The Klansman’s Son: My Jouey from White Nationalism to Antiracism; A Memoir

by: Black (Author),R. Derek(Author)

Publisher: Abrams Books
Edition: 1st

Publication Date: 23 May 2024

Language: English

Print Length: 320 pages

ISBN-10: 1419764780

ISBN-13: 9781419764783

Book Description

From the former heir-apparent to white nationalism, an astonishing account of a childhood built on fear, of breaking from his community, and of speaking out in the face of hate Derek Black was raised to take over the white nationalist movement in the United States. His father, Don Black, was a former Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan and started Stormfront, the inteet’s first white supremacist website―Derek built the kids’ page. His godfather, David Duke, was also his mentor. Racist hatred, though often wrapped up in respectability, was all Derek knew. Then, while in college in 2013, Derek publicly renounced white nationalism and apologized for his actions and the suffering that he had caused. The majority of his family stopped speaking to him, and he disappeared into academia, convinced that he had done so much harm that there was no place for him in public life. But in 2016, as he watched the rise of Donald Trump, he immediately recognized what he was hearing―the spread and mainstreaming of the hate he had helped cultivate―and he knew that he couldn’t stay silent. This is a thoughtful, insightful, and moving account of a singular life, with important lessons for our troubled times. Derek can trace a uniquely insider account of the rise of white nationalism, and how a boy indoctrinated with hate can become an anti-racist man. Few understand the ideology, motivations, or tactics of the white nationalist movement like Derek, and few have ever made so profound a change. When coded language and creeping authoritarianism spread the ideas of white nationalists, this is an essential book with a powerful voice.
From the former heir-apparent to white nationalism, an astonishing account of a childhood built on fear, of breaking from his community, and of speaking out in the face of hate Derek Black was raised to take over the white nationalist movement in the United States. His father, Don Black, was a former Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan and started Stormfront, the inteet’s first white supremacist website―Derek built the kids’ page. His godfather, David Duke, was also his mentor. Racist hatred, though often wrapped up in respectability, was all Derek knew. Then, while in college in 2013, Derek publicly renounced white nationalism and apologized for his actions and the suffering that he had caused. The majority of his family stopped speaking to him, and he disappeared into academia, convinced that he had done so much harm that there was no place for him in public life. But in 2016, as he watched the rise of Donald Trump, he immediately recognized what he was hearing―the spread and mainstreaming of the hate he had helped cultivate―and he knew that he couldn’t stay silent. This is a thoughtful, insightful, and moving account of a singular life, with important lessons for our troubled times. Derek can trace a uniquely insider account of the rise of white nationalism, and how a boy indoctrinated with hate can become an anti-racist man. Few understand the ideology, motivations, or tactics of the white nationalist movement like Derek, and few have ever made so profound a change. When coded language and creeping authoritarianism spread the ideas of white nationalists, this is an essential book with a powerful voice.