One path to better health and wellness is knowing our personal and community histories. Mindful of the old adage, “There’s nothing new under the sun,”
I want to share a little bit of local history with you.
I want to tell you the story of the 1915 release of D.W. Griffith’s racist, silent film “Birth of a Nation.” It purposefully glorifies the virtues of white people. It specifically promotes white supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The film portrays southern Blackfolks as dangerous and in other racially despicable ways. The film sparked white on Black violence whenever and wherever it was shown.
The NAACP petitioned the National Board of Censorship requesting the banning of the film. They weren’t successful. In fact, in 1916 it was the first film shown in the East Room of the White House. It was viewed by President Woodrow Wilson, his family and members of his cabinet. President Wilson, who was a friend of Thomas Dixon, the author of the novel “The Clansman” which the movie is based on was reported to have been impressed with the film’s historical depiction.
In Tacoma and Spokane and all over the country, people actively protested showings of the film. Despite protests, it opened at the Clemmer Theater (currently known as the Bing). The Clemmer came into being through the cooperation of two wealthy Spokane citizens: August Paulsen and Howard S. Clemmer, the son of a theater builder.
To add insult to local injury, the Clemmer Theater hired actors to dress as mounted Klansmen in front of the theater to promote the film. According to The Spokesman-Review, “a mob of men pulled the Klansmen from their horses and beat them. Rocks and sticks flew … horses frightened, and a large crowd assembled.” The article does not identify who the members of the resisters were. However, there was resistance. The popularity of the film and growing racial and religious hatred in the city sparked the founding of Spokane’s NAACP Chapter in 1919. The Klan continued to rise throughout Spokane and throughout Washington.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the Hyde Building on West Riverside Avenue was the headquarters and stronghold for the Klan. It is recorded that the KKK embedded itself within the fabric of the city’s political and social institutions. Spokane’s history recounts that at its height within Washington, the Klan boasted 40,000 dues-paying members. All told approximately 1 out of 10 eligible native-born men in the state, between the ages of 21 and 79, were members of the Klan.
The Spokane Klan distributed printed copies of their creed around town, promoting the values of white supremacy, fears about immigration, changing social norms, and religious diversity. They targeted local Catholics and Blackfolks here while upholding and defending “true American values”. At one point, the Klan was accused of sending notes to Spokane’s Black residents warning them to leave the city. The Klan publicly denied responsibility.
Our city’s history recounts that one of the largest public Klan events was a rally in 1923 on Five Mile Prairie. It mentions the local figures who played leadership roles in the Klan’s rise to prominence. The Rev. C.A. Rexroad of Corbin Park Methodist Church was the head of the Klan during the early 1920s. Spokane attorney E.B. Quackenbush rose to the position of “Grand Dragon” for the entire Klan in Washington state. Quackenbush was also honored with a ceremonial key to the city of Bellingham.
Black resistance was led by churches like Bethel African Methodist Episcopal and Calvary Baptist Church and later by the local NAACP and the Spokane County Colored Republican Club which took a stand against politicians endorsed by the KKK. The existence of the Klan was also challenged by many local white officials and the media. By the early 1930s, the Klan’s power in Spokane reportedly began to decline due to local resistance.
The Klan and other white supremist organizations are still here. Hate-fueled organizations and members of a certain political party have a long history of manipulating the “truth” and gaining social influence through spreading lies, intimidation, fear, hatred and division. The good news is efforts like these have always been met with resistance by good people of all kinds, shades and religious beliefs who come together and say, “No!”
We owe resisters of our past a great deal. The call for courage and resistance in the face of challenging times is, in fact, timeless because, “There’s nothing new under the sun.” It’s our turn now to say, “No!”
Learn more at Spokane Historical (spokanehistorical.org/items/show/964) and The Spokesman-Review (spokesman.com). Dr. Bartlett is a retired educator. He retired from Gonzaga University in 2007 and Eastern Washington University in 2020.