Superman vs KKK (1946)

This Day in Esoteric Political History

Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia

History

4.6 • 982 Ratings

🗓️ 22 June 2023

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s June 21st. This day in 1946, an epic battle is playing out across the radio waves, as The Adventures of Superman takes on a multi-part series in which the man of steel confront “The Clan of the Fiery Cross,” a loose stand-in for the KKK.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Superman was confronting the Klan in this moment, and what it signaled about the KKK’s diminishing role in American life.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia.
0:07.0	My name is Jody Avergan.
0:10.0	This day, June 22, 1946 1946, an epic battle is playing out on America's radio waves,
0:18.0	Superman versus the Clan of the Firey Cross.
0:22.0	So listen to the name of that group that Superman was fighting against again. of the
0:25.0	the firey cross. So listen to the name of that group that Superman was fighting against again, the clan of the firey cross, clan is about over the sea,
0:28.0	but yes, this was a very thinly veiled stand-in for the K K K K K.
0:32.0	And over the course of the summer with millions tuning in,
0:35.3	Superman did battle against the forces of racism and terror. It's a pretty
0:39.8	incredible moment and as we've touched on in this show
0:42.8	Superman's history with politics is really interesting as well
0:46.0	so let's go to that moment and that summer of this epic battle playing out on the radio
0:51.2	here to discuss as always Nicole
0:53.2	Hammer of Vanderbilt and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley.
0:55.9	Hello there.
0:56.9	Hello Jody.
0:57.9	Hey there.
0:58.9	Can we start a little bit with the state of the real Ku Klux Klan in 1946. I mean we've talked a lot
1:06.4	about the rise of the clan, the resurgence of the clan in like the 20s and 30s.
1:10.3	Once we get to the kind of war period, what are we looking at?
1:15.0	They are weakened considerably.
1:19.2	I would say much smaller, much more sort of covert or underground. You know in the 1920s they have their
	...

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