''Heroes of the Fiery Cross'' is a book in praise of the Ku Klux Klan, published in 1928 by Protestant Bishop Alma Bridwell White, 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 Civ ...

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, nativism and white supremacy. 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 bor ...

that were originally published in the pro- Ku Klux Klan political periodical '' The Good Citizen'', one of the numerous periodicals published by the

at their communal headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The book contains an introductory letter of commendation from Hiram Wesley Evans, the then Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. ''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'' 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''. 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 a ...

emphatically expresses her sympathy for former slaveowners since they were not compensated for their loss of "property" following the American Civil War. 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 white supremacy.

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