Colorado’s Klan chapters and activities were perhaps the most potent of anywhere in the Intermountain West during the 1920s, and the Klanswomen activities in this period reflected that. In 1926, the Klan held a large parade and marched down Larimer Street in Denver, Colorado. The women, like the men, marched in full regalia, although they were notably unhooded. It seems like they felt a great deal of pride and wanted their actions recognized.
\nAn important figure of Colorado’s WKKK was influential leader Laurena Senter. Senter was very active in the public sphere and acted as president of organizations such as the Colorado Federation of Women’s Clubs and the Women’s Club of Denver. Her husband was a very high-ranking member of the Klan and together they were very dedicated to the Klan.
\nIn 1925, Senter traveled around the state and performed rituals and initiations. Historian Betty Jo Brenner notes that women were eager to join the WKKK for reasons such as the allure of mystery and ritual. However, rather notably it also appealed to women seeking more agency. Women often joined independently from their husbands and were able to obtain leadership positions. Joining the WKKK also allowed women to foster comradery with other women and participate in secret organizations, a space historically dominated by men. Because of these reasons, their actions can be seen as a form of feminism.
\nKlanswomen in Denver believed that charitable actions and benevolence defined their role. They delivered Thanksgiving baskets to less fortunate families in Denver and even adopted an orphaned child called Richard—who they dressed up in Klan regalia. They also attempted to deter people from patronizing businesses that were “run by Jews,” and raised money to keep orphans out of Catholic-supported orphanages.
\nThe WKKK of Colorado eventually split from the national WKKK. Senter described in her diary her frustration with the Klan’s leadership in Colorado. It seems that although she still believed in its mission of white Protestant supremacy, she believed that the Colorado Klan had lost sight of its purpose and criticized members for joining in hopes of personal gain and glory.
\nThe national WKKK determined that the Colorado chapter could no longer call themselves the WKKK and thus Senter reorganized her group as the “Colorado Cycle Club.” Although some members defected, many remained loyal to Senter’s group. Under the “Colorado Cycle Club,” the organization lasted until 1945.
","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":" In 1926, the Women of the Ku Klux Klan (WKKK), along with their male counterparts, marched down Larimer Street in downtown Denver. The WKKK was an appealing way for Protestant women to display comradery, exist in a historically male space, and spew anti-Catholic and Jewish rhetoric.","website":"","related_resources":["Blumberg, Rhoda Lois. \"Untitled.” Gender and Society 7, no. 2 (1993): 295–97. http://www.jstor.org/stable/189585.
","History Colorado. \"Colorado Women and the Ku Klux Klan.\" History Colorado. Accessed November 30, 2023. https://www.historycolorado.org/story/2021/04/14/colorado-women-ku-klux-klan.
"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/5d9244d4ded11646b84fd3324a59938c.jpg":{"id":3603,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"“Ku Klux Klan members march down Larimer Street in Denver.” 1926.","description":"In 1926, members of the Women of the KKK dressed in full regalia and marched down Larimer Street in downtown Denver proudly displaying their faces.
|“Ku Klux Klan members march down Larimer Street in Denver.” 1926. Denver Public Library, Western History Collection. Accessed from https://www.historycolorado.org/story/2021/04/14/colorado-women-ku-klux-klan
","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/5d9244d4ded11646b84fd3324a59938c.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/cd6fa3010056ff657365a5c59b1d0232.jpg":{"id":3604,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"“Women of the Ku Klux Klan preparing to deliver Thanksgiving baskets.” 1924-1926.","description":"This undated photo shows hoodless women of the Ku Klux Klan preparing to deliver baskets containing Thanksgiving dinners. The baby featured in the picture was Richard, an orphan adopted by the WKKK.
|“Women of the Ku Klux Klan preparing to deliver Thanksgiving baskets.” 1924-1926. Denver Public Library, Western History Collection. Accessed from https://www.historycolorado.org/story/2021/04/14/colorado-women-ku-klux-klan
","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/cd6fa3010056ff657365a5c59b1d0232.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/f2a533dafdb12bc4c4f50fdf28310341.jpg":{"id":3605,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"“Studio portraits of Laurena Senter.” 1925","description":"Studio portraits of influential WKKK and “Colorado Cycle Club”, leader, Laurena Senter. The photographs were taken during her time as Imperial Commander of the WKKK.
|“Studio portraits of Laurena Senter.” 1925. Denver Public Library, Western History Collection. Accessed from https://www.historycolorado.org/story/2021/04/14/colorado-women-ku-klux-klan
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