A former Ku Klux Klan “Grand Dragon” who now serves as a pastor at a Black church has described how he ultimately got out of the organization — and the disturbing warning he says came with his exit.
These days, Dr Richard Harris is known as a university professor, an anti-racism advocate, and a pastor in a Black community church in Florida — a life that seems worlds away from the white supremacist group he once belonged to.
Harris has said he joined the KKK at just 16, going through an initiation that required him to repeat a pledge, “swear allegiance to white supremacy,” and cut his wrist so he could sign his name in blood.
In an interview with LADbible Stories’ Minutes With, he explained the oath he took:
“I swore allegiance to keep all the rules and the laws of the Ku Klux Klan secret.”
During his years in the Klan, Harris said he was “groomed” to become the next Grand Dragon, describing the role as the state-level figurehead responsible for ceremonial duties.
While he acknowledged he felt “happy” at times about having status inside the group, he also said the experience left him in turmoil, including nights where he “crying himself to sleep.”
He said:
“I realized that I had ruined my life. I realized that I was probably not going to live a long life. And I realized how much most people hated and despised me because of who I was. So, was there happiness? Yeah, a little.
“Was there unhappiness? Yeah. A lot. Because I realized, I felt like I was trapped. I had trapped myself into this. There was no getting out, there was no leaving. I didn’t know what to do.”
Harris said he began reading the Bible in search of something steadier and safer, and came to believe the Klan had been “lying” by “twisting the scriptures.”
Convinced he needed to leave, he contacted a senior leader — the Imperial Wizard — and said he tried to quit.
As he put it:
“I called the Imperial Wizard and I quit,”
However, he said leaving wasn’t straightforward. Because he held the Grand Dragon position, he claimed the process involved tense discussions — and then a threat he says he never forgot.
He recalled:
“After some negotiation, a couple days of negotiations, it finally ended with, they put a gun to my head and they said, ‘We’re gonna let you out, we’re gonna let you live if you keep your mouth shut’. And I agreed. And I was out. And I kept my mouth shut for 15 years.”
After that 15-year period, Harris said he decided to speak publicly against the KKK, racism, and white supremacy.
He also claimed that since becoming an outspoken critic, he has survived three assassination attempts and that Klan members allegedly “did everything they could to intimidate [him] and to get [him] to shut up.”
Despite that, Harris has continued his work and said he has been welcomed by an African American church community, adding that he has been “accepted” and “forgiven” for his past.
Harris said:
“They love me, and I love them. And it has been the best church family that I’ve ever found,”