Symbol Type

Racist/Extremist Group

Symbol Description

A cross in a circle with the "blood drop" in the center

Also Known As

?

Traditional Use/Origins

?

Hate Group/Extremist Organization

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

Extremist Meaning or Representation

See Below

Background/History

According to the Klan, the blood drop represents the blood shed by Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for the White Aryan Race. The circle delimits those who can be considered an American citizen. After the Civil War (1860-1865), the defeated Southern White Protestants created a secret organization with this name and the purpose of sustain their domination. In 1915, in Georgia, an organization of similar name and intent was founded. The KKK is - also - anti-Black, anti-Jewish, and anti-Catholic. The name, first recorded in 1867, is possibly derivate from the Greek word kuklos (ring, circle) and from clan spelled with a k. This incorrect transcription could be intentional, but seems indicate the intellectual level of its probably founders, poor White farmers hostile against the competition of the Black liberated after the war. Because the violent habits of the KKK, others have derived the word from the sounds made in the cocking of a gun.