Quasim, As usual, thank you for your clarity and insight into our present day situation. May more and more Americans understand this every day. I was born in 1957 and clearly remember going into a “colored” bathroom accidentally near downtown Ft. Worth. I was about 8 years old and it had a profound affect on me. Fighting racism has been my biggest passion all my life. I hope I have done some good.
Thank you Qasim for your history of this horrible "Christian" terrorist organization! What a dark & horrible history that we cannot allow to resurface!!
December 24 as the KKK’s founding date feels like the darkest possible footnote to “peace on earth.” This isn’t ancient history. It’s muscle memory. And every time someone says “why bring this up now,” the answer is always the same. Because it never actually left. Thank you, Qasim Rashid, for refusing the national amnesia.
That certainly doesn’t surprise me. God told them it was okay to murder people with different skin color. Religious hypocrisy and bigotry created the white Christian nationalist. Man made religion and greed are the evils of humanity.
Your last paragraph before Conclusion is especially powerful. Always finding those who are different to blame when much of it stems from these larger conglomerates underpaying employees and then our taxes help them to buy groceries. Definitely time for a change
Good column. You mentioned that one in 10 Americans at that time belonged to the KKK in the 1920s. There was also a large number of White Americans who faced discrimination and prejudice at that time- the large number of immigrants, offspring of immigrants, Jews, Catholics (the Big Ten would not even play Notre Dame in sports), and Greek orthodox. The Fighting Irish got their nickname when students at Notre Dame charged a big KKK gathering aimed at them and their school. Remembering these episodes can help unite people of all races in fighting against the latest victims of hate- immigrants, Black and Brown people and sadly still Jews (not Israel). We all must stand against the Trump crowd who are trying to go back to that evil era.
Powerful framing on the temporal proximity here. The stat that 1 in 11 white Americans was a KKK memebr less than a century ago really undercuts the "ancient history" narrative we get fed. My grandparents generation saw Klan marches trough state capitals, and now were watching the same ideologgy rebrand under neo-Nazi groups with reduced FBI scrutiny. Appreciate you connecting those dots explicitly.
We should know that the colonists were nothing but lowlifes sent here from Europe. As an analogy, the Chinese who came here were after gold and worked on the railroads in California. They took baths ate rice and vegetables. Worked extremely hard and were severely mistreated. The white men were also after gold, worked on the railroads. In contrast, they didn’t bathe very often, and their diet consisted of meat and beans. They didn’t seem to work as hard and they weren’t discriminated against. The Chinese wanted to return home. You can look up this history. Weaverville Joss House, Weaverville, California. It’s all there.
I was born in 1950, and my Dad wasn't in the KKK. But in the 1930s or 1930s, HIS Dad was. So my grandfather was a member of the KKK. And, at least in Oklahoma (where my Dad's family were cotton farmers) those letters meant that K*kes, K*tholics, and K*ons were EXCLUDED and UNWANTED. People like Stephen Miller and JD Vance ought to keep that in mind. I converted to Judaism, and I know I keep it in mind. Because for many people, times really HAVEN'T changed at all.
Oh wow! How ironic that the KKK, the so called Christian organization, is literally founded on Christmas Eve, the day before Christmas. This is just a whole other level of disturbing right here smh…
Quasim, As usual, thank you for your clarity and insight into our present day situation. May more and more Americans understand this every day. I was born in 1957 and clearly remember going into a “colored” bathroom accidentally near downtown Ft. Worth. I was about 8 years old and it had a profound affect on me. Fighting racism has been my biggest passion all my life. I hope I have done some good.
From your mouth to Gods ears. My hope is humanity will choose love once and for all.
Thank you Qasim for your history of this horrible "Christian" terrorist organization! What a dark & horrible history that we cannot allow to resurface!!
How can the day Jesus was born be the day KKK is born? That is what I think is called an oxymoron!!
December 24 as the KKK’s founding date feels like the darkest possible footnote to “peace on earth.” This isn’t ancient history. It’s muscle memory. And every time someone says “why bring this up now,” the answer is always the same. Because it never actually left. Thank you, Qasim Rashid, for refusing the national amnesia.
Excellent commentary!
Thank you!
We are not them. We fight back and resist .✌️💪
That certainly doesn’t surprise me. God told them it was okay to murder people with different skin color. Religious hypocrisy and bigotry created the white Christian nationalist. Man made religion and greed are the evils of humanity.
Your last paragraph before Conclusion is especially powerful. Always finding those who are different to blame when much of it stems from these larger conglomerates underpaying employees and then our taxes help them to buy groceries. Definitely time for a change
Yes! Thank you, Sidney.
Good column. You mentioned that one in 10 Americans at that time belonged to the KKK in the 1920s. There was also a large number of White Americans who faced discrimination and prejudice at that time- the large number of immigrants, offspring of immigrants, Jews, Catholics (the Big Ten would not even play Notre Dame in sports), and Greek orthodox. The Fighting Irish got their nickname when students at Notre Dame charged a big KKK gathering aimed at them and their school. Remembering these episodes can help unite people of all races in fighting against the latest victims of hate- immigrants, Black and Brown people and sadly still Jews (not Israel). We all must stand against the Trump crowd who are trying to go back to that evil era.
1 in 10 white Americans and yes, you're exactly right, whiteness is a construct used to marginalize.
Powerful framing on the temporal proximity here. The stat that 1 in 11 white Americans was a KKK memebr less than a century ago really undercuts the "ancient history" narrative we get fed. My grandparents generation saw Klan marches trough state capitals, and now were watching the same ideologgy rebrand under neo-Nazi groups with reduced FBI scrutiny. Appreciate you connecting those dots explicitly.
We should know that the colonists were nothing but lowlifes sent here from Europe. As an analogy, the Chinese who came here were after gold and worked on the railroads in California. They took baths ate rice and vegetables. Worked extremely hard and were severely mistreated. The white men were also after gold, worked on the railroads. In contrast, they didn’t bathe very often, and their diet consisted of meat and beans. They didn’t seem to work as hard and they weren’t discriminated against. The Chinese wanted to return home. You can look up this history. Weaverville Joss House, Weaverville, California. It’s all there.
I was born in 1950, and my Dad wasn't in the KKK. But in the 1930s or 1930s, HIS Dad was. So my grandfather was a member of the KKK. And, at least in Oklahoma (where my Dad's family were cotton farmers) those letters meant that K*kes, K*tholics, and K*ons were EXCLUDED and UNWANTED. People like Stephen Miller and JD Vance ought to keep that in mind. I converted to Judaism, and I know I keep it in mind. Because for many people, times really HAVEN'T changed at all.
Knowing your history and actively working to build humanity is a noble cause. I commend you.
Yes, yes, yes. It's about now!
Oh wow! How ironic that the KKK, the so called Christian organization, is literally founded on Christmas Eve, the day before Christmas. This is just a whole other level of disturbing right here smh…
And yet ANOTHER one for my save pile. Qasim... have you considered publishing a book(s) with your essays?