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 North Carolina.
The city in North Carolina with the most number of Klaverns was Durham with 2 Klaverns. The city with the most number of Klaverns per capita was Atkinson with 0.0031 Klaverns. There were historically 23 Klaverns in North Carolina, across 22 places in North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina
1 Klaverns · #2 most historically racist in North Carolina
1 Klaverns · #3 most historically racist in North Carolina
1 Klaverns · #4 most historically racist in North Carolina
1 Klaverns · #5 most historically racist in North Carolina
Data | Movers
1 Klaverns · #6 most historically racist in North Carolina
Data | Movers
1 Klaverns · #7 most historically racist in North Carolina
Forest City, formerly known as “Burnt Chimney,” is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,476 as of the 2010 census, making it the largest municipality in Rutherford County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 Klaverns · #8 most historically racist in North Carolina
Located in
Harnett County, North Carolina
Dunn is a city in Harnett County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,263 at the 2010 census, and an estimated 9,873 in 2016. It is the anchor city of the Dunn Micropolitan Area, population 114,678, which is a part of the greater Raleigh-Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area as defined by the United States Census Bureau.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 Klaverns · #9 most historically racist in North Carolina
Located in
Vance County, North Carolina
Henderson, a city with a population of 15,368 at the 2010 census, is the county seat of Vance County, North Carolina, United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 Klaverns · #10 most historically racist in North Carolina
Located in
Davidson County, North Carolina
Lexington is the county seat of Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 18,931. It is located in central North Carolina, 20 miles south of Winston-Salem. Major highways include I-85, I-85B, U.S. Route 29, U.S. Route 70, U.S. Route 52 and U.S. Route 64. Lexington is part of the Piedmont Triad region of the state.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is North Carolina’s statewide median.
On the map
Where North Carolina’s historic Klaverns were
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Most Historically Racist Places In The Tar Heel 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 North Carolina
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Klaverns | Klaverns /100k |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atkinson | 319 | 1 | 313 |
| 2 | Calypso | 538 | 1 | 186 |
| 3 | Kenansville | 1,022 | 1 | 98 |
| 4 | Hertford | 2,353 | 1 | 42 |
| 5 | Spencer | 3,267 | 1 | 31 |
| 6 | Wallace | 3,953 | 1 | 25 |
| 7 | Forest City | 7,387 | 1 | 14 |
| 8 | Dunn | 9,570 | 1 | 10 |
| 9 | Henderson | 15,325 | 1 | 7 |
| 10 | Lexington | 19,029 | 1 | 5 |
| 11 | Sanford | 28,798 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | New Bern | 30,171 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | Salisbury | 33,524 | 1 | 3 |
| 14 | Hickory | 40,108 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | Wilson | 49,389 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | Rocky Mount | 57,071 | 1 | 2 |
| 17 | Asheville | 85,783 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | High Point | 106,797 | 1 | 1 |
| 19 | Wilmington | 110,100 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Durham | 240,107 | 2 | 1 |
| 21 | Raleigh | 423,287 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | Charlotte | 774,807 | 1 | 0 |
Source: VCU Mapping the Klan, 1915-1940; current population data. 22 cities with at least one Klavern.
Summary
There You Have It – The Most Historically Racist Cities In North Carolina
When you’re looking at the places in North Carolina with the highest number of historical KKK Klaverns per capita, this is an accurate list.
Below is a chart that lists all cities in North Carolina with at least one KKK organization from 1915-1940.
The cities with the largest number of KKK Klaverns per capita were Atkinson, Calypso, Kenansville, Hertford, Spencer, Wallace, Forest City, Dunn, Henderson, and Lexington. Not sold on North Carolina? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Historic KKK Presence In North Carolina FAQs
What is the most historically racist city in North Carolina?
Atkinson had the most KKK Klaverns per capita of any North Carolina 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 North Carolina city had the most Klaverns overall?
Durham had the most Klaverns in North Carolina 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 North Carolina have?
North Carolina had 23 documented Klaverns across 22 cities during the 1915-1940 period. Those are the cities that appear in this ranking.
Does this mean Atkinson is racist today?
No. This ranking maps where the KKK organized a century ago, and says nothing about the people who live in Atkinson 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.
