The A&E television network is making a documentary reality series with the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Generation KKK is going to be an eight-part miniseries, and the first part will air on January 10.
The series creators are walking the line between gaining the trust of the KKK members and trying not to be seen as condoning the group’s white supremacist ideals.
Rob Sharenow, the general manager of A&E, said:
“We certainly didn’t want the show to be seen as a platform for the views of the KKK. The only political agenda is that we really do stand against hate.”
As the New York Times reported:
“The series follows Mr Howard, the Imperial Wizard of the North Mississippi White Knights; Chris Buckley, a Grand Knighthawk with the North Georgia White Knights; and Richard Nichols, the Grand Dragon in the Tennessee Knights of the Invisible Empire.”
The KKK has been growing recently. The Southern Poverty Law Center estimated in 2015 that there are approximately 190 KKK chapters in the country. Their membership is 5,000 to 8,000.
How Is Twitter Reacting?
Twitter users are not happy with this idea:
Wendell Pierce, an actor on the show Suits, had this to say about it:
There should be an immediate boycott of A&E and all of its sponsors as they normalize the KKK with a reality series. Abhorrent
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) December 19, 2016
This lady has a great point:
Normalization and legitimization = giving cute names like Alt-Right and Generation KKK to violent white supremacists. This makes a Roof.
— Olivia A. Cole (@RantingOwl) December 19, 2016
Faux News is going to need some cold water for that burn!
I don't know why people are so surprised about that new show on #AETV. "Generation KKK" has been on the air for years. It's called Fox News
— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) December 19, 2016
This would explain a lot:
That new Generation KKK reality show is actually just footage outtakes from Trump campaign rallies.
— Erik Brans (@erikbransteen) December 19, 2016
A&E to do reality show about the KKK or as it's going to be called the David Dukes of Hazard
— Paul Lander (@paul_lander) December 19, 2016
One Twitter user gave us a diagram to describe the people on this ridiculous reality show:
One shouldn't use sweet words like Generation KKK or alt-right. One should say: "hideous, disgusting, violent white supremacist idiots!" pic.twitter.com/NBecUtw0ld
— #RemoveTrump (@Blue______Wave) December 19, 2016
KKK Helped Trump Win The Election
The KKK received some attention during the election season because they endorsed the now President-elect Donald Trump. A former KKK leader who endorsed Trump, David Duke, has been tweeting his approval of the president-elect’s cabinet picks.
In some states in the South, they left flyers on people’s lawns to help support Trump’s campaign. This disgusting group does not need to be normalized.
https://youtu.be/VDnZ0aEVqyo
Featured image via YouTube screenshot.