July 20, 2011

The state’s most well-known white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), did not appear in the state until April 1868, a few months after African Americans voted in their first elections in Arkansas. Klan flyers appeared on the street corners in Little Rock (Pulaski County) that month, and KKK activity quickly spread throughout the state. The white Klan robe most associated with the Klan was not typical in the late 1860s, as is shown in this 1868 Harper’s Weekly engraving. One Klan group in Fulton County wore black robes with white skeletons painted on them. Even their horses were covered with similar robes.