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Speakers recall KKK intimidation, local allies and community resilience in Garner
Summary
Residents described cross burnings and threats from the Ku Klux Klan during the 20th century and credited white allies and resolute neighbors for helping many families remain on the land.
Several speakers recounted episodes of racial intimidation, saying the Ku Klux Klan burned crosses in yards to force Black families off property. One speaker said his grandfather defended the household and after firing warning shots the intimidators did not return.
At the same time witnesses cited white allies who loaned tractors, helped set up businesses and backed families in town. “There was another white family, the Jeffries family, who had a farm that abutted my grandfather's farm… He would loan those tractors to my grandfather so my grandfather could plow his fields,” a speaker said, describing both the threats and the local alliances that helped families persevere.
