Pulaski

right ahead.

In 1866 or thereabouts, in Pulaski, Tennessee, a member of the bar... had a meeting with other elites from the neighborhood.

So he was an ex-Confederate.

His friends were all ex-Confederates.

And there were other organizations as well.

The Knights of the Golden Circle is another organization that seems to have its roots before the Civil War, but it seems to persist forever.

Very interestingly, the guy in Pulaski who organized the Klan, allegedly, he was a very prominent member of the Masonic Lodge.

And so they already know.

I've been driving up and down this stretch of highway between Alabama and Tennessee for days now.

Downtown Birmingham, west side neighborhoods, little towns like Pulaski.

Places that, depending on who you ask, are either struggling or reinventing themselves.

And what I started to see was this.

These aren't just arts organizations.

They're small businesses, youth mentoring places, rooms where people talk and can be heard.

And then if you head north, you'll come to Pulaski, Tennessee, a town of about 8,000 people with a long and difficult history.

If you know one thing about Pulaski, it's probably that Pulaski is where the original Klan was founded.

I want to start with three people and three small rooms.

The first room is the law office in Pulaski, Tennessee, in the months right after the Civil War.

Six bored Confederate veterans are inventing a club to pass the time.

They take the Greek word for circle, kouklos, and they bend it until it sounds spooky.

But there's so much more that's happened here and so much good change that is happening here.

In 1865, Tennessee abolished slavery on its own by state vote in February ahead of the 13th Amendment.

The same year, the Klan gets started in Pulaski.

Most accounts date it to Christmas Eve, originally just kind of a fraternity funny prank.

The Murray County-wide college fair was truly a success, he said.

Several schools from around the state attended the fair, including Austin Peay State University, Bethel University, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology, Hohenwald and Pulaski, Trevecca Nazarene University, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Vanderbilt University, and more.

Out-of-state schools were also present, including the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Mississippi State, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Western Kentucky University, and others.

Not only was the fair about allowing students to learn more and explore their options on which institutions they could attend, but also about understanding the admissions and financial aid processes and gaining the confidence to take the next step toward their future.

The facts mentioned were derived from authentic and official sources.

The first den was organized in Pulaski, Giles County, Tennessee, in 1866, and Pulaski continued to be the center of the order throughout its existence as an interstate organization.

Six men organized the den for diversion and amusement in a community where life was dull and monotonous.

The original name was Ku Kloi, from the Greek word ku klos, meaning band or circle.

The legislature had become unanimously republican in both branches.

The people began to consider means of counteracting this high-handed tyranny.

The Pulaski Ku Klux organization had attracted much attention and branches of it had been organized in many parts of the state.

Leaders of the people quickly saw that it could be utilized for the purpose in view.

[laughs]

... you know, we talking Pulaski, Tennessee, okay? And then you guys moved to Nashville, okay? When I say you guys.

But that story right there so reminded me of your situation when it came to the Barclays Center.

Okay.