Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
News

ADL ‘Helped’ A&E on KKK Reality Show Drawing Boycott Threats

A new documentary series that promises to go inside the private lives of Ku Klux Klan members is drawing instant condemnation on social media.

But the Anti-Defamation League, which is partnering with the show’s distributors, is standing up for the program.

Set to air on the cable channel A&E, home of reality shows like “Duck Dynasty” and “Intervention,” the Klan show, “Generation KKK,” will follow the families of four high-ranking Klansmen.

“We certainly didn’t want the show to be seen as a platform for the views of the KKK,” A&E general manager Rob Sharenow told the New York Times.

In a tweet Sunday morning, actor Wendell Pierce called for a boycott of A&E, accusing the channel of normalizing the Klan.

According to the Times report, the show includes scenes in which “anti-hate activists” seek to convince members of the Klan families to leave the white supremacist organization.

Anti-Defamation League national director Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted Monday that his organization had “helped” A&E on the new series.

In a statement, Greenblatt said that the program was “laudable.” “‘Generation KKK’ explores crucial questions, such as why people get lured into joining racist movements in the first place, and how difficult it can be for them to find a pathway out,” Greenblatt said. “We are pleased to be partnering with A&E Networks on this new series and, as part of the launch, we will be providing resources to the public explaining why hate groups such as the Klan are so dangerous.”

According to the ADL, A&E will run 30-second public service announcements about the ADL alongside “Generation KKK,” and the ADL has given the network resources for “watch guides” related to the show. The ADL will also promote the program on social media, and will direct visitors to a page on its website with resources on the Klan.

A&E’s own press release about the show frames it as an expose on the Klan in which the Klan families make “decisions about their future in America’s most infamous hate-group,” and quotes the ADL.

The documentary comes amid a rise in the visibility of white nationalist sentiment across the United States. Under the new rubric of “alt-right,” white nationalists are seeking mainstream acceptance. Donald Trump’s advisor Stephen Bannon is the former CEO of a website, Breitbart News, that traffics in white nationalism.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.