Postwar Atlanta Klansmen spanned both working and middle classes including officials

Evidence

The new recruits came from all walks of life. Cab drivers and truckers, farmers and dairymen, textile workers and factory men, gas station attendants and firefighters were all prominently represented, as were a staggering number of sheriff’s deputies and city policemen. … But white collars were just as frequently found under the hoods as blue ones. Tax collectors and assessors were “almost 100% organized,” while the clerks and commissioners of other county and state agencies were judged “in good standing.” One city councilman’s photo was displayed prominently in the East Atlanta post, while two others won door prizes for attracting the most new members at another. Judge Luke Arnold emerged as a popular lecturer at Atlanta Klaverns, and at least three of his fellow jurists were issued special commendations for “conforming with the principles of Klannishness.” — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 123

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts implicitly with the book’s broader argument that as segregation was forced underground, its respectable white-collar carriers reinvented themselves as color-blind suburban conservatives rather than Klan members. — connects to: Atlanta’s ward system concentrated power in white working-class neighborhoods. — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of…, 65

Broader Connections

• Atlanta’s ward system concentrated power in white working-class neighborhoods. #qualifies (0.74) — Kevin M. Kruse, White Flight, 65