[78-L] KKK records

[David Lewis]

> > Steven C. Barr wrote:

> >> What worries/scares me is the fact that some of these high-buck buyers
> > may
> >> be buying the discs because they agree with their content...?!
> >>
> >> Steven C. Barr
> >> _______________________________________________
> > There was a radio programme on this subject not too long ago, where it
> > was stated that the most enthusiastic purchasers of KKK records were
> > black academics.
> >
> > Julian Vein
> >
>
> Why would they want them?
>
> _______________________________________________
>   
It's my thought that anyone seriously researching racism in the media, 
including material on 78rpm records, would want to explore the KKK's 
recorded output as an extreme example of racism in recording. And, as we 
all know, to own the artifact is to hold an "original".
Mal
>>>>
These records are really weak on racist content actually. Usually they consist of a hymn or hymn-like song that is altered in some way to celebrate white supremicist doctrine, sung by a chorus of men that don't sing too well. Many of these records are simply U.S. patriotic and don't mention the KKK agenda at all. If there is one that is as explicit as a Johnny Rebel record from the 1960s, I have yet to hear it.

I'm not sure why they made them, except to promote their agenda and perhaps to help train their members to sing the songs that they would be singing at Klan rallies. Their redesignation to terrorist status -- which rightly they always should have had -- didn't occur until the 1960s; in the 1920s the KKK was regarded as a legitimate political party that had a membership some 2 million strong in the state of Indiana, an all-time high. Nevertheless, other political parties in the U.S. were not necessarily motivated to make records, although some of the Nation's Forum records can be seen as promoting the interests of the Republican Party.

I too am interested, like Mal, in knowing how these records were made and by whom. Not all can be traced to Gennett and the nomenclature is sparse; maybe if we knew more about these records we can also know more about recording in Indiana/Illinois in the 1920s. From what little I understand, and I don't know how much of it is conjecture, the Klan made their records with various companies and were thrown out of most, maybe all of them for being slow payers. Homer Rodeheaver HATED the Klan -- Homer was a high ranking figure in Indiana politics who was a major supporter of Wendell Willkie in the 1940 campaign -- but there were instances whereby he couldn't avoid them owing to their pull. This may have extended to some records, and it did impact him the early days of his publishing company. I discovered a condolence card to Ma Sunday among Billy Sunday's papers that was sent from the Canton, Michigan chapter of the Klan, suggesting that Rev. Sunday had contact with the KKK. This opens a whole political and doctrinal can of worms that cannot be dealt with here, but it might help explain why Homer may have made some of the Klan records even though it was a huge conflict of interest for him.

I think it's safe to say, though, that KKK records are best understood as sacred records that are political in orientation; they don't really seem to go beyond that, even as the organization that produced them did, and does, so.

Uncle Dave Lewis
uncledavelewis at hotmail.com

 		 	   		  
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