VIOLIN TEACHER INCURS DISPLEASURE OF KKK
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On May 19, 1923, Richard Paul Otello, a violin teacher in Hyattsville, Maryland arrived here in the Nation's Capital just ahead of a visit from members of the Ku Klux Klan*.
The Washington Times reports Mr. Otello came to Washington seeking the protection of Federal authorities. He received a letter written on official KKK stationery May 10th indicating "he had incurred the displeasure of" the Invisible Empire. Since the envelope bore a Washington, D.C. postmark, Mr. Otello hoped the Feds would investigate.
The letter charged Otello with "undue familiarity with the wives of residents of Hyattsville."
*Ku Klux Klan, a.k.a. KKK, Invisible Empire was founded in 1864 in Pulaski, TN, a white supremacist terrorist organization targeting African Americans. The "1st Klan" ended in 1872 but a "2nd Klan" emerged in 1915 sporting as many as 6 million members.
SOURCE
"Teacher Is Warned By Klan," The Washington Times, May 19, 1923, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
