Were Monrovia’s “good old days” always as good as we remember them? How much do we really know about Monrovia’s not-so-pleasant past?
Our community has undergone a remarkable transformation over the decades. There's a chapter in our history that may surprise even longtime Monrovians, but a later action by the City Council that denounced hate groups says something important about the Monrovia we know today.
Our community has undergone a remarkable transformation over the decades. There's a chapter in our history that may surprise even longtime Monrovians, but a later action by the City Council that denounced hate groups says something important about the Monrovia we know today.
Dick Singer’s books are available at the Monrovia Public Library, or for purchase at The Monrovia Historical Museum. Frequently on social media, posters write wistfully about days of yore, when times were simpler, there was less division, and people just got along. Well, actually, when one looks back at those “good old days,” sometimes they just weren’t so good.
Did the Monrovia City Council adopt a resolution denouncing hate groups including the KKK? Yes. When did they do so?
The klan was formed in 1865 in Tennessee by a group of former Confederate soldiers. The soon turned to violence and terror to oppose reconstruction and the empowerment of Black Americans. The violence and intimidation was so bad that in 1871, President Ulysses Grant sent the army to track down and arrest KKK members. As an overt terrorist group, the klan somewhat faded away by 1872 although violence against Black people continued.
The klan was not limited to the south. In California, KKK vigilantes mostly targeted Chinese workers in the late 1860s and early 1870s. The klan and those who believed in its ideals, were spread throughout California. It was so bad that around 1868 the Marysville Daily Appeal reported that insurance companies in San Jose had considered “the expediency of canceling policies… owing to the Ku Klux threats.” (The Shameful History of the KKK You Probably Never Knew, Kevin Waite, Time Magazine, October 10, 2015.)
The klan revitalized in the 1920s, partially in response to D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film Birth of a Nation. It reached a nationwide membership of more than 4 million, driven by hostility toward Blacks, Catholics, Jews, foreigners, and organized labor. It even became something of a “morality police.” (The Ku Klux Klan in California 1921 to 1924 by Dennis M. Von Brauchitsch, California State University, Sacramento Master of Arts in History Thesis, 02/20/2012); Revival of the Ku Klux Klan, Encyclopedia Britannica, August 11, 2026.)
The klan existed in Monrovia, too. In the 1920s the KKK held a rally and burned a cross on Huntington Drive. Almost 200 attended.
In the late 1960s, the local klan operated out of its Peck Road “headquarters” in El Monte. They routinely sent operatives to stand near Monrovia High School and taunt Black students, waving confederate battle flags and screaming slurs. They would even line up on Madison Avenue across from the basketball courts and challenge students to fight. (Renaissance Years, A History of Modern Monrovia, by Richard Singer, 2017, updated 2024.)
In 1971, the KKK-affiliated National Socialist White People’s Party paraded down Myrtle Avenue, from Library Park to City Hall. 15 people were arrested, including 3 Monrovians.
It was in September, 2017, that the City Council unanimously issued a resolution condemning hate groups, including the KKK. The resolution came as a result of the abhorrent August 12, 2017, white supremacist demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, where nineteen counter-protesters were seriously injured, and Heather Heyer was brutally murdered in a related act of terrorism.
The resolution said:
Whereas, the City of Monrovia emphatically embraces the notion upon which our country was founded – that all people are created equal; and Whereas, the City of Monrovia commits to continuing its long history of embracing all people, making room for all faiths, and rejecting all forms of bigotry, hatred, violence, and domestic terrorism.
Now therefore, be it resolved by the city council of the city of Monrovia:
Section 1: The City of Monrovia stands together with the rest of the country in denouncing all forms of hate and violence that encouraged by any group or individual. (The Council directly addressed hate groups and urged peace.)
Section 2: The City of Monrovia rejects the racist beliefs of Neo-Nazis, the KKK, white supremacists, and other like-minded groups, which have no place in the United States of America.
Section 3: The City of Monrovia urges that all individuals and groups reaffirm their commitment to supporting our unique American social mores of engaging in civil discourse and dialogue when confronted by those with different perspectives, rather than resorting to any form of violence. (Monrovia City Council Passes Resolution Against Hate, Monrovia Weekly, September 7, 2017)
Monrovia today is not the Monrovia of just a relatively few years ago. Dick Singer appropriately titled his book “Renaissance Years” because our city did indeed go through a renaissance, which he terms the “acclaimed renewal and rebirth.” He continues, “The history of that civic transformation is a tale of social renewal, economic
regeneration and civic rebirth, the re-launching of a once troubled community into a new and better era.”
Monrovia has been, and is, going places – good places. Twice an All-America City, Monrovia today is a place we want to live in. It’s our town.
Additional resource:
Did the Monrovia City Council adopt a resolution denouncing hate groups including the KKK? Yes. When did they do so?
The klan was formed in 1865 in Tennessee by a group of former Confederate soldiers. The soon turned to violence and terror to oppose reconstruction and the empowerment of Black Americans. The violence and intimidation was so bad that in 1871, President Ulysses Grant sent the army to track down and arrest KKK members. As an overt terrorist group, the klan somewhat faded away by 1872 although violence against Black people continued.
The klan was not limited to the south. In California, KKK vigilantes mostly targeted Chinese workers in the late 1860s and early 1870s. The klan and those who believed in its ideals, were spread throughout California. It was so bad that around 1868 the Marysville Daily Appeal reported that insurance companies in San Jose had considered “the expediency of canceling policies… owing to the Ku Klux threats.” (The Shameful History of the KKK You Probably Never Knew, Kevin Waite, Time Magazine, October 10, 2015.)
The klan revitalized in the 1920s, partially in response to D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film Birth of a Nation. It reached a nationwide membership of more than 4 million, driven by hostility toward Blacks, Catholics, Jews, foreigners, and organized labor. It even became something of a “morality police.” (The Ku Klux Klan in California 1921 to 1924 by Dennis M. Von Brauchitsch, California State University, Sacramento Master of Arts in History Thesis, 02/20/2012); Revival of the Ku Klux Klan, Encyclopedia Britannica, August 11, 2026.)
The klan existed in Monrovia, too. In the 1920s the KKK held a rally and burned a cross on Huntington Drive. Almost 200 attended.
In the late 1960s, the local klan operated out of its Peck Road “headquarters” in El Monte. They routinely sent operatives to stand near Monrovia High School and taunt Black students, waving confederate battle flags and screaming slurs. They would even line up on Madison Avenue across from the basketball courts and challenge students to fight. (Renaissance Years, A History of Modern Monrovia, by Richard Singer, 2017, updated 2024.)
In 1971, the KKK-affiliated National Socialist White People’s Party paraded down Myrtle Avenue, from Library Park to City Hall. 15 people were arrested, including 3 Monrovians.
It was in September, 2017, that the City Council unanimously issued a resolution condemning hate groups, including the KKK. The resolution came as a result of the abhorrent August 12, 2017, white supremacist demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, where nineteen counter-protesters were seriously injured, and Heather Heyer was brutally murdered in a related act of terrorism.
The resolution said:
Whereas, the City of Monrovia emphatically embraces the notion upon which our country was founded – that all people are created equal; and Whereas, the City of Monrovia commits to continuing its long history of embracing all people, making room for all faiths, and rejecting all forms of bigotry, hatred, violence, and domestic terrorism.
Now therefore, be it resolved by the city council of the city of Monrovia:
Section 1: The City of Monrovia stands together with the rest of the country in denouncing all forms of hate and violence that encouraged by any group or individual. (The Council directly addressed hate groups and urged peace.)
Section 2: The City of Monrovia rejects the racist beliefs of Neo-Nazis, the KKK, white supremacists, and other like-minded groups, which have no place in the United States of America.
Section 3: The City of Monrovia urges that all individuals and groups reaffirm their commitment to supporting our unique American social mores of engaging in civil discourse and dialogue when confronted by those with different perspectives, rather than resorting to any form of violence. (Monrovia City Council Passes Resolution Against Hate, Monrovia Weekly, September 7, 2017)
Monrovia today is not the Monrovia of just a relatively few years ago. Dick Singer appropriately titled his book “Renaissance Years” because our city did indeed go through a renaissance, which he terms the “acclaimed renewal and rebirth.” He continues, “The history of that civic transformation is a tale of social renewal, economic
regeneration and civic rebirth, the re-launching of a once troubled community into a new and better era.”
Monrovia has been, and is, going places – good places. Twice an All-America City, Monrovia today is a place we want to live in. It’s our town.
Additional resource:
- The Rise (and Fall) of the First Ku Klux Klan by Elaine S. Frantz, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2019)
- Renaissance Years, A History of Modern Monrovia, by Richard Singer, 2017, updated 2024. (Available at the Monrovia Public Library, or for purchase at the Monrovia Historical Museum)
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