Black Legion (political movement) facts for kids

The Black Legion was a secret group active in the Midwestern United States during the 1930s. This was a time called the Great Depression, when many people faced hard times. The Black Legion believed that white people were superior to others. It started from another group called the Ku Klux Klan.

The FBI thought the Black Legion had about 135,000 members. Some historians believe the number was closer to 60,000 to 100,000, or even just a few hundred. In 1936, the group was thought to have killed as many as 50 people. One of these was Charles Poole, who worked for a government program called the Works Progress Administration.

When Poole was killed, the Associated Press described the Black Legion as many small groups. These groups acted on their own ideas of "Americanism" using violence. After Poole's killer, Dayton Dean, was caught, a big investigation started. Many other Legion members were found guilty of crimes and sent to prison. This bad publicity caused the group to shrink quickly. These events even inspired two movies and two radio shows.

The Black Legion's Beginnings

In 1915, a movie called The Birth of a Nation helped bring back the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in Atlanta, Georgia. The KKK grew across the country, especially in cities in the Midwest. Cities like Detroit, Cleveland, and Indianapolis saw many new KKK members in the 1920s. This happened because many people were moving to these cities, including immigrants from Europe and African Americans from the Southern United States. A scandal in the KKK's leadership in 1925 caused its membership to drop a lot.

The Black Legion first started as part of the KKK. It was founded by William Shepard in the 1920s in Ohio. It was first called the Black Guard. Its main job was to protect KKK leaders. The Black Legion then formed groups all over Ohio and spread to other parts of the Midwest. One of its leaders was Virgil "Bert" Effinger, who lived in Lima, Ohio.

Who Joined the Black Legion?

Like the KKK, the Black Legion was mostly made up of white men born in America. These men were often working-class and Protestant. They were worried about the fast changes happening in society. They also didn't like competition for jobs from immigrants, like Italians and Jews. They also feared African Americans moving to big cities like Detroit.

The Black Legion saw many groups as their enemies. This included immigrants, Catholics, Jews, and Black people. They also disliked some Protestant faiths, labor unions, and farm groups. Most of their members were in Michigan and Ohio.

What the Black Legion Did

Black Legion members helped each other find jobs and gain influence. They also acted as a secret vigilante group. This means they took the law into their own hands. They would sometimes attack immigrants to scare them at work. They also tried to force their ideas of right and wrong on others. They were against socialism and groups that helped workers organize. They were known for being very violent towards people they saw as enemies. From 1933 to 1936, they were thought to be behind many unsolved deaths.

In 1931, a Black Legion group started in Highland Park, Michigan. It was led by Arthur F. Lupp, Sr. The group grew across Michigan during the Great Depression. At its peak in the mid-1930s, it had an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 members. Most members in Michigan were native-born Protestant men. About one-third of them lived in Detroit. The Michigan Legion was set up like an army, with different levels of groups.

How They Got Members

The Black Legion used harsh methods to get new members. They would sometimes trick people into coming to a meeting. They might even kidnap them. Then, they would threaten people if they didn't join. They also made new members promise not to tell anyone about the group. If a member tried to leave, they would be beaten up. The Legion even tried to recruit famous sports figures. One member, Dayton Dean, later told the police about the Black Legion's illegal actions. He had been involved in two murders committed by the group.

The Black Legion in Movies and Books

Hollywood and radio shows made stories about the Black Legion because of its violent nature.

• Legion of Terror (1936) was a movie based on this group.
• Black Legion (1937), a movie starring Humphrey Bogart, was based on the events that led to Charles Poole's murder. The movie showed how groups like the Black Legion could harm ordinary people and their families. This film was named the best movie of 1937 by the National Board of Review. Humphrey Bogart also won best actor for his role in it.
• A radio show called True Detective Mysteries had an episode about the Black Legion and Poole's murder in 1937.
• Another radio show, The Shadow, with Orson Welles, had an episode in 1938 called "The White Legion." This group was loosely based on the Black Legion.

More recently, the Black Legion has received new attention.

• In The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), Malcolm X wrote that the Black Legion was active where his family lived. Malcolm X believed his father was killed by the Black Legion in 1931.
• In 1998, the TV show History's Mysteries had an episode about the group called "Terror in the Heartland: The Black Legion."
• Author Tom Stanton wrote a book in 2016 called Terror in the City of Champions, which talks about the group's activities.
• The TV series Damnation (2017) also featured the group.

See also

In Spanish: Legión Negra (grupo terrorista) para niños