Episode 2057: KEEN ON America featuring R. Derek Black
May 8, 2024
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R. Derek Black, former white supremacist and son of a KKK Grand Wizard, discusses his journey from white nationalism to antiracism. He explores the mainstreaming of racism, the complexities of navigating dual identities, and the evolution of white nationalist beliefs. The discussion also covers Holocaust denial within the movement and the importance of combating harmful ideas.
R. Derek Black highlights the seriousness of the white nationalist threat in the US, emphasizing its mainstream presence within the Trumpist Republican party.
Derek Black discusses his personal journey of rebellion against white nationalism, confronting the internal conflict between family loyalty and evolving anti-racist beliefs.
Deep dives
Growing Up in a White Nationalist Movement
Growing up in a prominent white nationalist family, R. Derrick Black reflects on his identity, acknowledging his deep-rooted association with white nationalism. Despite being born into this movement and initially embracing its ideology, he embarked on a personal journey that led him to reconsider and eventually reject the beliefs he was raised with.
Impact of Family Ideology on Self-Perception
Being part of a family deeply entrenched in white nationalism, Derrick Black grapples with his identity as an American and his challenging familial background. Raised amidst racist beliefs, he confronts the conflict between loyalty to his family's legacy and his own evolving perspectives on race and ideology.
The Shift from Nationalism to Anti-Racism
Transitioning from embracing white nationalist ideals to denouncing them, Derrick Black recounts the process of unlearning supremacist views and adopting an anti-racist stance. His journey from being an advocate of white nationalism to critiquing its harmful impact illustrates a significant shift in his worldview.
Coping with Familial Relations and Legacy
Navigating complex relationships within his family, including his father and godfather, prominent figures in the white nationalist movement, Derrick Black shares insights into the dynamics and challenges of maintaining connections while diverging from their extremist beliefs. Despite ideological differences, he reflects on the enduring familial bonds and the struggles of breaking away from entrenched viewpoints.
How seriously should we take the white nationalist threat in the United States? Very seriously, at least according to R. Derek Black, a young man who knows a thing or two about the US white nationalist movement. The son of a Grand Wizard of the KKK and a close family friend of David Duke, Black believes that white nationalism is no longer a fringe feature of the Trumpist Republican party. And it’s this fear of the mainstreaming of overt racism that triggered Black’s new book, The Klansman’s Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism, an account of his rebellion not just against racism, but against his family, particularly his Grand Wizard father, Don Black.
Derek Black is an American former white supremacist. He is the son of Don Black, founder of the Stormfront online community, and godson of former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke. He publicly renounced white nationalism and chronicled his personal journey away from his family's beliefs.
Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.
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