Nick Brisini is a longtime activist in the area. He is the second outside contributor to the site. He has written on resistance to the KKK in Western PA coalfields.
The 1920’s
Resistance to the fascist KKK in Western Pennsylvania coalfields has a long history. The KKK were on a high horse in the 1920s. Thousands of robed Klansmen marched on Washington, DC. They directed their wrath largely at immigrants, many of whom worked in the mills and mines and supported unionization.
Then on April 4, 1924, four hundred armed Klansmen invaded via the railway the small coal town of Lilly, PA. They departed the train and marched to a nearby hillside to burn a cross. After this act, they marched back with the intention of boarding the train.
At this point, some local residents, Irish immigrant miners, turned a fire hose on them. Gunfire erupted. When the shooting stopped, 3 lay dead: two immigrants and one Klansman. Some claimed that this was the beginning of the end for the Klan in the coal fields of Western, PA.
The 1990’s
In the 1990s, the Klan attempted to recolonize the coalfields. Hardly a week went by that the Klan was not holding a rally. Usually the rallies were at the county courthouses.
In 1994, the Unity Coalition of the Southern Alleghenies, an anti racist group, became active. Also, some local residents formed the Coal Country Anti Klan Coalition which worked to organize anti Klan rallies at the site of the Klan rallies and supported workers struggles. The Coal Country Anti Klan Coalition members always distributed leaflets connecting the crisis ridden capitalist system to racist groups like the Klan. They distributed these leaflets in Johnstown and Ebensburg where these rallies were held.
In Ebensburg, the Klan was met by a multiracial group composed of local residents, religious folks, socialists, anarchists, and punk rockers. In Johnstown, a large group of anti-fascists surrounded the Klan in Central Park. Cops with dogs protected the Klan and escorted them from the park. The Klan also held rallies in such places as Hollidaysburg, Somerset, and even in Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, they were greeted by hundreds of anti Klan protesters including Steeler great Franco Harris. They were met by militant anti-racists everywhere the Klan showed up. On account of their success, the resistance to the KKK in Western PA Coalfields declined in subsequent years.
Eventually, the KKK left the stage of local history and found themselves in the relative dustbin of history. Conversely, Donald Trump has emboldened them again in a different form.