Around 80 community members met today to discuss whether the UW should rename two rooms at the Memorial Union, named after alumni affiliated with a campus Ku Klux Klan group. The two alumni, Academy Award-winning actor Fredric March and Porter Butts, a famous art historian and first director of the Memorial Union, were members […]
The History of the KKK in American Politics with Professor Linda Gordo...
Thursday host Allen Ruff talks to professor and award-winning historian Linda Gordon about her new book, The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition. They discuss the rise of the KKK in the twentieth century, including their presence in cities like Portland, OR and Indianapolis, […]
UW Landmarks Named for Alumni Associated with KKK have Students Taking...
A UW-Madison report on a Ku Klux Klan campus group describes it as a far cry from the masked terrorists known for violent acts against people of color. The university embarked on the study after a violent rally in Charlottesville over the proposed removal of a confederate statue there. Miles away in Madison, prominently displayed […]
Open Line: Addressing White Supremacists and Hate Groups
The domestic terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia, has brought important conversations on white supremacy and hate groups to national news. Esty Dinur hosts an open line featuring listener reactions to the recent events.
A Dark Chapter in Madison History
(WORT) — In this week’s Madison History Podcast, local historian Stu Levitan describes one of the darkest episodes in city history. During Prohibition, the Madison Police Department secretly used the Ku Klux Klan to conduct raids on the city’s poorest residents.