James A. Colescott
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James Arnold Colescott (January 11, 1897 – January 11, 1950) was an American
white supremacist 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 s ...
who was Imperial Wizard of the
Knights 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 Catho ...
. Under financial pressure from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for
back taxes Back taxes is a term for taxes that were not completely paid when due. Typically, these are taxes that are owed from a previous year. Causes for back taxes include failure to pay taxes by the deadline, failure to correctly report one's income, or ...
, he disbanded the second wave of the original Ku Klux Klan in 1944.


Biography

He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, to Frank Colescott and Minnie Minnie Olive Acuff on January 11, 1897. He graduated from the veterinary college in Terre Haute and worked as a
veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...
. He joined the local Ku Klux Klan chapter in
Vigo County, Indiana Vigo County ( ) is a county on the western border of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 105,994 . Its county seat is Terre Haute. Vigo County is included in the Terre Haute metropolita ...
, and in sixteen years moved through the ranks up to the Imperial Wizard. Colescott died on January 11, 1950, at age 53 in U.S. Veterans' Hospital in
Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...
.


Imperial Wizard

Imperial Wizard Hiram Wesley Evans resigned on June 10, 1939,Atkins, Steven E. (2011).
Encyclopedia of Right-Wing Extremism In Modern American History
'. ABC-CLIO.
and Colescott became the Ku Klux Klan's new leader. He had previously served as chief of staff under Evans. Hiram Evans was effectively forced to quit, as his renunciation of Anti-Catholicism had proven unpopular with "rank-and-file Klansmen". He resigned in favor of Colescott, who was soon officially initiated as the Imperial Wizard. The initiation ceremony was held in the Dixie Ball Room of the
Henry Grady Hotel The Henry Grady Hotel was a hotel in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The building, designed by architect G. Lloyd Preacher, was completed in 1924 at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Cain Street, on land owned by the governme ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
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 ...
. There were rumors that Evans sold control of the Klan to Colescott in a regular
buyout In finance, a buyout is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity of a company, or a majority share of the stock of the company is acquired. The acquiror thereby "buys out" the present equity holders of the target company. A buyout ...
. The alleged transaction of $220,000 between the two men remains unconfirmed. Colescott and Samuel Green did however purchase the ownership of the Klan's headquarters in Atlanta, which they renamed to the Imperial Palace.


Pre-war reorganization efforts

In his new role, Colescott had "initiated several property sales" to raise money for the Klan. He personally led efforts to reorganize the Klan, and toured the Northern United States, the
Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
, and the state of
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
in attempts to appeal to a wider audience. Chester L. Quarles, a professor of criminal justice at the
University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...
, points that Colescott had considerable experience as a Klan recruiter across several states. He views Colescott as having good organizational skills, but leaving much to be desired as a
public speaker Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...
. Some Klan leaders employed glad-handing as a strategy, but Colescott was not among them. His tours were met with suspicion and hostility in the Midwestern United States, including his native
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. In the 1920s, the Klan in this region was led by D. C. Stephenson, whose term ended with a major scandal and his conviction for murder. This and other cases of "Klan corruption" had left the organization with a decidedly negative reputation among Mid-westerners. Overall, Colescott was unable to stop the exodus of members due to the Great Depression. Lowering the initiation fee from $10 to $6 and providing cheaper robes for new recruits for $3.50 instead of $6.50 did not yield much results.Newton, Michael (2010). ''The Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi A History''. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company pp. 100–101.


World War II

The decline continued during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, when most of the Americans began being preoccupied with the issues of national security and Ku Klux Klan "lost social influence, money and political support".Quarles, Chester L. (1999). ''The Ku Klux Klan and Related American Racialist and Antisemitic Organizations: A History and Analysis''. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. The Klan's association with
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
sympathizer organizations, such as the
German American Bund The German American Bund, or the German American Federation (german: Amerikadeutscher Bund; Amerikadeutscher Volksbund, AV), was a German-American Nazi organization which was established in 1936 as a successor to the Friends of New Germany (FoN ...
, and with the Detroit race riot of 1943 were detrimental to the organization's public image: a substantial number of Klansmen stopped attending meetings and paying their dues. Since the late 1930s, there were recurring reports of Klansmen involved in floggings, kidnappings, and murders. The incidents seemed to be sporadic rather than part of a systematic campaign. Trying to build a positive public perception of the Klan, Colescott announced to the press that he was "against flogging, lynchings, or intimidations", and also had pro-Bund Arthur Hornbui Bell removed as head of the
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
organization.


Dies Committee hearing

In January 1942, Colescott was questioned by the Dies Committee, precursor to the House Un-American Activities Committee, headed by Martin Dies Jr. (D-TX). Colescott was criticized by Dies for the Klan's alleged anti-Catholicism. During the hearing, committee members
John E. Rankin John Elliott Rankin (March 29, 1882 – November 26, 1960) was a Democratic politician from Mississippi who served sixteen terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1921 to 1953. He was co-author of the bill for the Tennessee Valley A ...
(D-MS) and
Joe Starnes Joe Starnes (March 31, 1895 – January 9, 1962) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama. Early life Joe Starnes was born on March 31, 1895, in Guntersville, Alabama, and attended the public schools. Career He taught school in Marshall Cou ...
(D-AL) defended Ku Klux Klan as an "American institution". The Dies Committee questioned Colescott about the connection of the Klan to violence. He claimed that
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
was actually against the principles of the Klan, and that the so-called or alleged ''Klansmen'' behind these acts were former members, extremists, which the Klan had purged from its ranks. He also testified to the Committee concerning the then-current status of the Klan in terms of membership and finances. There were reportedly less than 10,000 registered members of the Klan. In the financial year 1941, the Klan had only collected $10,000 from initiation fees and other dues.


Legal troubles

In April 1944, the IRS filed a lien for $685,305 in unpaid taxes, penalties and interest from 1920s against the Klan. The special Klonvocation convened by Colescott decided to dissolve the organization. Before formally stepping down on April 23, 1944, he founded a provisional governing committee consisted of five members. On April 23, the final Klonvocation gathering was held in Atlanta. Its decisions disbanded the central Klan organization, "repealed all degrees, vacated all offices, voided all charters, and relieved every Klansman of any obligation whatever". Local chapters could, however, continue their activities, now acting independently from each other. The final Klonvocation called for them to act in an "informal, unincorporated alliance".


After disbanding

Most of the local chapters in the South, or klaverns, continued to operate, thus staging the Klan's comeback and third re-organization under the leadership of Samuel Green, an
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgic ...
, in 1946. Already in November 1944, anthropologist H. Scudder Mekeel had expressed concerns that the end of World War II could be followed by a "revival in full force" of the Klan. Meanwhile, Colescott retired to
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. He remained bitter about his forced retirement, and blamed " nigger-lover"
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
and "that Jew" Henry Morgenthau, Jr. for the downfall of the Klan. In his final statement, Colescott declared,


References


Sources

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colescott, James A. 1897 births 1950 deaths 20th-century American people Death in Florida Leaders of the Ku Klux Klan People from Coral Gables, Florida People from Miami People from Terre Haute, Indiana American Ku Klux Klan members pa:ਪੰਜਾਬੀ