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Everyday Klansfolk?

Craig Fox

Craig Fox, who completed his PhD in History at the University of York in 2008, has been winning plaudits for his new book, Everyday Klansfolk: White Protestant Life and the KKK in 1920s Michigan. Based on a treasure trove of recently uncovered material on the Ku Klux Klan in Newaygo County, Michigan, the work offers a detailed reconstruction of life in one of America's most notorious secret orders.

But much of what Craig has found out about the Klan is rather different from the image people might expect. In 1920s middle America, the Klan gained popularity not by appealing to the fanatical fringes of society, but by attracting the interest of "average" citizens. During this period, the Klan recruited members through the same unexceptional channels as any other organization or club, becoming for many a respectable public presence, a vehicle for civic activism, or the source of varied social interaction.

This raises difficult questions about the relationship between Michigan's history and an organization many of today's citizens would rather forget. Craig notes that for many in Michigan today, "a Klan that existed frighteningly close to home, both geographically and generationally, was a thought best forgotten. For others, though, the confrontation with an uncomfortable past presented instead a welcome opportunity to learn universal lessons about human nature, about surprisingly ordinary people in extraordinary contexts."

Fox's work builds upon his PhD thesis from York. "Co-supervised by two very different historians with overlapping interests," Craig notes, "my research project benefited from diverse perspectives - great for throwing ideas around and ultimately shaping what it eventually became."

Everyday Klansfolk has received a 2012 Michigan Notable Book Award and 2011 Michigan Historical Society State History Award.