Thread by @egavactip

I got a query recently asking about a tombstone with a cross & the letters K, K, K. They were wondering if it was Ku Klux Klan-related.

It was. Most Klan tombstones date from the 1920s, when the 2nd Ku Klux Klan was at the height of its popularity. There were even Klan funerals.

Here's one example of a Klan-related tombstone. Around the cross are the letters K, I, G, Y, which stands for "Klansman I greet you." Inside are A,I,K,A, which was probably supposed to be A, K, I, A, for "A Klansman I am."

Here's another one, for a Florida Klan member who died in 1931.

Harvey here also has a Freemasons symbol. During this time fraternal societies were at the height of their popularity in the U.S. and the Second Ku Klux Klan was directly patterned after them, so it's not surprising.

Here's another example, this one featuring an image of a Klansman.

This one features KKKK, presumably for Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and "Non Silba Sed Anthar," a Klan slogan meaning "not for self but for others."

This one has aged, so it's harder to read, but look for the KKK. This one also has symbols of fraternal organizations on it.

As you can see, a cross (sometimes burning) combined with KKK was popular.

I'm curious if local Klan Klaverns sometimes helped pay for these stones.

It wouldn't surprise me if some memorial stone sellers actually marketed one or more Klan-related options.

Klan-related tombstones and memorials are sometimes targeted for graffiti or vandalism, not surprisingly.