Inside the KKK: Chilling images reveal how white supremacists are still carrying out cross burnings and 'sacred rituals' hidden from society across the U.S.
- White supremacist organisation The Ku Klux Klan had about 6 million members in the 1920s
- It now has some 2,000 to 3,000 members across the United States, in about 72 chapters, or klaverns
- Photographer Johnny Milano has spent three years documenting the white supremacist group in the U.S.
- His images capture the life of KKK and its affiliates as they carry out their 'rituals' - including burning crosses
As white supremacists prepare to gather in South Carolina on Saturday to protest against the removal of the Confederate flag from the state capitol grounds, this series of photographs show the reality of life inside the Ku Klux Klan - or what is left of it - across the United States.
The images provide a fascinating insight to the white supremacist subculture that lives on some 150 years after the end of the Civil War, existing on the margins of modern society in all corners of America, including Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Klan members can be seen dressed in traditional robes as they stand alongside affiliate groups and members of the National Socialist Movement to hold the cross burning ceremonies which have come to symbolise the Ku Klux Klan.
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Vicious hatred: Members of the National Socialist Movement and Ku Klux Klan affiliate group the Adirondack Fraternity White Knights burn a cross and a swastika during a ceremony in Hunt County, Texas
Behind the scenes: Photographer Johnny Milano, 26, has spent the past three years travelling around the US to document the life of the KKK and its affiliate groups
Induction: Members of the Virgil Griffin White Knights, a group that claims affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, hold a ceremony for new members at a private farm house in Carter County, Tennessee last week
The Ku Klux Klan, which had about 6 million members in the 1920s, now has some 2,000 to 3,000 members nationally in about 72 chapters, or klaverns, according to the Southern Poverty Law Centre, an organisation that monitors extremist groups.
The photos have been taken by 26-year-old photographer Johnny Milano as part of a a long-term documentary project on white supremacists in the United States which he embarked on in 2012.
He reached out to the regional head of the National Socialist Movement, a white supremacist group, and after gaining access, Milano was invited to photograph meetings and events where he came to encounter Ku Klux Klan members.
Nazi salute: Members of KKK affiliate Adirondack Fraternity White Knights display their tattoos and salute towards the camera during a cross and swastika burning ceremony in Hunt County, Texas, last November
Family bonds: A female and male member of the Virgil Griffin White Knights affiliate group pose in their robes ahead of a cross lighting ceremony at a private farm house in Carter County, Tennessee
United in hatred: KKK affiliates the Nordic Order Knights and the Rebel Brigade Knights raise their torches while shouting 'For God, for family, for country, for the Klan' during the ceremony in Henry County
Racism on fire: An Imperial Kludd for the Rebel Brigade Knights, pictured left, lights the torches of fellow Klansmen and members of the Nordic Order Knights in Henry County, Virginia
Broken group: Members of the Nordic Order Knights and the Rebel Brigade Knights - both KKK affiliate groups - gather ahead of a cross lighting ceremony in Henry County, Virginia, last August
Before the burning: Eric, a Nighthawk for the Nordic Order Knights smokes a cigarette in his robe before a cross lighting ceremony in Henry County, Virginia, last August
Months into his project, Milano travelled by a car from state to state to cover rallies and 'cross lighting' ceremonies, which have come to symbolise the Ku Klux Klan.
'The KKK is still a hard organisation to make more intimate photographs of,' he said.
The issue of race relations in America has risen to the forefront of society in the past year, increasingly so in the recent month.
Nine black men and women were gunned down at a historic church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, with the suspect - 21-year-old Dylann Roof - posing with a Confederate battle flag alongside a racist manifesto attributed to him shortly before the terrorist massacre.
'Sacred' acts: Members of the Rebel Brigade Knights and the Nordic Order Knights hold their lit torches during another cross lighting ceremony at a private residence in Henry County, Virginia
Disgraceful: A member of the Ku Klux Klan salutes a lit cross during the burning ceremony in Henry County, which was held last October
'Pride': Members of the Rebel Brigade Knights and the Nordic Order Knights, groups that both claim affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, gather for a group photograph in front of a lit cross after the ceremony in Henry County
Shrinking: The Ku Klux Klan, which had about 6 million members in the 1920s, now has some 2,000 to 3,000 members nationally in about 72 chapters, or klaverns, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that monitors extremist groups
A confederate flag hangs from a barn where members of the Virgil Griffin White Knights get ready to hold a cross burning in Carter County
Jeans and potato sacks: Members of the Virgil Griffin White Knights wrap a cross with canvas and fabrics ahead of a cross lighting ceremony in Carter County, Tennessee last week
Getting ready: A member of the Nordic Order Knights tries on his hood a day before a cross lighting ceremony in Henry County, Virginia
Preparations: A Confederate flag and a flag containing the Ku Klux Klan emblem hang in the background as members of the Nordic Order Knights prepare a cross with canvas ahead of a cross lighting ceremony in Henry County, Virginia
Showing loyalty: A member of the Nordic Order Knights, an affiliate group, displays a KKK emblem tattoo in Henry County, Virginia
After holding a public rally, members of the Nordic Order Knights and Rebel Brigade Knights gather to raise a cross before a cross lighting ceremony on a member's property in Henry County, Virginia
A man with a message of 'love' tattooed on his knuckles participates with members of the Nordic Order Knights and the Rebel Brigade Knights in a cross lighting ceremony on a fellow member's property in Henry County, Virginia
Members of the Virgil Griffin White Knights encircle a cross lighting ceremony at a private farm house in Carter County, Tennessee
Joining the klan: New inductees of the Virgil Griffin White Knights kneel during a ceremony in Carter County, Tennessee
Nazi idols: A banner with the image of Adolf Hitler hangs inside a home where members affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan and the National Socialist Movement gathered for a joint rally in Hunt County, Texas
In the wake of the attack, South Carolina removed the Confederate battle flag from the state capitol grounds on July 10, relegating a divisive symbol of the South's pro-slavery legacy to a museum.
The Loyal White Knights chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, based in Pelham, North Carolina, are planning on holding a rally at the South Carolina State House in on July 18.
'We're standing up for the Confederacy,' James Spears, the chapter's 'great titan,' said on June 30. He said speakers would address slavery, then the Klan will hold a cross-lighting, or cross-burning, ceremony on private property.
Sounds legit: Billy Snuffer, the Imperial Wizard of affiliate group Rebel Brigade Knights reads from a version of 'the Kloran' - a guide for the Ku Klux Klan, contains rank responsibilities and ceremonial procedures - ahead of a cross lighting ceremony in Henry County, Virginia
Klan duty: An elderly member of the Nordic Order Knights, a group that claims affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, only named as Jim, speaks at a public rally outside a courthouse in Stuart, Virginia, while what appears to be a teenage girl stands behind him
Happy to hate: Jim can be seen adjusting his hood before the public rally in Stuart, Virginia
Nazi friends: Members of the National Socialist Movement and Adirondack Fraternity White Knights, a group that claims affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, wave flags while rallying outside a courthouse in Rockwall, Texas last November
Taking a stand: Police block a crowd that gathered to protest a rally by the East Coast Knights, which claims affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, outside a library in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June last yea
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