OppressionJune 1871
Congressional Joint Committee Hears KKK Atrocity Testimony
A joint Congressional committee investigated Klan violence through 1871, taking testimony from hundreds of Black victims in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and the Carolinas. Published in 13 volumes, the testimony documented systematic murder, flogging, and arson aimed at suppressing Black votes. Witnesses described bodies left on roads as warnings and churches burned with worshippers inside.