While a Ku Klux Klan Halloween costume wouldn’t go over well in many venues, it was especially disturbing for the residents of one neighborhood in Craigsville, Virginia.
The incident originally happened in 2013, but made it to the top of Reddit on Saturday in honor of the recent holiday.
Jackson Black, a 7-year-old, got the idea from watching a scene in the film Fried Green Tomatoes . He thought “the hat” looked “cool,” and so he told his mother, Jessica Black, that he wanted to be a Klansman.
“I did tell him, ‘If you do it, you know there’s gonna be people talking about you. There’s gonna be people that say bad things to you when you wear it,’” Jessica said, adding that she had to make the Ku Klux Klan costume for him.
(Apparently there aren’t many stores that sell KKK Halloween garb for 7-year-olds.)
Neighbor Wendi Sprouse said she thought it was “really sad” that Jessica Black would allow her son to wear the costume.
“I just think it’s really sad that a kid is being taught that that young because they don’t know any better. You don’t hear much about it these days…. It’s not okay. You’re offending a lot of people by one little action.”
Jackson’s mom doesn’t feel there is anything wrong with the costume or the Ku Klux Klan.
“It’s supposed to be white with white, black with black, man with woman and all of that. That’s what the KKK stands for. KKK, every year, raises money to donate to the St. Jude’s [Children’s Hospital].”
Jessica also said she had received “several threats” because of a photo of Jackson that was circulating on the WHSV Facebook page.
Stories like the above are a definite reminder of how one action in time can define you as a mother or child. While it’s a year old, it still resonates enough that people are sharing it a year later, and it will probably continue to come up every year.
And if it seems like people are doing something crazy every year with their Halloween costume selection, that’s because they are. In the link I just shared, you’ll find an example of a blackface Ray Rice costume that drew tons of criticism for making light of race and domestic violence.
What do you think, readers? Do things like the Ku Klux Klan Halloween costume go too far? Share your thoughts in our comments section.
