Ellie Russell, History 250: The Historian Craft, Spring 2022

Samuel Avery is not widely known to current students at the University of Nebraska. If they recognize the name, it is likely from the chemistry building named in his honor, rather than his attempt to keep the Ku Klux Klan, or KKK, off of campus in 1921. On the surface, Avery’s interaction with the KKK seems to be successful in keeping the University from associating with the group, but despite the partial victory, the University rarely acknowledges its relationship to the group. This absence from Avery’s legacy indicates a shame surrounding the associations between the KKK, the University, and its home city. The actions of Chancellor Avery were enough to keep the Ku Klux Klan off of the University of Nebraska campus but not enough to reduce its power in Lincoln, therefore the University should acknowledge its past relationship to the white supremacy group.

In the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan had a massive resurgence that brought it out of its birthplace of the American South and into Midwestern institutions. After the Grant administration cracked down on KKK activities in 1871, the group was believed by most Midwesterners to be dead. Due to the failure of Reconstruction, however, it was revived by William J. Simmons, a Methodist preacher from Alabama, in 1915. While it remained temporarily rooted in the American South, Simmons eventually recruited Edward Young Clarke to launch a campaign that would bring the Klan into areas where it had not previously existed. Drawing on World War One anti-immigration and anti-Catholic sentiments, the Klan flourished and took root in midwestern states, including Nebraska.[1]

The Klan was first documented in Nebraska in 1921. It had a small but quickly growing population in both rural and urban centers alike. The Klan was a secret organization, but it was by no means underground. Though the names of individual members were kept secret, the activities of the groups, called Klaverns or Units, were often out in the open, known to law officials and citizens alike. In Omaha, for instance, the Mayor and City Commissioners “admitted that they are keeping in close touch with the Ku Klux Klan, both locally and nationally,” according to a September 1921 edition of The Lincoln Journal Star.[2]

Despite the open activities and popularity of the Klan, their power was not entirely unchecked. One such instance of the Klan being denied institutional power was when rumors spread of an attempt to bring the KKK to the University of Nebraska in September of 1921. The rumors were apparently sparked by the visit of Edward Young Clarke to Omaha, a city about 60 miles from the University in Lincoln. The visit is reported as taking place on September 12th, 1921, where Clarke “arrived in Omaha to instruct a class of organizers, who will work thruout [sic] Nebraska.”[3] Despite Clarke’s visits, it remains unclear how the rumor that the Klan was starting a University branch was actually sparked. Spokesmen for the Klan adamantly denied claims that they sought a University Klan in other publications prior to and following this report.

If the reasons for the rumors were unclear, however, the response to those rumors was not. Chancellor Avery responded to the reports of the alleged University Klan by stating that “the organization of a K.K.K. in the University is highly undesirable.”[4] While it is not directly stated in Avery’s response, it is believed that this statement is based on a 1909 Student Senate rule against secret organizations.[5] This perception was largely formed as a result of the response by the Lincoln Klavern to Chancellor Avery. They responded via The Daily Nebraskan, the student newspaper, that they were unaware that the student senate rule existed, and they had “no intention of becoming an organization whose membership is not secret.” Furthermore, they wrote that because the Klan was a “law abiding organization” they decided that “no student of the University of Nebraska [may] be admitted to the membership” and “no unit of the Klan [will] be established within the student body of the University of Nebraska.”[6]

Despite Avery’s clear language against the Klan, it is important to note that his response was “for the time, unofficial,” and there was never an official statement from the University.[7] Avery’s personal response and a brief statement by The Innocents, the chancellor's senior honor society, were the only interventions associated with the University in regards to the formation of a campus Klan. The Innocents’ statement largely echoed the sentiments of Avery’s statement, which was their role within campus, yet their response is considerably less aggressive than Avery’s. They expressed that “an organization of that kind may have its place in cities and towns throughout the state,” but “the University of Nebraska is not the place for the nucleus of a Klan.”[8]

In contrast to the Innocents statement, Avery makes it clear that he is personally against the Klan in his response. He critiques the Klan’s restrictive membership, noting that even those who were not white, protestant Americans “showed their 100% Americanism on the battlefields in France.”[9] Avery makes direct reference to the claim of Clarke, who said during his visit to Omaha the Klan was “non-everything that is un-American.”[10] The most direct statement against the Klan in Avery’s statement still contains a strong caveat, as he wrote, “I make no accusation against any interested in promoting the organization, but the name itself suggests the old mob violence which I remember disgraced the country in my childhood.”[11] Statements such as this possess a certain open-mindedness towards the organization which leaves the door open for Klan activity elsewhere in the community. While Avery condones the Klan in his solitary statement, his personal distaste for the group did not translate this into further action within his role as chancellor.

Between Avery’s statement and the response from the Klan, it seemed that it was the end of the matter of the formation of a Klan unit on University soil. To a certain extent, this is true. There was never an actual Klan unit at the University of Nebraska composed of its students. If, however, Avery wanted the University to truly “be characterized by a broad, liberal spirit of fellowship” and not be associated with the Klan, then his success is left up to interpretation.[12] There are several associations between the University of Nebraska and the Ku Klux Klan which do not directly relate to a Klan unit forming at the University.

The first of these matters is the issue of a Klan unit from Kansas performing at a halftime show at the University of Nebraska during the 1921 homecoming game. The announcement that the Klan would be performing at the halftime show came in The Daily Nebraskan on November 12, 1921, only two months after Avery made his statement. The paper advertised that “the Ku Klux Klan of Kansas will put on a demonstration for the crowd,”[13] though there are no additional details about what a “demonstration” entailed. While it isn’t clear in what capacity the Klan performed, whether they were actually on the field, or who they were invited by, the fact that it is reported in the official student newspaper means that this performance was in some way approved by the University.

The other way the University is indirectly associated with the Klan is in the massive rise of the Klan in Lincoln, the home of the University of Nebraska. At the time of Avery’s statement, there were reported to be “647 members” of the Lincoln Klavern.[14] The members engaged in some moral policing activities and marches around Lincoln, but in 1921 there were no reports of the cross burnings which sometimes occurred in more rural regions of Nebraska.[15] Contrary to Avery’s intent, however, Lincoln became the center of Klan activity in Nebraska only a few years after the exchange of letters between the University and the Klan. Downtown Lincoln was the host of the 1924 state Klan convention, which featured 1,100 cloaked figures and a Fourth of July fireworks show. The attendance for this was so great that “if all the cars had been bunched between the city and the fair grounds there would have been such a jam as [state] fair rushes rarely produce.” Following the fireworks show, an initiation featuring a “great firing cross” took place, in which “between 100 or 200” members were initiated into the Lincoln Klavern.[16] The following year, the Klan convention coincided with a state fair. Klan Historian Michael Schuyler estimates that the activities of the Klan, including picnics, cross burnings, marches, and a “Klan wedding” was attended by 25,000 people.[17] According to one member, the Klan was so popular in Lincoln that “one can scarcely walk without bumping into” a Klansman in public.[18]

Despite the obvious rise in Klan activities in the years after Avery’s initial statement, the University did not publish another word concerning the steep rise in public Klan activity. Avery’s unofficial personal statement in 1921 remains the only indication that the University opposed the Klan in any capacity. While Avery’s 1921 scuffle with the Klan shows that he was willing to rise against the group as a community member, the abandonment of any further action shows that he was not willing to exert pressure as a Chancellor. If Avery was troubled by the halftime performance endorsed by the school or the cross burning that took place within miles of campus, there is no trace of it beyond 1921. While Avery should be commended for his decision not to allow the Klan to form within the University, he should also be held accountable by history for allowing the Klan to grow increasingly powerful in Lincoln during his tenure. The University of Nebraska has always had a close relationship with its host city, not only as it is a land-grant University, but also as it possesses a good amount of cultural and economic power. It seems, initially, that the actions of the University would be enough to quell the growth of the Ku Klux Klan in Lincoln, if not the entire state. However, the Klan only continued to flourish in Nebraska through the 1920s, peaking at 45,000 members by the estimate of Michael Schuyler.[19]

The actions of Samuel Avery in 1921 demonstrate what was probably a common attitude towards the KKK; he was nervous about having direct association with the group, but he tolerated their presence in his neighborhood. Overall, the 1921 effort to bring the KKK to the University, and Avery’s subsequent response, did not become a large part of his legacy. When the chemistry building was dedicated to him, there was no mention of his statement. In his memoriam from the University, there is no mention of the KKK backing down. In the end, it is likely that the general attitude of the University, and all of Lincoln, is to ignore the stain on the city’s legacy by omitting this chapter of Avery’s tenure from history. To draw attention to Avery’s condemnation of the Klan would also draw attention to his complacency with the Klan, along with some students and citizens of Lincoln. However unpleasant it might be, the University should make more effort to address its complicated relationship with the Klan in order to avoid another period of silence which only strengthens “that old mob rule.”  

Endnotes

1. Michael W Schuyler, “The Ku Klux Klan in Nebraska, 1920-1930,” Nebraska History 66 (1985): 235.
2. “Omaha Ban on Ku Klux” Lincoln Journal Star, 23 September 1921.
3. “Omaha, Neb.” Lincoln Journal Star, 12 September 1921.
4. Avery Statement, 19 September 1921, Samuel Avery, Speeches, Chancellor Records (RG 05-10-02) Box 1 Folder 3 Item 8. Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.
5. “Innocents Frown on Uni Klan Unit,” The Daily Nebraskan, 21 September 1921.
6. Order No. 27, 19 September 1921, Samuel Avery, Subject Correspondence, Chancellor Records (RG 05-10-04) Box 2 Folder 7. Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.
7. Avery Statement
8. “Innocents Frown on Uni Klan Unit,”
9. Avery Statement
10. “Omaha, Neb.”
11. Avery Statement
12. Avery Statement
13. “Huskers Pointed for Jayhawk Battle” The Daily Nebraskan, 12 November 1921.
14. “Only Getting Half the Fee” Lincoln Journal Star, 20 September 1921.
15. “Saw Ku Klux Klan Put on Their ‘Nighties’” The Beatrice Daily Express, 29 September 1922.
16. “Klan Stages a Big Show” Lincoln Journal Star, 02 July 1924.
17. Schuyler 236 18 “Omaha, Neb.” 19 Schuyler 235

Bibliography 

• Avery Statement, 19 September 1921, Samuel Avery, Speeches, Chancellor Records (RG 05-10-02) Box 1 Folder 3 Item 8. Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.
• “Innocents Frown on Uni Klan Unit,” The Daily Nebraskan, 21 September 1921. Nebraska Newspapers.
• "Kansas Ku Klux Klan," The Daily Nebraskan, 12 November 1921. Nebraska Newspapers.
• Kinley, Kylie. “Ku Klux Klan members carry an American flag in a parade in Gering, NE, ca.1920s. RG4909-1-29”, digital image, History Nebraska, “When Nebraskans Celebrated July 4th with KKK Cross Burnings” https://history.nebraska.gov/blog/when-nebraskans-celebrated-july-4th-kkk-cross-burning.
• “Klan Stages a Big Show” Lincoln Journal Star, 02 July 1924. History Nebraska Microfilm Box 101 Evening State Journal May 15, 1943 (Vol. 43) to Aug 13, 1924 (Vol. 43) 071 L63je.
• “Omaha Ban on Ku Klux” Lincoln Journal Star, 23 September 1921. History Nebraska.
• “Omaha, Neb.” Lincoln Journal Star, 12 September 1921. History Nebraska.
• “Only Getting Half the Fee” Lincoln Journal Star, 20 September 1921. History Nebraska.
• Order No. 27, 19 September 1921, Samuel Avery, Subject Correspondence, Chancellor Records (RG 05-10-04) Box 2 Folder 7. Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.
• Piersol, Richard, “Nebraska State Fair: A needed venue in the 1800s and early 1900s,” Lincoln Journal Star, 25 August 2009, https://journalstar.com/news/local/nebraska-state-fair -a-needed-venue-in-the-1800s-and-early-1900s/article_57a26d20-91a7-11de-9f2d-001c c4c03286.html
• "Rumor Klan Unit to be Formed Here," The Daily Nebraskan, 20 September 1921. Nebraska Newspapers.
• “Samuel Avery,” digital image, Office of the Chancellor, https://www.unl.edu/chancellor/ samuel-avery.
• “Saw Ku Klux Klan Put on Their ‘Nighties’” The Beatrice Daily Express, 29 September 1922. History Nebraska.
• Schuyler, Michael W. “The Ku Klux Klan in Nebraska, 1920-1930”. Nebraska History. https:// history.nebraska.gov/sites/history.nebraska.gov/files/doc/publications/NH1985Klan.pdf
• The Cornhusker. Vol. 23. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska, 1921, The Innocents Society, pg 378. http://yearbooks.unl.edu/cdrh/yearbooks/yearbook.php?year=1898,319#page/1/ mode/transcription.