Legal prosecution forced the Atlanta Klan into public-relations modes instead of violence.

Evidence

While the Columbians had engaged in countless acts of reckless behavior, Green tried to stem all talk of Klan violence. Dan Duke, emboldened by his success in revoking the charter of the Columbians, had started similar proceedings against the Klan. Afraid of the consequences, the Grand Dragon did not want to give the prosecutor any more ammunition than he already had. As his men pushed for action, Green merely promised, in the words of one Klansman, that “as soon as the trial comeing up soon is won we would have some demonstrations such as Parades and Kid naping and public gatherings and cross burnings.” In the meantime, Green clamped down on all lawlessness, even banning cross burnings for a while, lest they be charged with violating local fire ordinances. Instead, he kept his men busy with improbable public relations stunts. Food was distributed to the needy and twenty pairs of long johns, stamped “K.K.K.,” showed up at an old folks’ home. In the most memorable act, a Klansman donned a Santa Claus outfit—over his white robe and hood—and presented a 107-year-old black man with a brand new radio. — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 127

Categorization

• CANDY: A Klansman dressed as Santa Claus over his white robe giving a 107-year-old Black man a radio is a bizarrely shareable image.
• XREF: Connects to the ‘Complaints About Immodesty’ / image-management literature and to how stigmatized movements rebrand under legal pressure. — connects to: Infiltration and media ridicule neutralized Klan violence in late-1940s Atlanta. — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of…, 128