Arkansas Narratives

From Interviews with 235 Former US Slaves."Whenever there was a man of influence, they terrorized him. They were at their height about the time of Grant's election. Many a time my mother and I have watched them pass our door. They wore gowns and some kind of helmet. They would be going to catch same leading Negro and whip him. There was scarcely a night they couldn't take a leading Negro out and whip him if they would catch him alone. On that account, the Negro men did not stay at home in Sumter County, South Carolina at night. They left home and stayed together. The Ku Klux very seldom interfered with a woman or a child.Typewritten records prepared by the THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT 1936-1938. Assembled by the Library of Congress Project. Work Projects Administration for the District of Columbia. Sponsored by the Library of Congress. Originally published WASHINGTON 1941