
Box 1, folders 8-12

Series 4: United Klans of America, Inc. Publications. n.d. 3 folders. 
Mass published materials by the United Klans of America, Inc. are included in this series, introducing the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, informational claims about Martin Luther King as written by Sam Crockett, and a republished 1928 pamphlet from the National Election Campaign Committee claiming there is a plot against the USA by communists.
Box 1, folders 13-15

Series 5: Montgomery Junior Chamber of Commerce Publication. February 15, 1964. 1 folder. 
Alabama’s Montgomery Junior Chamber of Commerce published a booklet titled, "The Truth: A Photocopy of The Civil Rights Bill of 1963," which included a letter from chamber president Lynoid Vaughn, February 15, 1964.
Box 1, folder 16

Series 6: Ledger Book. 1964-1965. 1 folder. 
The ledger book, with "S.E. Ledger" on its front cover, does not have any identifying labels or information indicating a specific club or organization owned it. After the blank index pages, a list of numbered names is written with the date "April 1, 1964" at the top of the pages. Between lists, there are a few notes pertaining to expenses in 1964 and 1965, though it is not detailed. Following the April 1964 list, a second list of numbered names is written with the date "July 1, 1964." Names are written in the exact same order, with only one of two exceptions. One page has "Sept. 1, 1964" and "Jan. 1, 1965" written at the top of the page, but no lists or other writing follows. The rest of the ledger is empty.
Box 1, folder 17

Series 7: Montags Blue Horse Composition Book. Circa 1964. 1 folder.
The composition notebook does not have any identifying labels or information indicating a specific club or organization owned it. Writing that appears to be meeting minutes for five pages begin with February 20 but does not indicate a year. After several blank pages, notes for clothing measurements appear at the top of one page. After two blank pages, a tally list of numbers and payments is found. Following this list are several blank pages, including the appearance of pages that were torn out prior to the notebook being found. The last pages of the book include a list of names, some numbered and some unnumbered. The numbered names appear to match the names in the ledger in Series 6.
Box 1, folder 18

Series 8: Spiral Notebook. 1964. 1 folder.
The spiral notebook does not have any identifying labels or information indicating a specific club or organization owned it. Writing that appears to be meeting minutes begin on April 9, 1964, and conclude on September 10, 1964. Pages 18 through 120 are blank. Undated notes appear on pages 121-122. List of names begins on page 124, continuing onto page 126, leaving page 125 blank. No other writing is in the notebook.
Box 1, folder 19

Series 9: Miscellaneous. 1961; 1964; n.d. 3 folders. 
Miscellaneous items found with the rest of the collection, but do not have a strong connection, are included in this series. A January 9, 1961, postmarked envelope with the addressee scratched out was in the suitcase but did not immediately appear to be related to other items in the suitcase. A March 27, 1964, receipt from “Carley’s Ben Franklin Stores” may refer to a business in the Hattiesburg area. Lastly, an unused Tylertown Bank deposit book is the only strong geographical item in the series and collection.
Box 1, folders 20-22

Series 10: Mississippi Constitutional Council. 1964; n.d. 12 folders. 
Identified by the Committee of Un-American Activities, the Mississippi Constitutional Council was a group affiliated with the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of Mississippi. These forms appear to be used to document meeting attendance statistics and report them for administrative reasons. The forms included here is an unlabeled form that appears to collect membership tally information, a "Book Fee Receipt," and a "Dues Receipt." A few items are labeled as "Sample" to help guide users in the proper record keeping. There are three membership tally forms which document specific dates in May and September 1964, as well as one dues receipt form for June-August 1964. The majority of these forms are blank.
Box 1, folders 23-34

Series 11: Charters. 1964; n.d. 2 folders.
Two charters are included in this series. One charter is dated March 23, 1964, for a klan-affiliated group in Salem, Walthall County, joining the Invisible Empire, The Original Ku Klux Klan, Realm of Mississippi. The second charter does not name a specific town or community; however, it is affiliated with the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of the Sovereign Realm of Mississippi, and is dated May 21, with no year.
Oversized Folders, folders 1-2

 

Box List:

Box 1:
Folder 1: Booklet, "The Kloran: Knights of the Ku Klux Klan," n.d.
Folder 2: Application form, "Application for Citizenship in the Invisible Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan," n.d. (3 copies).
Folder 3: Chart, Klan leadership hierarchy by title only, n.d.
Folder 4: Booklet, "The Kloran of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Realm of Mississippi, Kloran Number 486, Klavern Number 74-1, Province Number 1, District Number 4," April 20, 98 AK [1970?].
Folder 5: Folder, Contained "The Kloran of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Realm of Mississippi," [April 20, 98 AK].
Folder 6: Application Form, "Application for citizenship in the Invisible Empire The White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of Mississippi," circa 1960s (2 blank copies). 
Folder 7: Flyer, "My Fellow American: Here are Twenty Reasons WHY you should, if qualified, join, aid, and support the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of Mississippi," n.d. (4 copies).
Folder 8: Lecture, "Executive Lecture of March 1, 1964." (4 pages) 
Folder 9: Memorandum, "Imperial Executive Order." (2 pages) 
Folder 10: Flyer, "Fifty Reasons Why You Should Be a Member of the Original Ku Klux Klan, By R.E. Davis, Sr., Imperial Wizard," n.d.
Folder 11: Article, "Harrasment," n.d.
Folder 12: Article, "Secrecy," n.d.
Folder 13: Brochure, "An Introduction to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan." Published by the United Klans of America, Inc., n.d. (12 copies) 
Folder 14: Pamphlet, "Here's Proof of the Red Pro-Negro Plot Against South & USA." Published for the National Election Campaign Committee by Workers Library Publishers; Republished by United Klans of America, Inc., n.d. (9 copies)
Folder 15: Pamphlet, "The Ugly Truth About Martin Luther King by Sam Crockett." Published by United Klans of America, Inc., n.d.
Folder 16: Booklet, "The Truth: A Photocopy of The Civil Rights Bill of 1963." Published by Montgomery Junior Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery, Alabama. Includes letter from chamber president Lynoid Vaughn, February 15, 1964. (4 copies). 
Folder 17: "S.E. Ledger." April 1, 1964; July 1, 1964; 1965.
Folder 18: "Montags Blue Horse Composition Book," circa 1964. 
Folder 19: Spiral notebook, Meeting Minutes, April 9, 1964 - September 10, 1964.
Folder 20: Envelope, Scratched out addressee; Postmark January 9, 1961.
Folder 21: Receipt, "Carley's Ben Franklin Stores," March 27, 1964.
Folder 22: Deposit Book, Tylertown Bank, Tylertown, MS, n.d. (never used)
Folder 23: Membership Tally Form, "Sample." Mississippi Constitutional Council, circa 1960s. 
Folder 24: Membership Tally Form, Mississippi Constitutional Council, May 21, 1964.
Folder 25: Membership Tally Form, Mississippi Constitutional Council, May 28, 1964.
Folder 26: Membership Tally Form, Mississippi Constitutional Council, September 11, 1964. (3 copies).
Folder 27: Membership Tally Form, Mississippi Constitutional Council, blank, 3 sets of 4 stapled.
Folder 28: Membership Tally Form, Mississippi Constitutional Council, blank, 28 sets of 3 stapled.
Folder 29: Book Fee Receipt, "Sample." Mississippi Constitutional Council, circa 1960s. 
Folder 30: Book Fee Receipt, Mississippi Constitutional Council, circa 1960s, includes entries.
Folder 31: Book Fee Receipt, "Sample." Mississippi Constitutional Council, blank, 12 sets of 2 stapled.
Folder 32: Dues Receipt, "Sample." Mississippi Constitutional Council, circa 1960s.
Folder 33: Dues Receipt, Mississippi Constitutional Council, June-August 1964.
Folder 34: Dues Receipt, Mississippi Constitutional Council, circa 1960s, blank, 14 sets of 3 stapled.

 

Oversized Folders:
Folder 1: [Charter], Unidentified location, The White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of the Sovereign Realm of Mississippi, May 21 98 AK [no year].
Folder 2: Charter, No. 1017, Salem, Mississippi, Invisible Empire, The Original Ku Klux Klan, March 23, 1964, 92 AK.