Pulaski, Tennessee - Backwards Plaque Shuns the KKK
- Address:
- 211 W. Madison St., Pulaski, TN [Show Map]
- Directions:
- Downtown. Two blocks north of US 64 Business/College St. and two blocks west of US 31/1st St. Outside the law office of Robert D. Massey and Associates, which is on Madison St. between 3rd and 4th Sts.
- Phone:
- 931-424-8655
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The KKK was originally formed in a law office in Pulaski, TN by some Confederate War veterans in 1865. For a long, long time this was an "ugly secret" of a small Southern American town. In the 1920s the Daughters of the Confederacy placed a plaque on the building which housed the former law offices where the Klan was originally formed. The plaque thus remained in defiance on the building for roughly 70 years. Understandably, most of the residents of Pulaski simply didn't want to be known as the "birthplace of the KKK" -- but the plaque remained until 1990 when the building was purchased by Don Massey.
Instead of simply removing the plaque and giving Klan supporters a potential lighting rod for demonstrations he simply reversed the plaque - so now only the smooth bronze surface is visible to passers-by.
Today Pulaski doesn't ignore the historical fact that they are the birthplace of the KKK, but they do ignore the Klan's message. And in the end, they have found a way to preserve history without keeping the focus on the negative aspects of an ugly situation and organization.
For the record, the original text of the plaque, which can't be viewed today, read "Ku Klux Klan organized in this, the law office of Judge Thomas M. Jones, Dec. 24, 1865".
I prefer the smooth side, myself! [Greg Brown, 12/28/2000]
Nearby Offbeat Places
- Giant Chicken, Elkton, TN - 12 mi.
- Wyatt Archaeological Museum - Noah's Ark Found!, Cornersville, TN - 15 mi.
- Head of a Man Creature, Lebanon, TN - 15 mi.
- In the region: Giant Statue of a Boy, Athens, AL - 28 mi.
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