C. L. Parker

C. L. Parker (ca. 1910-1963) was the Florida Grand Dragon of the United Klan. He became the leader in June 1953 after Bill Hendrix resigned as Grand Dragon of the Southern Knights of the Klu Klux Klan. Parker not only renamed the organization to the United Klan, he made other radical changes as well. One was to allow black members to join the United Klan. The black members, however, would belong to a separate segregated group. Prospective black Klansman would be required to pay one dollar as dues and swear allegiance to God and the Constitution. Parker disbanded the United Klan around 1959 and that same year appeared before a Florida Senate Committee to answer questions regarding the Klan and its demise.

Parker was a furniture dealer, contractor, motel owner and ordained minister. C.L. Parker died in 1963 of cardiac arrest