Edward Young Clarke was the

Imperial Wizard The Grand Wizard (later the Grand and Imperial Wizard simplified as the Imperial Wizard and eventually, the National Director) referred to the national leader of several different Ku Klux Klan organizations in the United States and abroad. The ti ...

pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...

'' of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cath ...

from 1915 to 1922. Prior to his Klan activities, Clarke headed the Atlanta-based Southern Publicity Association. He later served as the president of Monarch Publishing, a book publishing company.

Biography

Early life

Edward Young Clarke was born in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

according to census records. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, as his mother, Elnora Harrison Clarke, and his father, Colonel Edward Y. Clarke Sr. were both longtime citizens of the city. His father was the owner of ''

The Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' newspaper from 1870 to 1876, whose managing editor was his brother, Francis Clarke.

KKK Activities

In the early 20th century, Clarke joined the Ku Klux Klan, which had been reborn in Atlanta. He then served as the

'' of the

from 1915 to 1922. He devised the "kluxing" system of payments to the hierarchy within the Klan. Along with Elizabeth Tyler, he helped to turn the initially anemic second

into a mass-membership organization with a broader social agenda. In March 1924, he pled guilty to violating the

Mann Act The White-Slave Traffic Act, also called the Mann Act, is a United States federal law, passed June 25, 1910 (ch. 395, ; ''codified as amended at'' ). It is named after Congressman James Robert Mann of Illinois. In its original form the act mad ...

, after being arrested for a violent attack against a young woman who worked for him. In 1940, he was arrested in Chicago for failing to pay a $600 hotel bill, cashing a $76 worthless check, and the failing to repay $600 he borrowed from a Chicago woman.

Book publisher

He was the President of Monarch Publishing, a book publishing company.Anthony Slide, ''American Racist: The Life and Films of Thomas Dixon'', Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2004, pp. 186-18

/ref> In 1939, he published the novel '' The Flaming Sword (novel), The Flaming Sword'' by

Thomas Dixon Jr. Thomas Frederick Dixon Jr. (January 11, 1864 – April 3, 1946) was an American white supremacist, Baptist minister, politician, lawyer, lecturer, novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Referred to as a "professional racist", Dixon wrote two best- ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Edward Young Year of death missing Former Ku Klux Klan members People convicted of violating the Mann Act Businesspeople from Louisiana American advertising executives American businesspeople convicted of crimes American book publishers (people) 1877 births Businesspeople from Atlanta Activists from Atlanta Old Right (United States)