Originally Posted by theking

In his early twenties he became a member of the KKK and once wrote the following.

I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds. ?
? Robert C. Byrd, in a letter to Sen. Theodore Bilbo (D-MS), 1944.

He dropped his membership in the KKK around 1953 and once made the following statement.

I know now I was wrong. Intolerance had no place in America. I apologized a thousand times... and I don't mind apologizing over and over again. I can't erase what happened.