Biography/History:

The Original Knights of Louisiana, an independent klan organization, established a klavern (chapter) in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi, around October 1962. The Natchez klavern split from the Original Knights of Louisiana and assumed the name of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of Mississippi in February 1964. The organization elected Samuel Holloway Bowers as imperial wizard in April 1964, and he served for five years.

Throughout the 1960s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation monitored the activities of the klavern. In October 1967, the United States government won the convictions of Bowers and six other individuals for the 1964 murders of civil-rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner near Philadelphia, Neshoba County, Mississippi. After more than two years of appeals, Bowers and the others were sent to prison in 1970.

Scope and Content:

This item is entitled “The Kloran of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan: Realm of Mississippi.” It bears the number ninety-eight in ink on the cover. The kloran is divided into about twelve sections that describe various organizational aspects of the klavern. It begins with a recitation of the klan creed. The second section lists the elected offices of the klavern. Beside each is a brief explanation of the duties of the office. There are no specific names mentioned, but next to some of the offices are numerical annotations in pencil. It is unclear what these numbers mean. The third section is similar to the second. It lists the standing committees of the klavern and the duties of each. The next two sections consist of an outline of the order of business for the meetings and a diagram of the arrangement of the meeting space. Included in this diagram are locations of various officers of the klavern and directions for their movement. Sections six through eight contain the text used for the opening and closing ceremonies and the initiation of new members in a “naturalization” ritual. These sections contain marked passages and annotations in ink and pencil. The last two sections define the customs and language of the klavern. The first gives instructions for teaching handshakes, passwords, and signs to members. The last is a lexicon of terms used by klan members. The kloran ends with an imperial order that provides specific instructions for proper handling of the document.

Series Identification:

1. Kloran. n.d. 1 folder.