We analyzed research using Saturday Night Science from Virginia Commonwealth University that mapped Klaverns by city from 1915-1940. This report analyzes the locations of historic KKK organizations to see where they were the most prevalent in Arkansas.
The city in Arkansas with the most number of Klaverns was Little Rock with 2 Klaverns. The city with the most number of Klaverns per capita was Okolona with 0.0053 Klaverns. There were historically 52 Klaverns in Arkansas, across 49 places in Arkansas with at least 1 Klavern during the period of reference.
Hate groups can be hard to measure because, typically, there’s no record of where they exist. But there is data on where there were distinct Klaverns of the Ku Klux Klan in each state. These cities have historically been the most racist in Arkansas based on the number of KKK Klaverns.
This report does not speak to the current people who live there or the current state of the KKK in the same towns or areas.
1 Klaverns · #1 most historically racist in Arkansas
1 Klaverns · #2 most historically racist in Arkansas
1 Klaverns · #3 most historically racist in Arkansas
2 Klaverns · #4 most historically racist in Arkansas
1 Klaverns · #5 most historically racist in Arkansas
1 Klaverns · #6 most historically racist in Arkansas
1 Klaverns · #7 most historically racist in Arkansas
1 Klaverns · #8 most historically racist in Arkansas
1 Klaverns · #9 most historically racist in Arkansas
1 Klaverns · #10 most historically racist in Arkansas
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Arkansas’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Arkansas’s historic Klaverns were
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Most Historically Racist Places In The Natural State
While there are surveys and public polls on what places might be the most racist, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from where KKK organizations have existed.
Specifically, we analyzed research out of Virginia Commonwealth University that mapped the Klans in each area and gave a history of their recruitment from 1915-1940.
- Number of historic KKK Klaverns (1915-1940) per current resident
Using Saturday Night Science, we analyzed the locations of historic KKK organizations per capita using current population data.
The full plate
Cities With Historically High KKK Membership In Arkansas
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Klaverns | Klaverns /100k |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Okolona | 189 | 1 | 529 |
| 2 | Parkdale | 296 | 1 | 338 |
| 3 | Buckner | 375 | 1 | 267 |
| 4 | Lockesburg | 780 | 2 | 256 |
| 5 | Sulphur Springs | 396 | 1 | 253 |
| 6 | Arkansas City | 543 | 1 | 184 |
| 7 | Hartford | 657 | 1 | 152 |
| 8 | Hermitage | 875 | 1 | 114 |
| 9 | Bearden | 1,053 | 1 | 95 |
| 10 | Mount Ida | 1,160 | 1 | 86 |
| 11 | Sulphur Springs | 1,260 | 1 | 79 |
| 12 | Newark | 1,536 | 1 | 65 |
| 13 | Marshall | 1,601 | 1 | 62 |
| 14 | Leachville | 1,693 | 1 | 59 |
| 15 | Huntsville | 2,168 | 1 | 46 |
| 16 | Mena | 5,701 | 2 | 35 |
| 17 | Bald Knob | 2,918 | 1 | 34 |
| 18 | Gravette | 3,190 | 1 | 31 |
| 19 | Prescott | 3,248 | 1 | 31 |
| 20 | Corning | 3,267 | 1 | 31 |
| 21 | Manila | 3,283 | 1 | 30 |
| 22 | Paris | 3,503 | 1 | 29 |
| 23 | Lonoke | 4,255 | 1 | 24 |
| 24 | Pocahontas | 6,543 | 1 | 15 |
| 25 | De Queen | 6,671 | 1 | 15 |
| 26 | Osceola | 7,535 | 1 | 13 |
| 27 | Newport | 7,817 | 1 | 13 |
| 28 | Wynne | 8,296 | 1 | 12 |
| 29 | Monticello | 9,718 | 1 | 10 |
| 30 | Hope | 10,033 | 1 | 10 |
| 31 | Batesville | 10,386 | 1 | 10 |
| 32 | Malvern | 10,695 | 1 | 9 |
| 33 | Arkadelphia | 10,703 | 1 | 9 |
| 34 | Magnolia | 11,681 | 1 | 9 |
| 35 | Harrison | 13,103 | 1 | 8 |
| 36 | Forrest City | 15,122 | 1 | 7 |
| 37 | El Dorado | 18,590 | 1 | 5 |
| 38 | Searcy | 23,524 | 1 | 4 |
| 39 | Paragould | 26,859 | 1 | 4 |
| 40 | Benton | 32,208 | 1 | 3 |
| 41 | Hot Springs | 35,486 | 1 | 3 |
| 42 | Bentonville | 38,572 | 1 | 3 |
| 43 | Pine Bluff | 47,058 | 1 | 2 |
| 44 | Rogers | 58,944 | 1 | 2 |
| 45 | Jonesboro | 70,217 | 1 | 1 |
| 46 | Springdale | 73,789 | 1 | 1 |
| 47 | Fayetteville | 77,264 | 1 | 1 |
| 48 | Fort Smith | 87,193 | 1 | 1 |
| 49 | Little Rock | 196,188 | 2 | 1 |
Source: VCU Mapping the Klan, 1915-1940; current population data. 49 cities with at least one Klavern.
Summary
There You Have It – The Most Historically Racist Cities In Arkansas
When you’re looking at the places in Arkansas with the highest number of historical KKK Klaverns per capita, this is an accurate list.
Below is a chart that lists all cities in Arkansas with at least one KKK organization from 1915-1940.
The cities with the largest number of KKK Klaverns per capita were Okolona, Parkdale, Buckner, Lockesburg, Sulphur Springs, Arkansas City, Hartford, Hermitage, Bearden, and Mount Ida. Not sold on Arkansas? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Historic KKK Presence In Arkansas FAQs
What is the most historically racist city in Arkansas?
Okolona had the most KKK Klaverns per capita of any Arkansas city between 1915 and 1940, which puts it at the top of this historical ranking. The measure is historic Klan chapters, not anything about residents today.
Which Arkansas city had the most Klaverns overall?
Little Rock had the most Klaverns in Arkansas outright, with 2. Our ranking uses Klaverns per capita instead, so smaller towns with heavy Klan presence rank ahead of big cities on raw counts.
How many Klaverns did Arkansas have?
Arkansas had 52 documented Klaverns across 49 cities during the 1915-1940 period. Those are the cities that appear in this ranking.
Does this mean Okolona is racist today?
No. This ranking maps where the KKK organized a century ago, and says nothing about the people who live in Okolona now. Treat it as history, not a review of the current community.
Where does this data come from?
The numbers come from a historical archive of Klan chapters, called Klaverns, documented between 1915 and 1940. We divided each city’s Klavern count by its population to get the per-capita ranking.
