Hugo black

Today we learned about Hugo Black and his journey to become a supreme court justice. Hugo black  lived in Alabama and he dropped out of high school.  Then he got accepted into the University of Alabama law school and he kept reading a book each day for 50 years, usurping every single  piece of knowledge that he ever came in contact with. His political ties with Ku klux klan made his rise in political popularity much easier. Franklin Roosevelt needed a judge that supported the new deal in supreme court and because Black was slowly rising up the political ranks, and he also supported the new deal. Back then it was extremely hard for a person like him to gain political influence without tying themselves into political interest groups. I wonder if there was another way that Black could have gotten up the ranking without allying himself with the KKK?   I feel like being in the south would mean that you would be forced to join the KKK even if you didn't want to. What happens if he betrays the KKK, then there would be a lot of issue for him to deal with when he came back home. I wonder if Black knew the danger that he was getting himself in when he associated himself with them.