Lillian Sedwick was state head of the Indiana Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). She was also state leader of the Indiana Women of the Ku Klux Klan (WKKK).

Sedwick became state head of the Indiana WKKK when she replaced Daisy Douglass Barr. Rev. Barr was another WKKK and WCTU leader

As a KKK-supported candidate, Ms. Sedwick won election to the Indianapolis school board. There she promoted racial segregation.

A number of people were members of both the WCTU and the KKK. That’s because the Klan was a very strong supporter and defender of temperance and National Prohibition. Both groups also favored the right of women to vote. As a result, the WCTU and KKK were partners in Prohibition.

Lillian Sedwick was born on May 31, 1899. She died on June 11, 1992.

For more on the KKK and and prohibition in the state, visit Prohibition and Repeal in Indiana.

Lillian Sedwick’s temperance advocacy was not in vain. Many people and groups today support neo-prohibition ideas. And they also defend the many vestiges of Prohibition that remain. These include dry counties, blue laws (no Sunday alcohol sales), and other anti-alcohol laws.

This is hard to believe. But almost one in five US adults today favor prohibition. They would prohibit drinking anyone of any age to drink. Or for any reason. National Prohibition didn’t prevent drinking. See What Did Prohibition Prohibit?: It Wasn’t Drinking Alcohol.