It’s been decades since the Ku Klux Klan held mainstream status, but a recent deadly rampage at a Jewish community center and living community near Kansas City served as a reminder that the nation’s best-known white-supremacy organization has not completely disappeared.
Today’s Klan lacks national leadership, but it counts between 5,000 and 8,000 members. That’s a fraction of its peak membership, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which tracks hate groups. Splintered groups that identify with the Klan’s rhetoric are organizing outreach initiatives by launching radio stations, distributing fliers and leaving behind the iconic white hoods for business suits.
On the heels of a white-supremacist with long-standing KKK ties being charged with a hate crime, TIME’s Josh Sanburn explains the legacy and the national presence of the Ku Klux Klan today.
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