In January 1923, Reverend Aubrey H. Moore took to the pulpit of his First Christian Church to answer the question from the title of a much-publicized sermon: “Is the Ku Klux Klan a Menace to America?” He was Noblesville’s most popular preacher, and this was the largest gathering in a house of worship in some years, the local paper reported—no small feat in a place known for its devotion to pew and prayer. The pastor rose now to praise the Klan. The menace was its enemies. He warned against the mingling of races, saying, “Every colored person should keep his place.” He inveighed against “the
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