Educational Media Reviews Online

This video of the modern day Ku Klux Klan examines the revival of the KKK in the late 20th century. The film is appropriately subtitled, “The Faces of Hate,” as it features Klan members both in interviews and at rallies, where they articulate a message of white power and hatred of non-whites, immigrants and homosexuals.

The film is in three parts. The first section puts the modern KKK in a historical perspective, from its early days following the Civil War, to its heyday in the 1920s, when it had a national membership of six million, but declined with changing times and scandals; to its revival in the 1960s, with its violence against civil rights workers, followed by its decline due to the FBI and effective law suits; and finally to its attempted revival today with new leadership and new recruitment tools such as the Internet. This first section features considerable coverage of Jeff Berry, the National Imperial Wizard of the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and his efforts to enlarge Klan membership and organize a national KKK convention in Cleveland, Ohio. The second, briefer, section investigates the Klan’s violent factionalism and demonstrates that the differences between C. Edward Foster’s Pennsylvania-based Invisible Empire of the Ku Klux Klan and Berry’s Indiana- based organization are more apparent to them than to the outsider who still sees the KKK’s message of hatred. The third section of this film focuses on the issues involved when the Klan, its multiple opponents, the rights of free speech and assembly, and the need to avoid violence converge at the Cleveland convention.

This film, which originally aired on the Discovery Channel on February 13, 2000, should interest both the general public and students from middle school on up. For educators, the film’s focus on the rallies and the Cleveland convention makes it a useful piece around which to discuss larger issues of freedom in a democracy. The filmmakers, while avoiding stereotyping modern Klan members, whom they put in a context of a changing economy where segments of society feel left behind and threatened, allow the Klan to reveal, by its own words and actions, its message of hate and desire for power. The technical quality of the film is good. The editing is excellent, as it intertwines brief commentaries from authors, civil rights activists and scholars with Klan activities and interviews. The film features some disturbing language and images, such as a brief scene of a man lynched by the Klan, and a cross burning (which the Klan calls a “cross lighting”), where Klan members praise Jesus Christ while listening to “Amazing Grace,” as they ignite a cross. Inside the Ku Klux Klan is a thoughtful and informative film.

Highly recommended.