Radio Waves of Justice

 

How a 1946 Radio Show Took on White Supremacy

In the summer of 1946, Superman didn’t just leap tall buildings—he leapt into one of the most courageous battles in pop culture history. In a 16-part arc of The Adventures of Superman radio show, the Man of Steel took on a fictional hate group called the Clan of the Fiery Cross. Modeled after the Ku Klux Klan, this storyline wasn’t just entertainment—it was a strategic strike against real-world racism.

The Storyline: Courage in the Airwaves

The arc begins when a Chinese-American boy named Tommy Lee joins a youth baseball team. His inclusion sparks outrage from a local hate group, the Clan of the Fiery Cross, who begin threatening his family. Superman steps in—not just to protect Tommy, but to expose and dismantle the clan’s ideology and tactics.

The show aired in June and July of 1946, just as America was grappling with postwar racial tensions and the resurgence of white supremacist groups. The writers didn’t hold back: the clan was portrayed as cowardly, ignorant, and dangerous. Superman’s intervention was both physical and moral—he used his strength and his voice to challenge hate.

The Real-Life Spy Behind the Scenes

Civil rights activist and journalist Stetson Kennedy played a pivotal role in the arc’s creation. Kennedy infiltrated the real Ku Klux Klan and passed their secret codes, rituals, and language to the show’s producers. These details were woven into the broadcast, effectively mocking and demystifying the Klan’s aura of power.

Kennedy’s goal was clear: use Superman’s popularity to undermine the Klan’s recruitment and public image. And it worked.

Public Reception: A Cultural Body Blow

The response was swift and powerful. Listeners—especially children—were captivated by Superman’s stand against racism. The Klan, on the other hand, was humiliated. Their secret rituals were now public knowledge, and their image as a fearsome underground force was shattered.

While exact ratings data from the time is scarce, anecdotal evidence and later interviews suggest the arc had a chilling effect on Klan recruitment. Kennedy himself claimed the show did more to damage the Klan than many political efforts.

Listen to the radio show here.

Legacy and Revival

The story’s impact didn’t fade. In 2019, DC Comics released Superman Smashes the Klan, a three-part graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru. It reimagines the 1946 arc for modern audiences, emphasizing themes of identity, courage, and community solidarity.

Why It Still Matters

“Clan of the Fiery Cross” wasn’t just a radio drama—it was a cultural intervention. It showed that superheroes could do more than fight aliens and mad scientists. They could fight hate. They could stand for justice in the real world.

In an era where media is often criticized for avoiding controversy, this 1946 broadcast reminds us that storytelling can be a weapon against injustice. Superman didn’t just wear a cape—he wore conviction.

About the Author

Daryl Horton is a technical and creative writer who is passionate about being creative. He has comprehensive training in business information management, information systems management, and creative and technical writing. Daryl has the knowledge and skills to help organizations optimize their performance and maximize their potential. He spent several years in a Knowledge Management PhD program at Walden University, nearly completing it, but resigned from the program during his dissertation phase to pursue his passion for creativity (http://www.abolitic.com/). Despite his love for creativity, he often finds himself participating in groups where his technical experiences add value.

You can find more information about Daryl Horton on his LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/darylhorton/.

Generated by Microsoft Copilot. Reviewed and edited by a human author.

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Illustrating Resistance

 

How Superhero Comics Have Battled White Supremacy

From their earliest days, comic books have been more than escapist entertainment—they’ve been battlegrounds for justice. While superheroes often punch out bank robbers and alien invaders, some of their most powerful stories involve confronting real-world hate, especially white supremacy. This blog explores how comics have historically tackled racism head-on, and why these stories matter now more than ever.

A Legacy of Resistance

1940s: Punching Nazis in the Face

The fight began with Captain America’s iconic debut in Captain America Comics #1 (1941), where he’s shown socking Adolf Hitler. This wasn’t just propaganda—it was a bold statement from Jewish creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby during a time when America hadn’t yet entered WWII.

1960s–1980s: Allegory and Activism

As civil rights movements gained momentum, comics evolved. The X-Men, created in 1963, became allegories for marginalized groups. In X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills (1982), the team faces off against a religious zealot who preaches mutant genocide—mirroring real-world hate speech.

Captain America’s 1980s run also took a darker turn. In Captain America #275–278, Steve Rogers battles the National Force, a neo-Nazi group using mind control and racial violence to spread terror.

Black Heroes, Real Struggles

·        Steel (1994): John Henry Irons, a Black engineer turned superhero, fights gang violence and systemic racism in Metropolis.

·        Icon (Milestone Comics, 1993): A conservative Black alien superhero grapples with race, class, and justice in urban America.

·        Truth: Red, White & Black (2003): This Marvel miniseries reveals the U.S. government’s unethical testing of the Super-Soldier Serum on Black soldiers, inspired by the real-life Tuskegee experiments.

Modern Reckonings

·        Absolute Batman 2025 Annual #1 (2025)
Batman confronts white supremacists in Slaughter Swamp, including Neo-Nazis and KKK members. The story is raw, stylized, and unapologetically political, echoing the urgency of our times.

·        The American Way (2006)
Set in the 1960s, this WildStorm/DC series critiques government manipulation and racial unrest, introducing a Black superhero to a white team to pacify civil rights protests.

·        Black Panther (Ta-Nehisi Coates run, 2016–2021)
While not always direct, Coates’ run explores colonialism, racial supremacy, and resistance through Wakanda’s global interactions.

Why These Stories Matter

Comics are cultural mirrors. When superheroes confront white supremacy, they challenge readers to do the same. These stories don’t just entertain—they educate, provoke, and inspire. They remind us that the fight against hate isn’t just in the streets—it’s in our stories, our symbols, and our imaginations.

Recommended Reading List

About the Author

Daryl Horton is a technical and creative writer who is passionate about being creative. He has comprehensive training in business information management, information systems management, and creative and technical writing. Daryl has the knowledge and skills to help organizations optimize their performance and maximize their potential. He spent several years in a Knowledge Management PhD program at Walden University, nearly completing it, but resigned from the program during his dissertation phase to pursue his passion for creativity (http://www.abolitic.com/). Despite his love for creativity, he often finds himself participating in groups where his technical experiences add value.

You can find more information about Daryl Horton on his LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/darylhorton/.

Generated by Microsoft Copilot. Reviewed and edited by a human author.

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When Fact Meets Fiction

Introduction

In today’s political landscape, the battle over historical memory and cultural identity is more than ideological—it’s strategic. The Trump administration’s efforts to erase Black history, restore Confederate monuments, and dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have sparked intense debate. But when we examine these actions through two distinct lenses—one rooted in political science and the other in dystopian fiction—we uncover a deeper logic of power preservation and moral erosion. This post explores how The Dictator’s Handbook and The Obsolete Man illuminate the calculated nature of these cultural maneuvers.

The Dictator’s Handbook_: Power Over Principle

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith’s The Dictator’s Handbook reveals how authoritarian leaders maintain power by rewarding a small group of loyal supporters, suppressing dissent, and manipulating ideology to serve their interests. Public goods and moral governance are secondary to political survival. In this framework, historical revisionism and symbolic gestures—like restoring Confederate monuments—are not ideological anomalies but strategic moves to reinforce loyalty and control public perception.

The Obsolete Man_: Fictional Truths About Authoritarianism

Rod Serling’s The Obsolete Man, a classic episode of The Twilight Zone, presents a dystopian regime that declares individuals obsolete based on their ideological nonconformity. A librarian named Romney Wordsworth is sentenced to death for believing in God and preserving knowledge—acts deemed dangerous to the state. The episode dramatizes how authoritarian systems suppress truth, erase cultural memory, and punish moral resistance, all while cloaking their actions in the language of order and progress.

Strategic Erasure and Symbolic Control

The Trump administration’s efforts to erase Black history, restore Confederate symbolism, and dismantle DEI initiatives can be understood through two complementary lenses: the factual analysis of The Dictator’s Handbook and the fictional allegory of The Obsolete Man. From the perspective of The Dictator’s Handbook, these actions are strategic moves to reward a loyal coalition, suppress dissenting narratives, and consolidate power—tactics rooted in the logic of political survival rather than ideology. Viewed through The Obsolete Man, these same actions reflect a regime’s attempt to declare inconvenient truths and moral voices “obsolete,” replacing knowledge and cultural memory with state-sanctioned distortion. Together, these lenses reveal a calculated campaign not just to control policy, but to dominate perception, rewrite identity, and punish resistance—where truth becomes expendable and symbolic power becomes a weapon of control.

Call to Action: Defend Truth, Preserve Memory

Understanding the intersection of fact and fiction helps us recognize the deeper strategies behind cultural erasure. It’s not enough to debate policy—we must defend truth, preserve historical memory, and resist symbolic domination. Whether through education, activism, or storytelling, we must ensure that the voices deemed “obsolete” by power remain heard, remembered, and honored.

About the Author

Daryl Horton is a technical and creative writer who is passionate about being creative. He has comprehensive training in business information management, information systems management, and creative and technical writing. Daryl has the knowledge and skills to help organizations optimize their performance and maximize their potential. He spent several years in a Knowledge Management PhD program at Walden University, nearly completing it, but resigned from the program during his dissertation phase to pursue his passion for creativity (http://www.abolitic.com/). Despite his love for creativity, he often finds himself participating in groups where his technical experiences add value.

You can find more information about Daryl Horton on his LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/darylhorton/.

From Exclusion to Transition

 

The Uneven Road to Pension Access for African Americans

African Americans were historically excluded from pension systems due to discriminatory labor classifications and systemic segregation under Jim Crow laws. The 1935 Social Security Act initially left out many Black workers by excluding agricultural and domestic jobs. Legal access began improving during the Civil Rights Movement: in 1964, the Civil Rights Act banned employment discrimination, opening pathways to jobs with pensions; in 1965, the Voting Rights Act empowered political participation; and in 1968, the Fair Housing Act outlawed housing discrimination, indirectly supporting economic stability. However, just as African Americans began gaining access, the U.S. pension system began shifting—from guaranteed defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans like 401(k)s, starting in the late 1970s and accelerating through the 1980s and 2000s. Today, while legal barriers have been removed, historical exclusion and economic disparities continue to impact African American retirement security.

 

Timeline of Key Events

Year	Event	Impact on African American Pension Access
1935	Social Security Act	Excluded many Black workers due to job classifications
1964	Civil Rights Act	Banned employment discrimination; opened access to pension-eligible jobs
1965	Voting Rights Act	Increased political influence over social policy and benefits
1968	Fair Housing Act	Improved access to stable housing and economic mobility
Late 1970s	Rise of 401(k) Plans	Shifted retirement responsibility to individuals
1980s–2000s	Decline of Defined Benefit Pensions	Reduced guaranteed retirement income, affecting those with late access

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About the Author

Daryl Horton is a technical and creative writer who is passionate about being creative. He has comprehensive training in business information management, information systems management, and creative and technical writing. Daryl has the knowledge and skills to help organizations optimize their performance and maximize their potential. He spent several years in a Knowledge Management PhD program at Walden University, nearly completing it, but resigned from the program during his dissertation phase to pursue his passion for creativity (http://www.abolitic.com/). Despite his love for creativity, he often finds himself participating in groups where his technical experiences add value.

You can find more information about Daryl Horton on his LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/darylhorton/.