Seaman High School in Topeka, Kansas, has been the subject of a lot of rumors and jokes over the years. Some of those would go into exactly the kind of juvenile jabs you would expect. Other stories that floated about Seaman school were not as humorous, and far darker. The rumors, however, just remained rumors until high school students participating in the journalism department began to do real research as to the background of their school and discovered the rumors were true and could be substantiated. It turns out Seaman High School was named after Fred Seaman, a 1920s Klu Klux Klan leader who sought to gain control of Kansas schools and local elected offices.
What happened to slow up the research? Because many of the stories were written in the 1920s, they existed long before the internet era. Finding the articles and stories can be difficult, but student journalists Tristan Fangman and Madeline Gearhart put in incredible work in tracing the story. Now, those same students are making an ask of their school: change the name.
The article, published in The Clipper, the school newspaper is thorough and damning:
On April 7th, 1925, the Topeka Journal reported, “It was freely talked on the streets that the Klan slips served to line up Thomas and Hill against Porter and McGiffert. It was most evident that Fred Seaman and his robed brothers are not recognizing the bond issue question in the school board fight.” The Topeka Journal further reported “The Klan ticket, the first of its kind in a Topeka city election, appeared at the election polls… the tiny two inch by four inch slips bear across the face of the endorsement of Fred A. Seaman, exalted cyclops of the Klan organization. Seaman is principal of the Seaman rural high school, north of the city.” Additional articles would come out in other newspapers implying further involvement with the KKK.
KCUR public radio followed up on this discovery:
But nationally and in Kansas, the growing Klan used its influence to fill public offices with Klan members or candidates they felt supported their anti-Black, anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish, anti-immigrant agenda.
“The Klan made war via elections,” New York University historian Linda Gordon wrote in her 2017 book, The Second Coming of the Klan. “No one has been able to count all the Klan candidates elected to state and local offices.”
So, how did the Klan operate in the 1920s?
A year earlier, the Topeka Journal says he launched the city’s first-ever “Klan ticket,” endorsing 10 people for public office, including five candidates for school board positions.
The Klan sought to sway the races by handing paper slips listing the endorsements to voters at the polls on Election Day.
The surprise endorsements and mass distribution of fliers mobilized last-minute efforts by opponents to undermine it by urging Black, Catholic and Jewish voters to turn out at the polls.
We often think of racism targeting major races like the Senate, House, and the presidency. What has become clear is that every race on the ballot became their target, and for the Klan, controlling school boards, city councils, and other offices was incredibly important.
This is a lesson we should take into 2020 and beyond, because 100 years later, electing people of terrible backgrounds to local offices is easier and cheaper for those who have terrible ideas for our community. The damage is real, and not enough people are reminded or pay attention. The story from the school newspaper is only one part of their story:
The Clipper reached out to the USD 345 Board of Education after learning of Fred Seaman’s leadership in the KKK. Candace LeDuc, USD 345 Communications Director released the following statement from the Board:
“The board has been made aware of Fred Seaman’s affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan through research conducted by our teachers and students.
These kids are all right. It is research like this that brings us knowledge of our past, allows us to heal wounds, and move forward. It also allows Seaman High School Students to abandon a name that honors a racist. That alone is something that Fangman and Gearhart, who compiled the research, should be proud of as they move on in their academic careers.
