Virgil H. "Bert" Effinger (1873 – 15 December 1955) was a renegade member 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 ...

who became the self-proclaimed leader of the Black Legion in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, active mostly in Ohio and Michigan. The secret, white

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

group was made up of native-born Protestant men, many from the South, who felt threatened by immigration and contemporary industrial society during the struggles of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. One-third of the members in Michigan lived in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. Effinger advocated a

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

revolution in the US with himself as dictator. The Black Legion was rumored in the mid-1930s in the Detroit area to be responsible for numerous murders and attacks on persons and property. It was exposed by prosecution in

Wayne County, Michigan Wayne County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States Census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the 19th-most populous county in the United States. The county seat is Detroit. The coun ...

for the 1936 kidnapping and murder of Charles Poole, a French-Canadian Catholic organizer for the federal

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

organizer. Eleven members were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In related prosecutions after additional investigation, another 37 men of the Black Legion were convicted of other crimes, and all received prison sentences. Group membership withered under the spotlight and scandals. In 1938 Effinger tried to found a new group but was unsuccessful. He died nearly two decades later in a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

, having always denied membership in the Legion.

Early life

Born in

Newark, Ohio Newark ( ) is a city serving as the county seat of Licking County, Ohio, United States, east of Columbus, at the junction of the forks of the Licking River. The population was 49,934 at the 2020 census, which makes it the 15th largest city in ...

, Effinger served with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. Settling in

Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, T ...

after his military service, Effinger worked as a salesman in the town. A strong

racist 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 ...

anti-Semite 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 ...

and

anti-Catholic 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 ...

, he joined the

and attained the rank of Grand Titan within the movement. After national scandals in 1925 and growing local political opposition in many areas, the KKK declined in influence in the Midwest and nationally. By that time in eastern Ohio, a

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

group known as the Black Guards (later the Black Legion) had been formed to provide security for KKK officers.

Black Legion

Effinger took control in 1931 of the Black Legion; he believed it could be the basis for a network of revolutionary cells. He supported expansion by a military structure of brigades, battalions, etc. and soon advocated a

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, intending for the Legion to seize power in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

and install him as dictator. Effinger described his movement as "a guerrilla army designed to fight the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and Democratic parties". He rewrote history, claiming that the Legion dated to the revolutionary-era

Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea ...

, rather than the 1920s. Under Effinger's vision, the Legion expanded in Ohio and Michigan during the early 1930s of the

, where a chapter was first founded by Arthur Lupp in Highland Park in 1931. Its membership was similar to those previously attracted to the KKK: white Protestant native-born men, many from the South, who were threatened by immigration and other changes in society; many lacked skills for the industrial jobs of major cities. While Effinger claimed leadership, the chapters were highly independent. The Black Legion members had a long list of enemies: immigrants, Catholics, Jews, blacks, labor organizers, communists, and socialists. The Black Legion was linked in Michigan especially to a handful of racist and political murders as well as attempts to appeal to a wider base of the community by

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

and bomb attacks on

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

bookshops and labor organizers.Birdwell, ''Celluloid Soldiers'', p. 46 The Black Legion expanded even more in Michigan than Ohio, reaching an estimated membership of 20,000 to 30,000 in the mid-1930s, with one third based in Detroit. They were later found to have been particularly influential in

Highland Park, Michigan Highland Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,977 at the 2020 census. Along with its neighbor of Hamtramck, Highland Park is an enclave city surrounded by the city of Detroit. History The area tha ...

, with a mayor, chief of police, and city councilman as members, among many others. Their network helped members get jobs and exert political influence. In May 1936 Charles Poole, a Catholic

organizer, was shot and killed in southwest

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

by Legion member Major Dayton Dean after being kidnapped by him and a gang of followers. While crimes against non-whites or communists were often ignored by small-town police at the time, offenses for religious affiliation tended to be taken more seriously. Poole's killers were vigorously pursued by Detroit city police and the Wayne County Prosecutor's office.Birdwell, ''Celluloid Soldiers'', p. 47 Dean pleaded guilty and testified against other members of his gang and the Legion; he and ten others were sentenced to life in prison. Investigations resulting from his testimony and public outrage about the group led to convictions of another 37 men for crimes ranging from attempted murder to other murders; they all received prison sentences. With so many leaders jailed, the Black Legion collapsed.

Later years

In 1938 he attempted to organize a successor movement, the Patriotic Legion of America, this time admitting Catholics. This organization was to be located in San Antonio, Texas. The Patriotic Legion of America was brought to the attention of the FBI after a printer in San Antonio forwarded a charter document to the Bureau. The new group failed, and Effinger disappeared into obscurity. He died in a

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

in 1955, having always denied any involvement in the Black Legion. He had no criminal record.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Effinger, Virgil 1873 births 1955 deaths American fascists American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American Ku Klux Klan members People from Newark, Ohio Critics of the Catholic Church Old Right (United States) Deaths in mental institutions