Police are conducting an investigation after Ku Klux Klan flyers were recently discovered outside of three Black churches in Columbia, Tennessee, according to WKRN-TV News.
The recruitment flyers were found outside of Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, Bethel Chapel AME Church, and Faith United Missionary Baptist Church. Churchgoers in the area came upon them as they exited service. While faded from the rainy weather, some of the language was still legible, saying, “Be warned.”
Kenny Anderson Sr., church pastor of Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist, spoke about the ordeal.
“That lets me know now it’s a threat,” Anderson said. “I don’t see it as a prank; I don’t see it as just three churches, why not all of them? Well, I don’t care if it’s just one, it was still an act of hate and evil, and we have to stand against that.”
There has been an uptick in these kinds of incidents across the country, much to the disturbance of Black community members.
In May 2022, the Associated Press reported that KKK leaflets were left outside Black churches in rural Mississippi. Despite these threats, KKK membership has steadily declined over the decades, according to Lydia Bates, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“They are, not surprisingly, not good at conflict resolution, so there is a lot of infighting that splits up groups and then they splinter into other smaller groups and they make new names, but it’s all the same members,” Bates told The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
The flyers in Tennessee were apparently the work of the Old Glory Knights, a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan that has only appeared in the past few years.
Bethel Chapel AME Church released a statement on its Facebook page denouncing the threats.
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