C.P. Ellis Response

The story of the life of C.P. Ellis was very interesting. I was surprised to see that someone with such strong and one-sided beliefs such as a Klansmen could end up changing their opinions.

I thought that the relationship C.P. Ellis had with his father impacted his life significantly. First of all, his father died when he was in 8^th grade, which clearly has a strong emotional impact on any person who suffers such a loss at a young age. Also, his memories of his father gave mixed signals. For example he remembered his father as a man with financial issues who had a drinking problem and wore clothes that made him feel ashamed, but he also remembered his father as a caring man who spent his money unselfishly on his family rather than himself.

Why C.P. Ellis joined the clan is questionable as Ellis said that he admired the klan because of his fathers connections with it, but he went on to discuss how he felt the need to be a part of something and joined the klan for that reason, and then he discussed the third reason of joining the klan as a way to channel his anger that he felt as a result of his fathers death.

I believe that the most logical reason for C.P. Ellis joining the klan was because he craved a sense of belonging because his father died which left him without a role model to look up to and lost someone who would have supported him, and the other members of the klan gave him the moral support and sense of belonging that he longed for.

I thought that an important part of the interview was when C.P. Ellis said,” It wasn’t long before councilmen would call me up” At this point Ellis discussed how the political figures in the area would talk to members of the Klu Klux Klan and actually encourage them to show up at the protests of the blacks at the time. This emphasized the corruption of the politics in this time period and further demonstrated the extent by which blacks were oppressed at the time.