The New America Foundation tells us that between 2008 and 2016, far-right attacks outnumbered Islamic terrorism by almost two to one in this country. And they were deadlier.
That got us thinking about Michigan and its history with right wing extremism. To dive into that history, Stateside spoke with JoEllen Vinyard, a professor of history at Eastern Michigan University and the author of Right in Michigan's Grassroots: From the KKK to the Michigan Militia.
In the 1920s, Michigan had more KKK members than any Southern state, Vinyard said. She estimates one in ten eligible Michiganders (white, protestant and of Anglo-Saxon heritage) were part of the group.
To learn about the history of the KKK and other extremist groups in Michigan, listen to the full conversation above.
Stateside originally broadcast this story on Aug. 28, 2017.
(Subscribe to the Stateside podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or with this RSS link)
