what was and is the ku klux klan? what do you think of atticus's comment about it?

The Klan considered themselves a political organization, but more than anything else, membership in the Klan is based upon racial bias. This group continues to attract members today. Atticus' comment alludes to his belief in the goodness of humanity.

“Never heard of any Catholics in Maycomb either,” said Atticus, “you’re confusing that with something else. Way back about nineteen-twenty there was a Klan, but it was a political organization more than anything. Besides, they couldn’t find anybody to scare. They paraded by Mr. Sam Levy’s house one night, but Sam just stood on his porch and told ‘em things had come to a pretty pass, he’d sold ’em the very sheets on their backs. Sam made ‘em so ashamed of themselves they went away.” The Levy family met all criteria for being Fine Folks: they did the best they could with the sense they had, and they had been living on the same plot of ground in Maycomb for five generations. “The Ku Klux’s gone,” said Atticus. “It’ll never come back.”