Christian extremists in Oregon are dragging the nation back to the dark days of Jim Crow laws and cross-burning, with a campaign of terror against a bi-racial family for breaching their racist rules on  racial purity .According to KPTV, the family in Salem, Oregon have become prey to a group of  Christian  KKK Klansmen who want an end to so-called race-mixing. The group have been sending the family handwritten notes containing racial slurs and threats of death   each of them signed with  KKK  and a Christian symbol of the cross. The report states that:One note said,  you and your family will die by the hands of me, die slow. Another note threatened to kill a family member if the police were called again.Brian Lewallen, a neighbor living in the same street as the family, believes the actions of these Christian extremists betrays their cowardice. If you can t deal with your neighbors in a way that is socially reasonable, then what are you doing aside from stoking fears?  he told KPTV.The local police force in Salem are investigating the matter. But as of yet, there are no suspects.The campaign brings to mind some of the darker periods of American history, where segregation laws barred non-whites from schools, universities, libraries and other public spaces. Where black people were forced to sit at the back of the bus. Where African-American men were called  boys , and white children had to be addressed as  Sir  by their black elders.The KKK terrorized the African-American community with almost unimaginable violence, as depicted in gut-wrenching images of lynchings like the one below.Warning: Deeply distressing image.Image via Atlanta Black StarIn total, the Klan murdered 3,446 African-Americans in 86 years. But the terror spread far wider than those killed.Now, in 2016, African-American and bi-racial families in Oregon are in a maddeningly similar situation as they would have been in 1926, 1936, 1946 or 1956. Under threat from Christian extremists, with an openly-racist police chief, and a GOP Party Chair who sold a pro-slavery novel which suggested African-Americans are like  retarded children. America, we can and must do better than this.KPTV   FOX 12 Featured Image via Flickr Creative Commons