History Pub at WOW
Join us for our first History Pub of the Season. We have moved our events to the WOW Hall! We are super excited to partner with this amazing venue!
History Pub at WOW will be the second Saturday 4-5pm.
November 14th at 4 pm Presenter: Steve Law Author of Peddlers of Hate: How the Ku Klux Klan Seized Power in 1920s Oregon
The revived Knights of the Ku Klux Klan flourished in Oregon in the early 1920s. With more than sixty chapters established in both large and small communities like Portland, Medford, Astoria, and La Grande, the Klan’s power escalated in the region. Klan salesmen, working on commission, successfully enlisted Oregonians with a message of religious prejudice and racism. At the Klan’s peak, Portland was home to the sixth largest chapter in the country and there were more members per capita in Oregon than in any other state except one.
In Peddlers of Hate, journalist Steve Law draws on published and unpublished sources, new research, and interviews with leading scholars to provide a comprehensive account of how Oregon became one of the Klan’s strongest outposts. Representing the Klan as merely a fraternal lodge, Klan recruiters were trained to vilify Catholics, immigrants, Blacks, and Jews. They gained wide support, toppling an incumbent governor and congressman, persuading voters to ban Catholic schools, and winning control of the legislature and several local governments. From stories of “escaped nuns” to fiery crosses at mass Klan rallies at Salem’s state fairgrounds and Portland’s Mount Tabor Park, Law examines this divisive and forgotten time in Oregon’s history. He shows how it was finally greed, hypocrisy, and corruption that spurred the hate group’s demise—providing historical lessons that will resonate today.
The book is published by OSU Press. Ask for it at your local bookstore or library.
Steve Law spent three decades as a reporter and editor for Oregon newspapers, including a decade covering state politics for the Statesman Journal in Salem and the Portland Business Journal. He was a reporter and editor at the Portland Tribune for 11 years, where he edited the Sustainable Life section. He earned Oregon’s top journalism prize twice, among more than 50 reporting awards. Steve grew up in Los Angeles and attended Antioch College. He taught history in L.A. secondary schools before moving into reporting. Steve lives in Portland with his wife. He is a father of three grown children and grandpa to two youngsters, Steve enjoys foreign and domestic travel, hiking, bicycling, poker, court sports, dragon boating, and board games.
History Pub at WOW will be the second Saturday 4-5pm.
November 14th at 4 pm Presenter: Steve Law Author of Peddlers of Hate: How the Ku Klux Klan Seized Power in 1920s Oregon
The revived Knights of the Ku Klux Klan flourished in Oregon in the early 1920s. With more than sixty chapters established in both large and small communities like Portland, Medford, Astoria, and La Grande, the Klan’s power escalated in the region. Klan salesmen, working on commission, successfully enlisted Oregonians with a message of religious prejudice and racism. At the Klan’s peak, Portland was home to the sixth largest chapter in the country and there were more members per capita in Oregon than in any other state except one.
In Peddlers of Hate, journalist Steve Law draws on published and unpublished sources, new research, and interviews with leading scholars to provide a comprehensive account of how Oregon became one of the Klan’s strongest outposts. Representing the Klan as merely a fraternal lodge, Klan recruiters were trained to vilify Catholics, immigrants, Blacks, and Jews. They gained wide support, toppling an incumbent governor and congressman, persuading voters to ban Catholic schools, and winning control of the legislature and several local governments. From stories of “escaped nuns” to fiery crosses at mass Klan rallies at Salem’s state fairgrounds and Portland’s Mount Tabor Park, Law examines this divisive and forgotten time in Oregon’s history. He shows how it was finally greed, hypocrisy, and corruption that spurred the hate group’s demise—providing historical lessons that will resonate today.
The book is published by OSU Press. Ask for it at your local bookstore or library.
Steve Law spent three decades as a reporter and editor for Oregon newspapers, including a decade covering state politics for the Statesman Journal in Salem and the Portland Business Journal. He was a reporter and editor at the Portland Tribune for 11 years, where he edited the Sustainable Life section. He earned Oregon’s top journalism prize twice, among more than 50 reporting awards. Steve grew up in Los Angeles and attended Antioch College. He taught history in L.A. secondary schools before moving into reporting. Steve lives in Portland with his wife. He is a father of three grown children and grandpa to two youngsters, Steve enjoys foreign and domestic travel, hiking, bicycling, poker, court sports, dragon boating, and board games.
Where is it happening?
The WOW Hall, 291 W 8th Ave, Eugene, OR 97401-2903, United States
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherLane County History Museum
