December 24: Today is the anniversary of the foundation of the Ku Klux Klan terrorist organization in 1865.

Ku Klux Klan's emblem.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is the name adopted by several right-wing organizations in the United States of America, created in the nineteenth century, immediately after the Civil War, and which primarily promotes xenophobia, and the supremacy of the white race, homophobia, anti-Semitism, racism and anti-communism.

General Nathan Bedford Forrest became Grand Wizard, claiming to be the Klan's national leader. He was a Lieutnant General in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.

Often, these organizations have resorted to terrorism, violence and intimidation as cross burnings to oppress their victims.

Three Ku Klux Klan members arrested in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, September 1871, for the attempted murder of an entire family.

The first incarnation of the Klan was founded in late 1865 by veterans after the Civil War, who wanted to resist Reconstruction.

Cross burning was introduced by William J. Simmons, the founder of the second Klan in 1915.

The organization quickly adopted violent methods to achieve their ends. However, there was a reaction that soon led the organization to decline, as the southern elites saw the Klan as a pretext for federal troops to be active in the Southern States.