''Heroes of the Fiery Cross'' is a book in praise 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 ...

, published in 1928 by Protestant Bishop

Alma Bridwell White Alma Bridwell White (June 16, 1862 – June 26, 1946) was the founder and a bishop of the Pillar of Fire Church. In 1918, she became the first woman bishop of Pillar of Fire in the United States. She was a proponent of feminism. She also ass ...

, in which she "sounds the alarm about imagined threats to Protestant Americans from Catholics and Jews", according to author Peter Knight. In the book she asks rhetorically, "Who are the enemies of the Klan? They are the bootleggers, law-breakers, corrupt politicians, weak-kneed Protestant church members, white slavers, toe-kissers, wafer-worshippers, and every spineless character who takes the path of least resistance." She also argues that Catholics are removing the Bible from public schools. Another topic is her anti-Catholic stance towards the United States presidential election of 1928, in which Catholic

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

was running for president.

History

White was the author of more than 35 books published by the

Pillar of Fire Church The Pillar of Fire International, also known as the Pillar of Fire Church, is a Methodist Christianity, Christian denomination with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire Church affirms the Articles of Religion (Methodist), Meth ...

. In her writings and sermons her political views consisted of a mixture of

women's equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

anti-catholicism Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, nativism and

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

. The book is a compendium of essays written by White and of illustrations by Reverend

Branford Clarke Branford Edward Clarke (March 18, 1885 – July 7, 1947) was an Evangelical preacher, poet and artist who promoted the Ku Klux Klan through his art which was drawn for the Pillar of Fire Church and their publications. Biography He was bo ...

that were originally published in the pro-

political periodical ''

The Good Citizen ''The Good Citizen'' was a sixteen-page monthly political periodical edited by Bishop Alma White and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. ''The Good Citizen'' was published from 1913 until 1933 by the Pillar of Fire Church at their hea ...

'', one of the numerous periodicals published by the

at their communal headquarters in

Zarephath, New Jersey Zarephath (, ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) and located in Franklin Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, about north of Princeton.Hiram Wesley Evans Hiram Wesley Evans (September 26, 1881 – September 14, 1966) was the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, an American white supremacist group, from 1922 to 1939. A native of Alabama, Evans attended Vanderbilt University and became a den ...

, the then

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 t ...

of the

. ''Heroes'' is the final work in a series of three books White published to promote the Klan. The other books were ''

The Ku Klux Klan in Prophecy ''The Ku Klux Klan in Prophecy'' is a 144-page book written by Bishop Alma Bridwell White in 1925 and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. In the book she uses scripture to rationalize that the Ku Klux Klan is sanctioned by God "through divi ...

'' in 1925, and '' Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty'', in 1926. White republished her Klan books as a three-volume set in 1943, three years before her death and 21 years after her initial association with the Klan, under the title ''

Guardians of Liberty Guardians of Liberty is a three volume set of books published in 1943 by Bishop Alma Bridwell White, author of over 35 books and founder of the Pillar of Fire Church. Guardians of Liberty is primarily devoted to summarizing White's vehement anti- ...

''. The book include essays with titles such as ''Roman Catholic-Hebrew Alliance''; ''Mussolini, Rome, and Reds''; and ''Immigration and White Supremacy''.

White supremacy

Alma White Alma Bridwell White (June 16, 1862 – June 26, 1946) was the founder and a bishop of the Pillar of Fire Church. In 1918, she became the first woman bishop of Pillar of Fire in the United States. She was a proponent of feminism. She also ass ...

emphatically expresses her sympathy for former slaveowners since they were not compensated for their loss of "property" following the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. She expresses her fear and distress toward ongoing

racial mixing Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...

and uses biblical citations as divine justification for

External links

Cartoon illustrations in ''Heroes of the Fiery Cross''
on Flickr.

References

{{Authority control Books about the Ku Klux Klan Anti-Catholicism in the United States Pillar of Fire International 1928 non-fiction books Anti-black racism in the United States Political books White supremacy in the United States Anti-Catholic publications

History

White supremacy

External links

Further reading

References