In his book Klu Klux Spirit Jamaican scholar J.A. Rogers explains that the earliest Klu Klux Klan members were largely poor whites who showed up at the homes of Black former slaves wearing scary costumes while non-violently begging for food.
These Blacks were usually more skilled than their poor white counterparts and therefore had an easier time finding employment and creating lucrative businesses for themselves shortly after the U.S. Civil War.
