Nov. 25, 1915 Credit: Wikipedia

A week before the silent film, Birth of a Nation, premiered at an Atlanta theater, William Simmons, along with 15 other men (including some who lynched Leo Frank) burned a cross on Stone Mountain, Georgia, signaling the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan.

The movies racist portrayals of Black Americans prompted outrage by the NAACP and others, leading to huge protests in towns such as Boston and the films closing in Chicago.

Despite these protests, the movie became Hollywoods first blockbuster, making as much as $100 million at the box office (the equivalent of $2.4 billion today). In the wake of the movie, the KKK became a national organization, swelling beyond 4 million members.

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The stories of investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. His stories have also helped free two people from death row, exposed injustices and corruption, prompting investigations and reforms as well as the firings of boards and officials. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a longtime member of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and a winner of more than 30 other national awards, including a $500,000 MacArthur genius grant. After working for three decades for the statewide Clarion-Ledger, Mitchell left in 2019 and founded the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.

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On this day in 1915, cross burning in Ga. signals Klan's rebirth - Mississippi Today