Kkk victory march8/27/2023 They also wore official special deputy sheriff badges pinned on them by the Orange County Sheriff. All were local Newburgh men and some from nearby towns, especially Walden. They came down Broadway in their unique organizational uniform of “huge” black sombreros and red capes and carrying imposing blackjacks. The line of march included a part of the Ku Klux Klan that I had never heard of: the Kavaliers. The other was revealed in the news story of this 1927 Labor Day parade. One is the story of an old woman who still remembered being told by her immigrant father to hide whenever the robed Klan marched up to the Heights past their little Liberty Street store. Might these men and the women of the Kamelia (Klanswomen) be hyper-patriotic, insulting, but harmless, as they went about their rituals in our city in those days? Two things indicate otherwise. Prayers were offered by their chaplain, Reverend George Pender, pastor of Newburgh’s Congregational Church. Two hymns were sung: Onward Christian Soldiers and America. Men marched in two columns toward a fifty-foot burning cross and then circled twice, each holding the shoulder of the man in front of him as prayers were said. Reportedly over 20 men were inducted at that event and the news reported on the intricate ceremony performed by a New York State Klan official. along Lake Street, Broadway and Liberty Streets, there was a big rally on the Farmer’s Market (Regional Market) grounds on Dickson Street. 1927 Klan parade marching east on Broadway near Mill Street (Courtesy of the Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands)Īfter the parade that set off at 4 p.m. Newburgh’s American Legion Band had declined to perform. The Beacon City Band provided the lead-off music. The newspapers reported that approximately 2,000 people turned out to watch and that there was a smattering of applause. Many “junior” KKK members from ages 12-18 marched too. They were led by a Newburgh man from Overlook Place, Robert Huddleson, who was their Exalted Cyclops. Five hundred and forty-two male and female KKK members, marched in robes and hoods but without covering their faces with an additional veil as was often done in ceremonial rallies. This big Newburgh parade was on Labor Day 1927. Klan articles appear describing rallies and parades from about 1924 (when Al Smith was elected) through 1928. Was it typical of the time? Old newspapers and the stories told by citizens who were here in the early 20 th century confirm the KKK was well known in these parts. This parade, shown in the pictures here, is so well-attended and so blatant. The Klan established a strong foothold in Orange County for a time. So was anti-immigrant sentiment as more people arrived from Eastern Europe. In New York State, where Catholic Alfred Smith had been elected governor, anti-Catholic sentiment was high. Among the many fraternal organizations flourishing was the Ku Klux Klan. A great war had just ended and loyalty and patriotism were treasured. It was also an era of staunch Americanism and suspicion of new immigrants and new thinking. KKK march downhill toward Liberty Street (Photo Courtesy of the Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands) This “northern” Hudson Valley town didn’t have Klan conflict, did it? Indeed it did and more than once. White-hooded people marching from rallies where giant crosses burned is still a chilling national image but most don’t associate it with Newburgh, New York. One example is a pair of pictures showing a Ku Klux Klan parade down Broadway in 1927. In those days, ethnic and religious discrimination was blatant and people could be insulted, abused, refused jobs and housing just because of their color or church affiliation or length of time in this country. While my generation and my parents’ can recall how bad things were before equality was more codified in the Civil Rights Act passed as I graduated from high school, only our grandparents knew how bad things were earlier in the twentieth century and back into the nineteenth.
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