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

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

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 Tennessee.

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

1. Estill Springs
2. Medina
3. Harrison
4. Pulaski (Photos)
5. Lenoir City (Photos)
6. Paris (Photos)
7. Mcminnville (Photos)
8. Dyersburg (Photos)
9. Tullahoma
10. Cleveland (Photos)

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how Estill Springs end up as the most racist place in Tennessee.

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

How we calculated the most racist cities in Tennessee

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 20 cities with at least 1 Klavern in Tennessee 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 27 active Kalverns in Tennessee.

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.

1. Estill Springs

Population: 2,120
Klaverns: 1

2. Medina

Population: 3,852
Klaverns: 1

3. Harrison

Population: 7,595
Klaverns: 1

4. Pulaski

Population: 7,734
Klaverns: 1

5. Lenoir City

Population: 8,867
Klaverns: 1

6. Paris

Population: 10,165
Klaverns: 1

7. Mcminnville

Population: 13,600
Klaverns: 1

8. Dyersburg

Population: 16,998
Klaverns: 1

9. Tullahoma

Population: 18,900
Klaverns: 1

10. Cleveland

Population: 42,331
Klaverns: 2

There You Have It

When you’re looking at the places in Tennessee 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 Tennessee with KKK organizations from 1915-1940.
For more Tennessee reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Best Places To Live In Tennessee
• These Are The 10 Most Ghetto Places In Tennessee
• These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In Tennessee

Detailed List Of The Most Racist Cities In Tennessee