Alright, its just another (extreme) branch of racism, white supremacy and nationalism.
I will start with a short description, to help the discussion.
They are not just normal racists. They are extreme rascists and also think that they are bigger than the black men. Their political position is far right. They also have an anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic, anti-Communist and anti-immigrant position.
The most know activity they perform is burning crosses, mostly to intimidate victims and demonstrate their 'power'.
There have been 3 major Klans through the history:
The first Klan lasted from 1865 till the 1870s. In their peak record, they had around 550,000 members.
The second Klan was the boom. It lasted from 1915 till around 1944. In their peak in 1924, they had 4,000,000 members all over the US.
After the second Klan, the people that were in it greatly reduced, although now there were many independent and minor Klans.
The third clan exists since 1946 and its a quite small one compared to the past ones. A few years ago they had around 6,000 members.
Big thanks to the english Wikipedia for most of the info here.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan)
Discuss!