1924

The revived Ku Klux Klan, founded in 1915 by William Joseph Simmons following D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, reached peak membership of 4–6 million by 1924, operating openly in Northern as well as Southern states. Indiana, Oregon, and Ohio had larger Klan memberships than Mississippi. The Klan had elected governors in Oregon and Colorado and controlled significant numbers of state legislators across the country. Beyond lynching, the Klan conducted 'night rides' that terrorized Black families, burned churches, and flogged anyone perceived as challenging white supremacy. Its political influence peaked at the 1924 Democratic National Convention.

The revived Ku Klux Klan, founded in 1915 following D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, reached peak membership of 4–6 million by 1924, operating openly in Northern as well as Southern states. Indiana, Oregon, and Ohio had larger Klan memberships than Mississippi. The Klan had elected governors in Oregon and Colorado and controlled significant numbers of state legislators. Beyond lynching, the Klan conducted 'night rides' terrorizing Black families, burned churches, and flogged anyone perceived as challenging white supremacy. Its political influence peaked at the 1924 Democratic National Convention.

Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924, signed March 20, 1924, was part of an integrated legislative package with the Eugenical Sterilization Act. Walter Plecker, Virginia's registrar of vital statistics, enforced the law by reclassifying Native Americans with any Black ancestry as 'colored,' effectively erasing Indigenous identity in Virginia for decades — a practice he called 'racial cleansing.' Plecker sent threatening letters to families, hospitals, and registrars across Virginia. The law was explicitly cited as a model in Nazi Germany's Nuremberg Laws of 1935.

Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924 was part of an integrated legislative package with the Eugenical Sterilization Act. Walter Plecker, Virginia's registrar of vital statistics, enforced the law by reclassifying Native Americans with any Black ancestry as 'colored,' effectively erasing Indigenous identity in Virginia for decades. Plecker sent threatening letters to families, hospitals, and registrars across Virginia. The law was explicitly cited as a model in Nazi Germany's Nuremberg Laws of 1935. It remained on the books until Loving v. Virginia in 1967.