Braddock Heights and the Traditional Rebel Knights: Community Healing in a Small Town with a Difficult History

Abstract

This research project examines the town of Braddock Heights, Maryland as a case study on the 1980s resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. I examine the previous events and preexisting conditions that fueled white supremacy in the community, as well as analyzing the actions of the Klan and others’ responses from 1980-2015. My research assesses the extent to which community healing has occurred in Braddock Heights and proposes further action. I utilized primary and secondary sources to answer my research questions, as well as testimony from Braddock Heights residents. My research fits into previous literature in that the project studies the impact of the Klan on a specific community. However, my work varies from past research in that other case studies tend to examine communities during the 1920s resurgence of the Klan, while this presentation studies a community during the 1980s resurgence. Previous works studying the 1980s resurgence tend to focus on larger areas of the United States. Though those studies answer important questions, it is equally important to understand why the Klan was able to hold a given community in its grasp in recent memory and how this community recovered. I examine the latter two questions in my work.