RESIST!

Notre Dame Students Stand Up to the KKK

At the height of the power of the Ku Klux Klan in May of 1924, they planned a rally in the city of South Bend, Ind. The city was home to many Jewish and Catholic residents and the University of Notre Dame, where many Catholic students attended. This set up a major flashpoint between the KKK and a religious group they had villainized and persecuted.

The RESIST! exhibit (open through August 2, 2025) seeks to help visitors understand key questions and realities around the Ku Klux Klan’s (KKK) rise to power in Indiana. It will also feature how people resisted and raised questions about how to combat hate. This exhibition will explore these broad themes by looking at one pivotal event from 1924 and its surrounding context.

One of the key components in the exhibit allows a guest to hear from different people as they tell their story of the Klan gathering in South Bend. The background images displayed during the story will be the same, regardless of who is speaking. While the images and story arc remain the same, the point of view of each character is slightly different.

A “sister” exhibit, presented with support from The History Museum, will open May 17 and run through Oct. 13 at the St. Joe County Public Library in South Bend — in a windowed room overlooking the intersection where the primary clash between the students and Klansmen took place.

RESIST! Resources

Below are links to IHS materials, photos and collection guides that provide additional background and information about the exhibit and key members who played a role.

Rabbi Morris Feuerlicht – Includes several images and works by/about Rabbi Feuerlicht in the digital collection, including A Hoosier Rabbinate.

Ransom Family Papers – Includes an online collection guide and papers available to view in the William Henry Smith Memorial Library at IHS.

D.C. Stephenson Collection – Includes an online collection guide and papers available to view in the William Henry Smith Memorial Library. The majority of the collection includes the legal papers regarding Stephenson’s 1925 trial for the murder of Madge Oberholtzer.

Here’s a link to more resources that were used for the RESIST! exhibit.

An interactive exhibit will allow visitors to learn details about how the local community fought back against the Klan gathering in South Bend.