Book Review-

 

 

 

Bibliography:

Bartoletti, S. C. (2014). THEY CALL THEMSELVES THE KKK: THE BIRTH OF AN AMERICAN TERRORIST GROUP. Clarion Books.

 

 

 

Plot Summary:

“Boys, let us get up a club.” With those words, six restless young men raided the linens at a friend’s mansion, pulled pillowcases over their heads, hopped on horses, and cavorted through the streets of Pulaski, Tennessee in 1866. The six friends named their club the Ku Klux Klan, and all too quickly, their club grew into the self-proclaimed Invisible Empire with secret dens spread across the South. This is the story of how a secret terrorist group took root in America’s democracy.

 

 

 

Critical Analysis:

Bartoletti uses chilling and vivid personal testimonies, interviews, historical journals, diary entries, and archived images from newspapers to bring the text to life. She includes an epilogue, acknowledging that the Klan has never entirely dissolved. Included in the book is a brief timeline of the Civil Rights Movement starting from 1863 and details an unsettling Klan Congress meeting she attended in 2006, long after the group was said to have disbanded. Bartoletti’s overall stance is quite clear, and she does not hesitate to label the KKK as terrorists as early as the book’s extended title. Bartoletti's account is not subdued, and she takes the time to admit her regret if readers are offended by any material that has not been edited from any primary document, no matter how offensive the language may sound to our contemporary ears. It is not light reading, and is more appropriate for older mature readers, but it told me all what I wanted to know, and plenty more. 

 

 

 Review Excerpts:

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction 

School Library Journal, starred review: "Bartoletti effectively targets teens with her engaging and informative account that presents a well-structured inside look at the KKK, societal forces that spawn hate/terrorist groups, and the research process.”

The Horn Book, starred review: “Bartoletti tackles a tough, grim subject with firmness and sensitivity...Period illustrations throughout make seeing believing, and the appended civil rights timeline, bibliography, and source notes are an education in themselves. Exemplary in scholarship, interpretation, and presentation.”

 


Connections:

-Use this book as a tool to discuss empathy and perspective with students. Discuss how others would feel being treated badly for no reason, what would you do if you were being treated unfairly, what are some things you can do in your community or school to help people to feel included?                                                              

 

 

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