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Tuesday, May 23, 2023

5,000 Klansmen to Hold Klonklave of Full-Fledged Americans in Goldsboro, May 23, 1923

5,000 Klansmen to Meet Here in June. . . Will Be Greatest Konklave North of Atlanta, Is Believed. . . Purpose of the Meeting Is a Secret; Will Rival Colossal Chicago Arena and Atlanta’s Stone Mountain

Five thousand Klansman from all parts of Eastern North Carolina will gather in Goldsboro for a konklave, described locally as “the greatest gathering of full-fledged Americans ever staged under the blue-starred canopy,” some time between June 10th and June 15th, it was learned from reliable sources here yesterday afternoon.

While the information secured by The News was of a vague nature, it was learned that preparations for the even had been carried to the extent of purchasing scores and scores of juicy, young Eastern Carolina pigs to be minced into a genuine, old-fashioned barbecue.

Tentative plans for the event, it was learned, include a parade of the 5,000 Klansmen expected for the event in full regalia, with the fiery cross flaming at short intervals. High officials of the Klan are (expected? Word obscured) from Atlanta, Atlantic City, N.J., and Chicago, Ill., it was stated and ?? matters of transcendent importance to the order are expected to ?? for discussion during the secret klanklave.

W.J. Simmons, ?? Imperial Wizard; however will be unable to attend, and Eastern Carolina Klansmen will be forced to forego the pleasure of seeing the father of the Klan until another time. The late deposed Imperial Wizard Evans, however, may be present.

The parade of the 5,000 Klansmen, it was said, will be one of the most gorgeous and stupendous affairs ever seen in North Carolina, and according to some reports, the number of expected visitors may be considerably increased.

Realizing that local hotel facilities are wholly inadequate to care for the influx of 5,000 visitors, it was ?? that local Klansmen are preparing to house their fellow-members in their homes and in tents to thbe pitched in vacant lots in the city.

The hoods, the robes, and the masks will be seen and no way of judging Klansmen except by the heal of their countless feet will be possible. This klonklave here is expected to be present an armada of white like the celestial circle in Chicago, of which Josephus Daniels writes, where there was a vast arena of a mile, illuminated by the headlights of automobiles in a semi-circle displaying the extraordinary panorama. Klansmen gathered in Chicago as they expressed it to “clean up the place,” but their purpose for gathering in Goldsboro other than it is the gate city of Eastern North Carolina is as yet unknown to any except those who know the circle of the inner-circle of Klan circles.

From the front page of The Goldsboro News, May 23, 1923

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