Ku Klux Klan racing drivers checking the car

Ku Klux Klan racing drivers

In the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klans influence on public life in Colorado was far greater than in any other state in America: by 1925, Klan members controlled the State Senate, the Secretary of States Office, the Supreme Court of Justice, seven benches in Denver District Court, and some city councils. Denver Mayor Ben Stapleton and Governor Clarence Morley were also members of the Klan.
In Denver, the Ku Klux Klan often organized thousands of outdoor concerts and picnics, and in December 1924, it was decided to hold car races for clan members at the old racetrack in Overland Park in South Denver. For the sake of such an event, the arena was reconstructed to accommodate 100,000 spectators.
Thanks to a random photo leaked to the archives of a local newspaper, only one clan race has been documented. The picture shows clan members checking the car in front of the stands filled with spectators. The pilot of the car was a certain “Mr. Miller”, but it is still unknown who was hiding under this pseudonym. The car was owned by Ralph De Palma, an Italian-American racer. His involvement in this race also remains a mystery.

Previously in Old Photos: Eleven pages of photographs, The Empty State Building.