June 09, 2019

The History of the Yuba-Sutter Ku Klux Klan

While it's widely disputed and a rarely discussed part of our history, the presence of the KKK in the Yuba-Sutter area was indeed here. How deep was racism in the north state? There is proof that groups such as the Ku Klux Klan were active in the Sacramento Valley, but yet many have a hard time believing that the KKK had a strong hold on the area.

After World War I, throughout the 1910-30s there was a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan on the west coast. Proof of this is shown time and time again through historical documentation. Many interested parties in the north state joined the Sacramento chapter of the KKK, as well as smaller chapters, such as the Yuba Sutter Chapter, known as " Knights of the Ku Klux Klan - Marysville Klan, the Realm of California".

Unlike many stereo-typical Klansmen of the south, west coast members worked to blend into society and portray themselves as anti-racist. In many articles I have read refers to the Klan as the "Invisible Empire". It's noted that the Sacramento Ku Klux Klan helped to paint a local African American church during this time period. It's possible that this move made them less suspicious amongst co-workers, acquaintances, and associates, giving them the ability to hold powerful and influential positions within and around the valley.

The chapter in the Yuba Sutter was well-organized and respected among larger groups within the KKK. Chapters here were eager to please and bold. This manifested in the form of suspicion of Catholics, new immigrants and those that harbored or hired non-white workers.

From Our dishonorable past: KKK's Western roots date to 1868, "The devil continued to be busy. Another church in Sacramento was torched. Arsonists burned a white-owned brandy distillery for employing Chinese workers. Farmers were attacked and their Chinese workers terrorized and abused in Santa Cruz. In the Grass Valley north of Sacramento, masked hoodlums, reportedly KKK members, robbed and tortured Chinese ranch hands. Waite reports: “California Klansmen generally assaulted Chinese immigrants and their white employers, while occasionally threatening Republican politicians and journalists as well.” The tactics playing out in the South were becoming prevalent in the Golden State."

In the 20s, the Sacramento Bee published 144 names of members within the Sacramento area. Those who were clueless about their influence within the communities of Sacramento, as well as those surrounding communities, were outraged. You can read more about this in Prohibition in Sacramento: Moralizers & Bootleggers in the Wettest City in the Nation.

The Klan's influence reached far and wide, and evidence of it reaches to the Yuba-Sutter is there and plentiful, if you look for it.

THE EARLIEST EVIDENCE OF THE KU KLUX KLAN'S PRESENCE IN YUBA COUNTY
Marysville Daily Appeal, Volume XVIII, Number 21, 25 July 1868

The burial of Yuban Klansman, Clarence Horner

Clarence appears to be held on charges of Grand Larceny

Madera Mercury, Volume XXXVI, Number 115, 10 August 1922

Sacramento Union, Volume 227, Number 26078, 10 August 1922

From Find A Grave

Clarence Arthur Horner

BIRTH 1878

Chico, Butte County, California, USA
DEATH 7 Aug 1922 (aged 43–44)
Sutter County, California, USA
BURIAL
Yuba City CemeteryYuba City, Sutter County, California, USA
MEMORIAL ID 17382985 · View Source

KKK LEADER- THE YUBA COUNTY BANDIT

Colusa Herald, Volume 47, Number 143, 17 June 1932