The Ku Klux Klan claims it’s changing it ways, but don’t get it twisted; its deeply rooted racism is still very much intact in 2026. The white supremacist organization recently stated that its rebrand will lean into faith and family, but no image makeover can erase a century-plus of stone-cold racial terrorism.
The gap between the Klan’s polished public image and its violent history raises a bigger question: What exactly is the organization rebranding, and how much has really changed? To answer that, we have to look at what the Klan has stood for from the beginning, and how that legacy continues to echo today.
From Slave Patrols to the KKK’s Revival
Long before the Ku Klux Klan terrorized Black communities under the cover of night, white men were already tasked with controlling Black people’s movements by law. Beginning in the South, slave patrols tracked down enslaved people who escaped bondage, enforced curfews, broke up gatherings and used violence to suppress resistance. Think of sundown towns, for example. These weren’t just random groups of white men on horseback. Slave patrols were sanctioned by local governments and served as an early form of racial control.
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The 1915 silent film “The Birth of a Nation” helped inspire the Ku Klux Klan’s 20th-century revival, glorifying the Klan as a heroic force while portraying Black men through racist stereotypes and depicting Reconstruction as a threat to white America. The film’s release fueled renewed interest in the organization, contributing to the resurgence of a group that had largely declined after backlash in the 1870s.
Slave patrols became the earliest forms of organized policing. After slavery ended, the Klan carried on a similar mission through extrajudicial violence, terrorizing Black communities and attempting to reverse the freedoms they had gained.
More than a century later, the Klan is trying a different approach. The group once known as the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan has shortened its name to the Knights Party and shifted its messaging toward faith and family, moving away from titles like “grand wizard” in favor of “national director.” Its leader, Thomas Robb, has also attempted to distance the organization’s public image from its violent past. That said, as Al Jazeera reported, Robb describes his church as a “white nationalist church.” When asked whether Black people could attend the church — to no one’s surprise — Robb didn’t leave much room for interpretation.
“No,” Robb responded. “Because this is a white nationalist church,” he added, per the outlet.
Trump’s America Gives White Nationalists Fuel
Trump’s political climate could potentially be the sugar water fueling white nationalists such as the newly rebranded Knights Party, helping them pitch their racist ideology to a wider audience. Under President Donald Trump’s second administration, immigration has been framed as an invasion, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have been rolled back, and attacks on Black history and efforts to recast America’s racial past have taken center stage.
As we previously reported, in March 2025, Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” targeting the Smithsonian and specifically calling out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which houses more than 40,000 artifacts documenting Black history and culture. The order criticized the museum’s approach to race and American history and called for the removal of content the administration deemed divisive or anti-American. Trump also claimed the Smithsonian has come under the influence of “a divisive race-centered ideology.”
In addition, the Head of State has given priority to white South Africans in refugee admissions, maintaining that they are the subject of a “genocide,” while rounding up immigrants from other demographics as invaders.
The Knights Party’s attempt to repackage the KKK and white supremacy as faith, family and patriotism comes at a time when racial grievances are increasingly visible in American politics. But no amount of rebranding can erase the Klan’s legacy of racial terror or change the exclusionary ideology it continues to promote. The name may have changed, but the message remains painfully familiar.
