Competing white supremacist groups were rivals publicly but allies in neighborhood defense.

Evidence

Because the Klan had so much in common with the Columbians—the same fears, the same enemies, the same base of support in the same neighborhoods, all at the same time—many assumed the two groups were related. … But the organizations themselves were not officially aligned. Publicly, the two groups adopted an attitude of mutual contempt. Each accused the other of peddling hate for profit; each claimed it alone was the true champion of white supremacy. Privately, however, the Klan welcomed the upstart organization. As long as the Columbians remained on the streets, “protecting” white neighborhoods, it did not have to confront the issue. As soon as the Columbians collapsed, however, Klansmen rushed to fill the vacuum. — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 124

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to how rival racial-ordering organizations in the reader’s other sources (e.g., militias and police) coexist publicly as enemies but cooperate privately. — connects to: White homeowners performed community solidarity as a defensive strategy against desegregation — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of…, 190; Hostile legends about rivals helped embattled minorities defend against doubt — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 157; Defeated homeowner groups still seeded a citywide white resistance politics — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of…, 140 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Defeated homeowner groups still seeded a citywide white resistance politics #expands (0.82) — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 140
• Rival excluded groups weaponized conspiracy accusations against each other. #corroborates (0.80) — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 311
• White homeowners performed community solidarity as a defensive strategy against desegregation #expands (0.78) — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 190
• Segregationists framed racial exclusion as defense of churches, schools, and lodges. #exemplifies (0.76) — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 204
• Hostile legends about rivals helped embattled minorities defend against doubt #corroborates (0.74) — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 157
• Residential transition fractured white communities along proximity-based lines of flight versus fight. #qualifies (0.72) — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 210