Did Anthony Raczkiewicz Know about the KK in Grand Rapids?

Anthony Raczkiewicz: Did he know about the KKK in GR? As a child, I can’t remember having interest in their far away relatives or the neighbors and friends they had. I wish I could ask how they were all inter-connected and how many people they knew that came from the same area to settle in Grand Rapids. I would also like to know how he met my grandmother, Pauline. I have many questions about what he thought about events that were happening at that time in history. I wish I could ask him how it felt to experience the economic and ethnic prejudice that was part of the city and part of the times. One significant sign of this prejudice was that the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) were energizing their work in Michigan, with Grand Rapids as a central hub. The KKK are commonly known for targeting hate against African Americans but they also are against several other groups, including Catholics. ***** This anti-Catholic sentiment was highlighted by a visit from the Ku Klux Klan to Grand Rapids on July 4, 1925. On that day, the Ku Klux Klan marched through the west side waving American flags. The west side of Grand Rapids was an area heavily populated by Polish immigrants. The timing for the 4th of July, which is a U.S. holiday commemorating the Declaration of Independence and is a celebration of nationhood. ***** Anthony was a married immigrant laborer with one child at the time. Fifteen thousand KKK came to Grand Rapids for the rally. Weeks before they set up camp near the Bridge St. hillside on the outskirts of town. A symbol was seen from this hill and across town from Belknap hill, the night before the rally. Staging for their parade was at LIncoln park and then they went down Bridge St., turned on Ottawa downtown and came back up Fulton St. to a rally at John Ball Park. https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2012/02/retrospectives_the_klu_klux_kl.html The Poles at this time were easy targets. ”The problem of language and a comparatively late arrival on the local scene delayed Polish participation in municipal politics. Too, there was aneed for civic education among their own kind since peasants from a partitioned Poland, especially those from the Austrian and RussianPartitions, were exposed only to minimal education and to virtually noparticipation in local governance. They had no exposure to democratic traditions. English and citizenship classes were only marginally successful. . . ” ***** The Rise and Fall of the Grand Rapids Polonia, Edward Skendzel, 1993 ***** https://dutchamericans.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/1993_07_skendzel.pdf ***** photo credits: https://www.facebook.com/groups/264767850370094/permalink/1735920166588181