These Are The 10 Cities In Arkansas With The Most KKK Members


We measured the places in the Natural State where there have historically been the most Klaverns per capita.

This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out.

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Do you live in one of the most racist cities in Arkansas?

We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a hate crime that happens not that far away from us. Whether it’s the ‘white vs. black’ hate crime that we are so used to being part of America’s culture, or today’s hate crime (gay bashing), it never seems to end.

Hate groups can be hard to measure, because typically, there’s no record of where they exist. But there is data on where there were distinct Klaverns of the Ku Klux Klan in each state. We wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the data in order to identify the most racist cities in Arkansas.

The result is the following list of the most racist cities in the Natural State:

  1. Okolona
  2. Parkdale
  3. Buckner
  4. Lockesburg
  5. Sulphur Springs
  6. Arkansas City
  7. Hartford
  8. Hermitage
  9. Bearden
  10. Mount Ida

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how Okolona end up as the most racist place in Arkansas.

Or check out the most ghetto cities and the most dangerous cities in Arkansas.

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How we calculated the most racist cities in Arkansas

While there are surveys and public polls on what places might be the most racist, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from where KKK organizations have existed.

Specifically, we analyzed research out of Virginia Commonwealth University that mapped the Klans in each area and gave a history of their recruitment from 1915-1940.

This report is an analysis of the locations of historic KKK organizations divided by the number of people who currently live there.

There were a total of 49 cities with at least 1 Klavern in Arkansas during the time period of reference.

A quick history lesson on the KKK

What is the KKK? In a nutshell, the KKK was formed back in 1865, and there have been three separate movements, all three of which were supposedly ‘purification movements’ in America. The 1865-1870s movement sought to overthrow Republican state governments.

The second movement (1915 – 1944) saw millions of members of the KKK form, which was opposed to immigration into America, especially against Catholics and Jews.

The most memorable movement of the KKK started in the 1950s, which was involved in the Civil Rights movement, and which targeted the black population in America.

The number of active members of the KKK is much smaller these days.

At the Klan’s height, there were 52 active Kalverns in Arkansas.

The cities below are the places where there were Klans back in the day, and where the number of Klans per the current population is high. Meaning, the number of racist members of the community has historically been the highest, according to the math.

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1. Okolona


Population: 189
Klaverns: 1

2. Parkdale


Population: 296
Klaverns: 1

3. Buckner


Population: 375
Klaverns: 1

4. Lockesburg


Population: 780
Klaverns: 2

5. Sulphur Springs


Population: 396
Klaverns: 1

6. Arkansas City

Source: Public Domain

Population: 543
Klaverns: 1

7. Hartford


Population: 657
Klaverns: 1

8. Hermitage


Population: 875
Klaverns: 1

9. Bearden


Population: 1,053
Klaverns: 1

10. Mount Ida


Population: 1,160
Klaverns: 1

There You Have It

When you’re looking at the places in Arkansas with the highest number of KKK Klaverns per capita back in the day, this is an accurate list.

Below is a chart which lists all cities in Arkansas with KKK organizations from 1915-1940.
For more Arkansas reading , check out:

Detailed List Of The Most Racist Cities In Arkansas

City Rank Population No. of Historical Klaverns
Okolona 1 189 1
Parkdale 2 296 1
Buckner 3 375 1
Lockesburg 4 780 2
Sulphur Springs 5 396 1
Arkansas City 6 543 1
Hartford 7 657 1
Hermitage 8 875 1
Bearden 9 1,053 1
Mount Ida 10 1,160 1
Sulphur Springs 11 1,260 1
Newark 12 1,536 1
Marshall 13 1,601 1
Leachville 14 1,693 1
Huntsville 15 2,168 1
Mena 16 5,701 2
Bald Knob 17 2,918 1
Gravette 18 3,190 1
Prescott 19 3,248 1
Corning 20 3,267 1
Manila 21 3,283 1
Paris 22 3,503 1
Lonoke 23 4,255 1
Pocahontas 24 6,543 1
De Queen 25 6,671 1
Osceola 26 7,535 1
Newport 27 7,817 1
Wynne 28 8,296 1
Monticello 29 9,718 1
Hope 30 10,033 1
Batesville 31 10,386 1
Malvern 32 10,695 1
Arkadelphia 33 10,703 1
Magnolia 34 11,681 1
Harrison 35 13,103 1
Forrest City 36 15,122 1
El Dorado 37 18,590 1
Searcy 38 23,524 1
Paragould 39 26,859 1
Benton 40 32,208 1
Hot Springs 41 35,486 1
Bentonville 42 38,572 1
Pine Bluff 43 47,058 1
Rogers 44 58,944 1
Jonesboro 45 70,217 1
Springdale 46 73,789 1
Fayetteville 47 77,264 1
Fort Smith 48 87,193 1
Little Rock 49 196,188 2