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Contemporary Hate Crimes During The Civil Rights Movement Essay

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Contemporary Hate Crimes Religion plays a vital role in everyone’s life one way or another. Whether it be a small influence for major decisions or influence for even the most mundane tasks. Religion can be used as an excuse for certain actions, whether good or bad, and can spark hate amongst people who do not share their beliefs. Religion is a powerful thing. However, when left open to interpretation can cause a dangerous impact to everyone around. The White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan first started in 1900s during the Civil Rights Movement by Sam Bowers. Bowers was raised Methodist, but transitioned to Christianity after feeling the power of God. He received a vision where God claimed him and told him that he had a better plan for Sam. He told Bowers to continue living, Bowers contemplated suicide and suffered severe depression, and that Sam would do great things in the world if he listened to God’s words and study scripture. He read countless novels from Nazi authors saying African Americans were immoral and without God, and it was their responsibility to purge out this evil because it was “God’s first law of life” (53), and novels describing whites as being God’s chosen race. He, then, created the White Knights because Bowers believed that the Civil Rights Movement was because of Communism and radical liberals, all of which, he believed, were created by Satan to throw people off God’s path and into hell. Bowers believed that he was, “… called by God to accomplish the

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