Longform investigative essay uncovering how, during Prohibition, the KKK stepped into law enforcement roles—shaping racial hierarchy and policing practices that echo through America’s criminal justice system today.
When the Freed Fought Back: The Black Militias Who Faced the Klan — and Won a Nation’s Respect
In 1871, under President Ulysses S. Grant, Black militias in South Carolina stood shoulder to shoulder with U.S. troops to dismantle Ku Klux Klan terror. Led by men like Prince Rivers, Robert Smalls, and Jim Williams, these disciplined defense units proved that when granted the means, freedmen could protect their communities — not through charity, but through courage and organization. Their stand remains one of America’s most overlooked triumphs of Reconstruction.
Why the FBI Hunted the Panthers but Not the Klan: A Tale of Power, Fear, and Kansas City’s Borderland Shadow
Kansas called itself a “free state,” while Missouri flew the Confederate banner. Yet in 1930s Kansas City, Kansas, the Ku Klux Klan thrived — and decades later, the FBI saved its firepower for the Black Panthers instead. By Julius Rangal, InnerKwest Investigations TeamPublished: August 30, 2025 Introduction The history of American law enforcement is often presented as a steady march …