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RUNNING HEAD: Hate Groups in the Educational Process

Dealing with Hate Groups near your
School District as an Administrator












Chris Krueger
Iowa State University



Dr. Brooks
EDADM556
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RUNNING HEAD: Hate Groups in the Educational Process
KKK in Iowa

As a young teacher right out of college I accepted a teaching position in Charles City,
Iowa. My wife and I began our family there and we really enjoyed the community. As I began
this project I was shocked to find that one of the five state recognized hate groups resided right in
our small new town. According to http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-map, Charles City
is home of The Fraternal White Knights of the KKK. as a teacher and community member of this
district I was unaware of their existence. I definitely never thought of having to work with or
against this group in that educational setting.

My family has since moved to Denver, Iowa, which was also my hometown growing up.
This website also notes that the 2
nd
of five state hate groups resides just 10 miles south of
Denver, in Waterloo, Iowa. This city is home to the United Klans of America. I also had never
really thought about or known that Denver sat so close to a group that has been known for
discrimination of the ugliest kind. I am a bit shaken and taken back to find that Iowa has the
highest per capita enrollment of Klansmen. Iowa, with a population of 3 million, has a dozen
Klan groups (http://blogs.clarionledger.com, para. 3, 2010). And according the splcenter.org
website NE Iowa has two chapters of the KKK in which I currently live smack-dab in the middle
of.

History of KKK
According to http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/ideology/ku-klux-
klan#.Ua3kfJX7V0o(2013), The infamous Ku Klux Klan began in 1865, and has long been
known for its violence. It is the oldest American hate group that not only attacks blacks, but
jews, immigrants, gays, lesbians, and most recently Catholics(para. 2). It focuses on trying to
prevent these groups from enjoying basic civil rights(par. 3). As an early group the Klan was
known for its lynchings, tar-and-featherings, rapes and other violent attacks on those
challenging white supremacy (para. 4). The Klan was well known for opposing the civil rights
movement and to preserve segregation in the face of unfavorable court rulings (para. 4).
Organizational Image Change
Todays Klan groups are motivated by a variety of theological and political ideologies
(splcenter.ord. Para 4, 2013). Many chapters of the Klan have tried to mask their racism by
focusing on promoting their civil rights. The United Klans of America, which is located in
Waterloo, has tried to take this approach. Their website http://www.theuka.us, boldly pictures a
white fist with the words, It is not racist to have pride in being white. The site lists many more
motivational saying with a white pride theme and has several links to white discrimination, the
14 codes of Aryan Ethics, all finding a way to seek out justification for promoting the white race.
According to Sonja Douglas Horsford (2010. p. 10) :
Bolman and Deal (1997) contend that meaning, belief, and faith are essential to a
symbolic perspective of organizationsOrganizatioanl culture is the interwoven
pattern of beliefs, values, practices, and artifacts that define for members who
they are and how they are to do things. (p.217)
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RUNNING HEAD: Hate Groups in the Educational Process
As a future school leader it is important to respect these groups organizational culture but at
the same time make sure their existence is not disrupting the educational process for our
students. Working with these groups can and will be a difficult task.
Impact of Cooperation
According to Horsford (2013):
Leaders play a valuable role in shaping school culture. Norris (1994) suggest that
shaping the school culture requires understanding, patience, and human relations
and communication skills on the part of the leader. In addition leaders must learn
the existing culture by studying heroes, rituals, ceremonies, and cultural networks
. (Horsford, 2010, p. 18)
I suppose in a way it will be important to try to understand where the hate groups are coming
from and try to get to understand their motive in interacting with the schools.
I know the biker group Sons of Silence located in Waterloo, Iowa used to work very
closely with a wrestling club in our area that many kids from our school use to attend. The group
sponsored and promoted the kids and seemed like an overall good group of people. Their image
and past history was something in question. They were looking for ways to improve their image
and working with kids was an area they were looking at doing this. Some of the members
children actually attended the club and that is how they became sponsors.
I remember as a schoolteacher and coach dealing just briefly with this group and being
very uneasy about the image this would portray onto our kids that attended the wrestling club. I
remember the biker group wanting some media press. They asked for the local news channel to
do a piece on how they were helping the wrestlers out financially, etc. I cringed the whole night
waiting to see how this would be portrayed. When it aired it was solely a piece on the
achievements of the wrestling club and no mention of the biker group. I can only imagine that
they felt they had been left out because of their prior reputation. Regardless of image change or
not, as a future school leader I would not welcome the idea one bit of having our school name
linked to a group that is negatively received by the community and district, I am not trying to
link this group to the KKK, only saying that in no shape or form can any good come out of
linking our school with the KKK organization. The end result can only be one of regret and
community disapproval.
Reality
I think in my future handlings with the earlier KKK groups that I mentioned, as long as
they are considered hate groups then I cannot see myself working closely at all with them, no
matter the benefits they may try to provide. According to Horsford (2010) , Principals
successful at creating more equitable and socially just schools encounter significant resistance
and barriers to their work(p.279). I see this definitely being an area of concern when working
with these types of groups of this magnitude. I think as a future leader it is going to be a
challenge if presented with the distinction of working with the KKK. Much of this resistance
comes from larger societal norms of deficit thinking that play out in schools and school systems
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RUNNING HEAD: Hate Groups in the Educational Process
designed to maintain disparities for historically marginalized students(p. 279). I foresee their
role in education being more of one that will challenge the schools as the schools look to
embrace diversity and social justice.
Social Justice
In todays ever-changing world, our schools are becoming more and more diverse. We as
future administrators will need to have policies and a plan in place to make sure all of our
students, no matter what makes them different from the norm, are treated to an equal and fair
education that allows all of them to reach their educational potential. If we are ever faced with
dealing with hate groups, much like the ones in our area in Iowa, then we will need to do all we
can to assure our students that we will fight to make sure the education process in our building is
not disrupted. This may prove to be a tough task if these hate groups ever try to press their
beliefs upon the school or community in which we lead. Social justice principals embody the
notion that when it comes to the question of whether or not educational leaders can successfully
create more equitable and excellent schools, the response is yes we can.




























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RUNNING HEAD: Hate Groups in the Educational Process

REFERENCES

Horsford, Sonya Douglass, editor. (2011). New perspectives in educational leadership:
Exploring social, political, and community contexts and meaning. Peter Lang: New York. ISBN
978-1-4331-0746

Journey to Justice. 3/2/13. Retrived from
http://blogs.clarionledger.com/jmitchell/2010/03/02/mississippi-second-only-to-iowa-in-kkk-
groups-per-capita/

Ku Klux Klan. 6/4/13. Retrieved from http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-
files/ideology/ku-klux-klan#.Ua3kfJX7V0o

Southern Poverty Law Center. 6/4/13. Retrieved from http://www.splcenter.org/get-
informed/hate-map

United Klans of America. 6/4/13. Retrieved from http://www.theuka.us