David Holloway

Ku Klux Klan Naturalization Ceremony, Arkansas

“Although from a long line of farmers, carpenters, truck drivers, and mechanics, David Holloway discovered a career in visual storytelling. His curiosity has taken him from photographing the farmlands of Oklahoma and forests of Arkansas, to the first multiparty elections in Tanzania, the SARS outbreak in Toronto, and the punk rock and politics of Washington, D.C. Holloway was the first recipient of the Getty Grant for Editorial Photography and has been a finalist for several other grants, including the Lange Taylor Prize and the Alexia Foundation Grant. He has won numerous awards and his work has been shown at the Perpignan Photojournalism Festival as well as Chobi Mela.  His images have appeared in Time, Newsweek, Life, The Washington Post Magazine and Stern.

About the Photograph:

The wife of a Klansman, right, tells a recruit that she should take off his necklace so it isnt ripped off during a Ku Klux Klan Naturalization Ceremony held near Colt, Arkansas. This ceremony concludes the men’s probationary membership. After being blindfolded they are marched into a dark forest, where much like other fraternities they are hazed by existing members. If they demonstrate courage and endure the intimidation of that evening they complete their naturalization process. The men then become recognized members of the Aryan Nations’ Knights of the Ku Klux Klan during a cross lighting that evening. It is surprising to many that nearly 150 years after forming, the KKK is still active in the United States. The numbers are smaller, but there are still new recruits and the organization is alive. With the country’s first black president many racist organizations are noticing a rise in interest and membership.”

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