In the wake of the terror that occurred in Charlottesville, VA this past weekend, I wondered if Michigan could be another state where the KKK/White Supremacy/Nazi terrorist groups show up to cause terror. I learned, that maybe, they are already here.

I stumbled upon an article from Road Snacks that outlined ten cities in Michigan with the most Ku Klux Klan members. No joke. Road Snacks is kind of a tongue in cheek travel site, so I don't read too much into what they publish. The article does claim that it is meant to be 'infotainment' and not to get everyone riled up, but as I was scanning through I realized that I was completely nieve.

I knew that there are racists 'out there' but never thought to keep an eye out for this behavior on a large scale in my own state. I figured, like most people, it was just a small group of nuts who are just wrong. Until I took a gander at the table of all cities in Michigan with KKK organizations from 1915-1940:

Roadsnacks.net
Roadsnacks.net
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This information shocked me. Especially the Flint numbers with the same amount of hateful 'Klaverns' as a bigger city, Detroit. I understand that the years the information is pulled from is when the KKK was at its height. But, you know that type of thinking didn't just stop, it's only been 77 years since the 1940s. It stopped being popular for a bit, but now, in my opinion, has seen a resurgence with the current political climate.

Here's what I take from this information. Don't take the Ku Klux Klan and other terrorist organizations lightly as just a few idiots who like to dress up in sheets and say horrible things but won't really do anything because they are cowards who already feel inferior. I was wrong thinking that the KKK/White Supremacists/Nazis would never do anything because they just don't have the numbers. They do. And staying silent mocking these terrorists does not help ensure your community is safe from seeing horrible events like the ones that took place in Charlottesville.


I believe that we are in a very pivotal time in our history where you are either going to be on the right side of history or the 'alt-right' side of history. It's no longer a racist Uncle at the family BBQ that we roll our eyes and walk away from, this is a much bigger problem for all of us. I hope that we can all work together to make sure that these terroristic hate groups don't define our communities and that we take these threats very seriously. We must do this.

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