You know what i mean . I was just trying to be edgy and get the job. And i thought wed negotiate it down to like the rodeo. [ laughter ] you know what i mean . Let him ride the horse. Horses are weird. I thought wed end up there. But i never thought in a million years that cnn would let me go talk to the kkk. But they did. My name is w. Kamau bell. As a comedian ive made a living finding humor in the parts of america i dont understand. And now im challenging myself to dig deeper. Im on a mission to reach out and experience all the cultures and beliefs that add color to this crazy country. This is the united shades of america. Learning about america means sometimes reaching across the aisle. And this week im reaching way across the aisle to the ku klux klan. Hopefully, when im done reaching i still have my hand. My first stop in this what the hell am i thinking tour is to meet with an arkansas leader of the kkk. According to kkk rhetoric, theres a new klan in town. Theyre no longer antiblack. Theyre just prowhite. And nothing says new klan like hanging out with a black dude. For those of you tuning in to racism late, heres a quick refresher. The klan was initially founded after the civil war by a group of confederate soldiers who were all like, dang, but we wasnt finishing oppressing black folks yet. Since then, whenever it looked like black folks were getting too uppity, the klan came back. After the great depression. During the civil rights movement. And then recently after this happened. And cnn can now project that barack obama, 47 years old, will become the president elect of the United States. But that black guy isnt headed down a dark road at night. This black guy is. Im here to meet with an arkansas leader of the ku klux klan. How come this cant happen during the day again . All right. Theres a car with the headlights on. If thats him, hell blink his headlights. [ exhaling ] lets go. This guy said he was coming alone. Why did i believe him . Camera crew or not, this seems like a bad idea. When you hear my voice, its going to be disguised, right . Absolutely. And im going to let you know, im the imperial wizard of the International Keystone knights of the ku klux klan. Imperial wizard of the International Keystone knights of the ku klux klan. Yes, sir. Im president of the organization. Youre the president. Mmhmm. First of all, thanks for meeting with me. Okay. I guess my first question is klan historically, as im sure you know, has been a group associated with violence. Im not associated with violence. I know. But im saying historically. We have to look at the klan in the 21st century. Dont you think that by wearing the same robes its hard to separate the two different klans . I have an opportunity to wear a klansmans robe. Why . Because im white and i believe in the ideas, rituals and beliefs of the ku klux klan. I was raised that way. This is always going to be klan regalia. All right. Theres no ifs, ands or buts about it. So we understand each other. Yes. The klan has a purpose in life. And that is to recruit qualified christians that are of good moral character standing. What means qualified . What qualifies someone must be white and you must be a christian. Jews will never be in the klan. Theyre a dirty race. We are a white race. Im proud of my race. Im proud to be white. Are you proud to be a black man . I am proud to be a black man. Me too. Youre a black man. Did you marry a black woman . Im married to a white woman. You know what the bible says about racial marriages. An abomination of sin. On the list of sins where is interracial marriage . Theres like murder is interracial marriage equal to that . It would be above because its an abomination. So its worse than murder . Yeah. I wish we could have this discussion on a sun yea day in a coffee shop where i could buy you a piece of pie and you didnt have the mask on and we could talk about these same things on an equal level. Thats not going to happen. This is part of the history of the klan. This is the history of the past of the klan and you want to stay there. What is the future of america if the klan has its say . The only way youre going to know the true ideas, rituals and beliefs of the ku klux klan is get involved. Obviously you cant. Youre black. Yeah, its going to be hard for me to get involved. Somebody else will come along after im dead and gone and fill my shoes and continue on what were doing. Its going to evolve. One day i hope it evolves, it can involve a mouth hole because sometimes its hard to understand you. Maybe cut the mouth open . That might be a possibility. Okay. One step at a time. We can be found at www. Ikkkkk. Org www dot . Www. Ikkkkk. Org forward slash. Five ks. Dot org. Forward slash. Have a good evening. Drive safe. Yes, sir. Yep. I just told a klansman to drive safely. I should have just said yall dont come back now, you hear . Lets get out of here. Yeah, the current era of the ku klux klan talks about how they evolved from the last era of the klan. Which is really weird because they use the word evolve. But because theyre good christians they dont believe in evolution. You know what im saying . Weve evolved. But people dont evolve. People stay the same. But weve evolved. Its like the evolution chart. Like the evolution chart we start out as monkeys. Then we get like a neanderthal. Then were like this. I feel like the klan evolved from like this to like this. You know . Just like and now theyre down here. Its just a series of angrier and angrier monkeys upset about the rest of us Walking Around on our hind legs. You know what im saying . [ laughter ] i met a ku klux klan its a big deal. Applebees bigger, bolder grill combos. 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Except maybe being first in line to the grand opening of the Worlds Largest rollercoaster. [ cheering ] the volkswagen atlas. More room means more fun. I never thought id say this but i found bladder leak underwear thats actually pretty. Always discreet boutique. Hidden inside is a super absorbent core that quickly turns liquid to gel. So i feel protected and pretty. Always discreet boutique. I met a ku klux klan member by the side of a dark road. Yay. All my bucket list dreams are coming true. [ laughter ] but yeah, the new klan is sort of like theyre diminished from the last klan. I mean, its like when you go see one of the classicera motown bands now. You know what i mean . You know what im saying . Like you go see i went to see the temptations like a few years ago. And its not the same. Thats like the klan. Its not the same. I once saw the temptations. Used to be five guys. Now its four. You know, its not the original guys because one of thems white and the other dudes in his 20s. [ laughter ] the only guy whos an original member of the temptations is so old hes sitting on a stool the whole time. Dancing his ass off. [ laughter ] aint too proud to beg. So i think i cant just judge the klan by this one dude. Ive got to go talk to more klan members. Which is the first time a black guys ever said that sentence in life. [ laughter ] my next stop on the where are they now klan edition is dawson springs, kentucky. Walking the streets, it feels like any quaint southern workingclass town. But for decades the kkk and their neonazi buddies have used a property just outside of town for their rallies. And tonight the klan has invited me to witness an actual cross burning. Yep. Im a kkk vip. But first, let me talk to the locals. And see if they know that the ku klux klan is still in the hood. Its a good place to live, good place to raise kids. Its about as close to modern mayberry as you can get. Modern mayberry. Would you recommend a black guy like myself buy a house around here . Sure. Sure. Youd fit right in, im sure. Right in . Yeah. We have heard theres still like a klan presence, like a kkk presence. Has that happened here . Years ago dawson did have kind of a bad reputation. Small town. Its just totally just disappeared. Okay. Now its been over for years. Do you see black people around here ever . Whenever i was growing up there wasnt really a lot because the kkks like headquarters are just right down the road. I see them around town when i work at dairy queen down there. Its funny because youre the youngest person weve talked to and we talked to some older people in town and they said like somebody said the klan hasnt been here for 50 years. No, theyre they were trying to put a good face on it. They just wasnt open about it like they were in the past. What if i was to go down that road today . Would that be a good idea . Would that be a bad idea . I wouldnt be scared of it. I didnt say you. I said me. And just like that, im off to see the wizards. Going down a oneway road to see a cross burn im meeting with the nordic order knights of the ku klux klan. These guys claim to be progressive. I guess if you want to convince people youre new and improved then you let a black man watch you burn a cross. Crazy. But ill keep an open mind. I cant let go of my liberal bias for tolerance. As i turn onto the klan property, im greeted by a semiautomatic rifle. Straight up there. Right about in there. Okay. Thank you. Yep. I said thank you. I was going to say thank you for not killing me. One of those thank you for not killing me with your big gun, sir thank yous. Oh, this was ive had some dumb ideas, but this is imperial wizard nordic order knights. Kamau bell. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Would you like to come over have a seat . Sure. Absolutely. No, not really. But we might as well start with some small talk. Well, this is kentucky, man. Its hot. Yes, sir. A lot of salt of the earth of americans. Yeah, yeah. And the ku klux klan. And the ku klux klan. Now, is it i would imagine its especially hot in these robes. Oh, its horrible. Its a sacrifice. The whole premise behind the mask is to show that were equal. The mask makes us all equal in each others eyes. So what do africanamericans think about the klan . Obviously, black people and the klan have had issues, to put it lightly. You know, me coming out here to talk to you guys is not something my mother dreamed of. No. So you know, obviously thats a thing. And i respect the fact youre letting me come out here and i also respect the fact youre letting me leave. I can tell you nordic order knights is a direct action group. If you come at us were going to come back at you. We are not politically correct whatsoever. If you try to hurt one of our members, we will hurt you. Mmhmm. I understand. Dont let me sugarcoat anything. No, i understand. Were prowhite, 100 . We only work on our race. Mmhmm. The other mud races, leave us alone. Thats all ive got to tell you is just leave us alone. Mud races . Theres got to be a funny comeback for that. Ive got nothing. Let me try talking to the other imperial wizard here. Jim shealys not covering his face. Finally, a klansman with high selfesteem. Have you had black people here before to witness this . No. Youll actually be the first black man thats attended to a cross lighting. Okay. The first thing that any man or woman learns when they join a klan group is how to wrap the cross. These robes are part of who we are. The cross lighting is part of who we are. So when you burn a cross you dont no, we dont burn it. Its called a cross lighting. Im sorry. So how often do you do this, you said . You wouldnt want to do them every month. It makes them less special. Its like the idea you can have champagne but youre not going to have it every day. One of the nicest times to do it is during a full moon or in the winter when the stars are you know, twinkle. That sounds kind of like a klan postcard. Yeah, it does. If i was going to send out postcards at christmas i would want Something Like that for if you do that, jim, you dont have to give me credit for the idea. While these guys wrap the cross for burning im sorry, lighting. Let me see if klanny smurf has calmed down any. What do you love about the white race . What do you have pride about . God created us and i truly feel gods creation was perfect. It tells us not to mingle our seeds with the beasts of the field. You dont take a champion race horse and mate it to a mule. Okay . Because the offspring is not no longer champion. It is now mongrelized. Youre dumbing down your children. Do you feel like that we have that our iqs are at an even i believe were having a great dialogue according to please dont dumb it down for me. I dont want you to feel like ill try to keep up. Please dont. We follow the teachings of the lord. And if the lord says its bad then we will say its bad. Now, i know the bible also says youre not supposed to eat lobster and ive violated that one many times. I violated it last night at red lobster. You went to the house of ill repute. I had the ultimate feast. All shellfish. So were all sinners. So im going to hell. Im going to hell. Okay. But like i was saying earlier, everybody has a place in this nation. I would just like to see a separate white nation. If you take a bag of skittles yes. Theres different colors in that bag. You can mix the colors and it still tastes okay. Yeah. But if you separate the colors and then taste the individual flavors, its even better. So are you telling me that when you have a bag of skittles you separate all the colors before you eat them . Every time. Im waiting on a klansman to bring me some kerosene so i can soak it. What do you have to do to get a klansman some kerosene . I know, man. So you cut down trees for the crosses. Yes, sir. Some people do metal crosses. Its like a plastic christmas tree. It just doesnt have the same feel. For me it dont. What about going down to home depot and buying the wood . Does anybody do that . We tried that before, and the wood goes up pretty fast. Dont get your cross at home depot for the cross lighting. We dont have anything against home depot. Were not racist against home depot whatsoever. I love that you have a sensitivity around home depot. Absolutely, man. A little more. Not so fast, man. Dude, youre going real fast. Youre going to lose a lot of fuel. Go ahead and help him out. We call it klansmans cologne. Most of the robes i have have kerosene on them. Except for this one. You want to keep this one nice. Yeah, i do, man. Its satin. Whats a good price on a klan robe . 125. 125. Yes, sir. Klansmen, youre going to be in this ceremony, lets go. It was almost time for the cross lighting. Gentlemen, lets get this cross up in the air. I know what youre thinking. Is it rude of me not to help . Pnc bank has technology to help make banking easier, like. Pnc easy lock, so you can easily lock your credit card when its maximum limit differs from its vertical limit. And clover flex, for when you need to take credit cards when no one carries cash. Or requesting a call to help get a new credit card one that hasnt followed the family goldfish. Pnc make today the day. Pardon the interruption but this is big now at tmobile buy any Samsung Galaxy s10 and get a galaxy s10e free there are a lot of snack bars out there. What makes a kind bar so special . Maybe its the whole nuts and real fruit. Maybe its the drizzle of dark chocolate. Maybe its because its tasty and healthy. Well, theres only one way to find out. Do the kind thing. Ensure max protein. To give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you dont. straining ill take that. cheers 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. Ensure max protein. In two great flavors. Title x for affordable natbirth control and Reproductive Health care. The Trump Administration just issued a nationwide gag rule. This would dismantle the title x ten program. It means that physicians cannot tell a patient about their Reproductive Health choices. We have to be able to use our medical knowledge to give our patients the information that they need. The number one rule is do no harm, and this is harm. We must act now. Learn more. Text titlex to 22422 do you accept the light of jesus christ . I accept the light. Klansman, do you accept the light of jesus christ . I accept the light. Klansman, do you accept the light of jesus christ . I accept the light. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Were not going to the cross burning yet. No, no. Not in the middle of the show. Im not dumb. Thats the big closer. [ laughter ] i cant just throw the cross burning out there in the middle of the show. You cant follow a cross burning. What follows a cross burning . I actually dont want to know. I dont want to know, actually. Id rather never know. I dont ever want to know what follows a cross burning. [ laughter ] dont worry, well get to the cross burning later. But first, if you search the internet for kkk, some of the top stories youll find are about a small town youve probably never heard of. So im headed back to arkansas. The town of harrison has a population that is 96 white. And its known for still having an active ku klux klan presence. What kind of vibe will i get here . Will i see some kind of sign of modernday racism . Tada. The controversial billboard up in harrison in Northern Arkansas sparking nationwide controversy. Its sparked local outrage, some calling it racist. People say this billboard reminds them of a very unpleasant time in their towns history. I need to talk to somebody about the billboard, and this lady will do. Shes patty methvin, president of the Harrison Chamber of commerce. It broke my heart first. After i cried for a little while and kind of had a little hissy fit, then we started working on what do we do . How do you counter a billboard that doesnt have an author . Yes. Because theres no website. Theres no name. Theres nobody claiming credit. Theres no address. Its just a billboard. Its just the billboard. Now, the people of harrison dont actually know whos responsible for this sign. But if i was placing a bet, id guess this guy. Harrison became a better place to live without its negroes. The guy so racist he pronounces negroes nigroes. Pastor thomas robb is the leader of the Knights Party of the ku klux klan, a powerful local kkk group with a large internet presence. Robb h