Bridgewater Review

Volume 36 | Issue 2 Article 4

Nov-2017 In the Crosshairs of the White Nationalist Movement: Is Bridgewater State Ready? Carolyn Petrosino Bridgewater State University, [email protected]

Recommended Citation Petrosino, Carolyn (2017). In the Crosshairs of the White Nationalist Movement: Is Bridgewater State Ready?. Bridgewater Review, 36(2), 4-8. Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/br_rev/vol36/iss2/4

This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. tend to view hate crime as something In the Crosshairs of the that occurred in the distant past and was primarily committed by the Ku Klux White Nationalist Movement: Klan. Coming to grips with the fact that hate crime is an ongoing and present Is Bridgewater State Ready? problem is challenging for our students who commonly observe and embrace Carolyn Petrosino inclusion in a diverse social world. But ocial movements often emerge to bring attention recent media reports describe bold acts of racism, anti-Semitism, and other to social problems and to apply sufficient pressure forms of bigotry occurring today on the to affect change. The Civil Rights Movement, country’s college campuses. Students S who were not familiar with the con- the Women’s Movement, and the Gay and Lesbian temporary nature of hate crimes are Liberation Movement all had the primary objectives having their naiveté dashed, and some of challenging systemic oppression and neglect and of them are vulnerable to the advances of the hate movement. attaining improvements in the quality of life for affected persons. Many among us see these as positive Hate on Campus Acts of intolerance, bigotry, and hate- developments that seek a greater good: equality. But, motivated crimes take place on college it seems, for every action there is an opposite reaction. and university campuses across the Social movements that are negative—that advocate U.S. In California, the state assem- bly’s Committee on Higher Education the institutionalized devaluation of others—are issued a 2010 white paper on hate inci- what I refer to as dark social movements. The White dents (behavior that does not rise to the Nationalist Movement is in that category. level of a crime) and hate crimes (crimi- nal acts) occurring across the state’s For the last 18 years, I have taught bring, it provides students a historical public colleges and universities. The a course at BSU on hate crimes. In context, and includes an examination Committee’s report (Hate Violence and addition to focusing on the nature of of hate ideology, its resilience, and Bigotry on Public College and University these crimes and the social harms they existential hate movements. Students Campuses) mentions several disturbing

4 Bridgewater Review crimes: the stabbing, in April 2010, of … Large-scale mixing together River College student Greg Withrow the Chico State student body president of races is being forced ONLY IN founded one of the first student organi- by two men who uttered racial epithets WHITE COUNTRIES! zations based on race—the White as they did it; the slashing of a transgen- Student Union—in 1979. Most youth People who welcome that say der graduate student at California State leaders in the white supremacist move- they’re anti-racist. What they are is University, Long Beach, in April 2010; ment in the 1980s started their careers ANTI-WHITE. and, in the same semester, the carving while either in high school or college of a swastika into the dormitory door of Anti-racist is a codeword for (Hamm, American Skinheads [1993]). a Jewish student at UC Davis. anti-white. The White Genocide Project is a grassroots Similar acts have happened more “Diversity” is a code word for effort to reintroduce ideas of racial recently in the eastern U.S. In May White Genocide. segregation and white supremacy, and 2017, an African-American Bowie State “Diversity” means chasing down to normalize these ideas in mainstream university student, Richard Collins the last White person. culture. Today, this “dark movement” III, was stabbed to death while visiting has energized its efforts to target friends at the University of Maryland by a white student who identified with the white nationalist movement. And in fall 2016, Black freshmen at the University The emails were sent “to of Pennsylvania were victimized by racial taunts and threats through the intimidate our community and social media tool “GroupMe.” The text threads were titled “Mud Men” and to get us to respond in a way that “N---Lynching” and contained a daily would allow it to recruit members lynching calendar and images of people hanging from a tree (www.washington from around the country.” post.com, 11 November 2016). Most of these incidents were student-on- student attacks, a trend noted as early The concerted effort to openly American colleges and universities. as 1993 by scholars Jack Levin and Jack approach college students is an impor- In April 2017, the Anti-Defamation McDevitt in their book Hate Crimes. It tant development in the agenda of League (ADL) reported at least 147 is paradoxical that such acts of intoler- organized modern racialists, though incidents involving the distribution ance can occur in a setting committed it is hardly new. Such groups have of racist fliers on 107 different cam- to nurturing enlightenment. attempted to make inroads on campus puses across 33 states since September White Nationalist settings over the last several decades. 2016 (www.adl.org). In addition, the Recruitment Efforts But current efforts indicate greater campaign involves the sending of mass coordination and the effective use of emails and organization of speeches on Campus social media. and rallies on campuses. The outreach In April of this year, BSU faculty efforts are reportedly inspired by the In the 1980s, the Federal Bureau of and students were the recipients of a campaign and election of Donald J. Investigation reported a disturbing disturbing email message: “Stop (or Trump, who has become a symbol increase in the number of neo-Nazi Fight) White Genocide.” The message of white nationalism to adherents of skinheads and, concomitantly, an in the emails (there were three differ- white supremacist and xenophobic increase in violent hate-motivated acts. ent compositions) contended that the ideology (K. Vogel, www.politico. Federal authorities and watch-dog university’s emphasis on inclusion, com, 17 April 2017; C. Riotta, www. groups have noted that many of these multiculturalism, equality, and diver- Newsweek.com, 17 August 2017). acts were committed by school-age sity is tantamount to embracing the White nationalist organizations that are racist skinheads (C. Turpin-Petrosino, extinction of the white race. The email actively involved in campus campaigns Journal of Social Issues [2002]). Through also argued that to be “anti-racist” is to include Identity Evropa, American the efforts of the White Aryan be “anti-White.” The White Genocide Renaissance, and American Vanguard. Resistance (WAR), founded by white Project website describes the email cam- These organizations advocate the idea separatist Tom Metzger, American paign aimed at the BSU community:

November 2017 5 of America as a white homeland, white to get us to respond in a way that who opposed Spencer’s presence with a superiority, and the devaluation of all would allow it to recruit members large-scale “silent” protest designed to persons who are not Caucasian. from around the country.” show their rejection of his message. Still others protested loudly. Appealing to the intellectual curiosity It is vital that colleges and universi- of college students, these groups have ties become more aware of the efforts This response confirms the First repackaged ideas about white suprem- of white nationalists to target college Amendment rights of all involved— acy as a legitimate subject for scholarly students for recruitment and other white nationalists and those who stand investigation, much as the eugenics purposes. The current leader of the in full opposition. Hate speech is offen- movement did in the early 20th century. white nationalist movement in the sive speech that degrades others based Emerson College was recently targeted U.S. is Richard B. Spencer, who has on race, ethnicity, gender, gender- by American Vanguard. In December made clear his goal of targeting col- identity, sexual orientation, religion, 2016, several posters were placed in leges for recruitment. Spencer believes age, disability, nationality, or any other prominent areas on the campus with that the time is right to advocate for the similar rationale. The First Amendment messages touting white supremacy creation of, “a white state in America” clearly permits the Richard B. Spencers and white nationalism. More recently, and that students are now open to this of the world the freedom to espouse in March 2017, approximately 500 message due to “political correctness repugnant ideas. Although most who emails messaging the same theme were fatigue” (S. Jaschik, www.inside- cherish democracy appreciate the importance of this constitutionally pro- tected right, others are concerned when the First Amendment potentially com- The White Genocide Project is a promises the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection clause. When hateful grassroots effort to reintroduce speech influences public perspectives, it has the potential to shape law and create ideas of racial segregation public policy that negatively impacts and white supremacy, and vulnerable groups. Evidence of this is offered by the to normalize these ideas in Southern Poverty Law Center, which reported that in 2010 there were at least mainstream culture. Today, this 23 candidates for public office with radical right-wing views, nine of “dark movement” has energized whom they described as white suprem- acists or white nationalists (E. Conant, its efforts to target American www.thedailybeast.com, 4 July 2011). Steven Bannon, the former chief strate- colleges and universities. gist for President Trump, has provided a media platform for the alt-right movement (Breitbart News), which supports and advocates white national- received by members of the Emerson highered/news, 28 November 2016). ist ideology. All of this points to the College community. In an NPR inter- Spencer gave a speech in December importance of responding effectively view (8 April 2017), Emerson President 2016 at Texas A&M answering an to the efforts of white nationalists to Lee Pelton clearly recognized what was invitation from a university alum. recruit college students. at stake: “American Vanguard is a white The university was obligated to permit supremacist group. It’s an anti-Semitic the engagement because, as a public Institutions of higher education must organization that believes biological institution, private citizens are permit- recognize that some students are and genetic determinism assert the ted to use the facilities. Concurrent vulnerable to the messages of white intellectual superiority of what it calls with Spencer’s two-hour speech on nationalists and be aware that this the white race.” The emails were sent white supremacy was a counter demon- vulnerability can affect the quality of “to intimidate our community and stration marshalled by student groups life for all students. Several years ago,

6 Bridgewater Review I conducted a study to test high-school College administrators and campus threatened to kill one fellow student.” and university students’ agreement leaders should acknowledge that hate In addition, he delivered photographs level with the messages of hate groups crimes occur on college grounds. of Holocaust victims to one student and affiliation potential with hate As early as 2001, the Department and stated, among other things, that groups. Even though only a small of Justice (DOJ) published a major the photographs were “a reminder number of study participants reported report (Hate Crimes on Campus) that of what happened to your relatives contact with written material (e.g. brought to light “a range of criminal because they too made a mockery fliers, leaflets) from hate groups, more conduct from threats to bombings of Christianity” (3). The Samar case is atypical com- pared to the more frequent types of Because of the predicted seismic hate crimes or hateful incidents that occur on college campuses. The DOJ shift in demographics in the report reminds us that acts of bigotry, although not hate crimes, occur far United States, the efforts of more frequently. But if bigotry (in the form of verbal harassments, racial slurs white nationalists to appeal to and related insults) is not challenged, mainstream white America are the conditions for more overt hate crimes are established. Left unchecked, poised to intensify over the next an atmosphere of fear and intimidation can invade a college campus and affect several years. students significantly. Is BSU Prepared? When BSU received the Stop White Genocide emails, both students and than 60% of the exposed group indi- to violent physical assaults.” One of faculty voiced disapproval and dismay. cated supportive attitudes towards these these hate crimes involved a student at This reaction is encouraging and groups (C. Turpin-Petrosino, Journal a small Massachusetts college, James underscores the university’s stated of Social Issues [2002]). Samar, who “used anti-Semitic slurs, values, which were adopted by the threatened two fellow students, and Board of Trustees in December 2015:

November 2017 7 Hate Groups 1999-2016

1002 1018 1007 926 932 939 917 888 892 844 803 939 751 762 708 676 602

457

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

(Source: Southern Poverty Law Center, www.splcenter.org/hate-map)

In response to growing and we better prepare BSU students from antagonize white nationalists who widespread incivility, bigotry, what may be just the beginning of see these changes as a form of “white and hostility, we, the undersigned periodic targeting by racialists? genocide.” We are charged with the members of Bridgewater State responsibility of equipping BSU When the Stop White Genocide incident University, reaffirm the values students to effectively engage the occurred on campus, it provided an of our community as a welcoming, world as they encounter it. This opportunity for discussion in the compassionate, and intellectually includes making them aware of the classroom. I asked students in my hate rigorous learning, working, and world view of white nationalists crime class what they would want to living environment. We reject as they seek to shape our present see happen at BSU. Almost to a person all forms of bias, discrim­ination, and future democratic institutions they acknowledged that the reality xenophobia, and violence. We and way of life. of hate groups and their respective re-commit ourselves to actions agendas should be brought to the atten- that put into practice our indi- tion of the student population. While vidual and institutional values of some thought that the topic should diversity, inclusion, and equality be part of the orientation reserved for all (http://www.bridgew.edu/ for new students, others believed bsuvalues/). that that would be insufficient. Most However, questions remain. How students recommended that my hate many students (and perhaps faculty) crimes course (or courses like it) should were intrigued by the arguments pre- be part of the core curriculum. And sented in the emails? How many mem- I agree. Too many of our students lack bers of the BSU community sought awareness of the extent of this problem further information from Stop White today. Because of the predicted seismic Genocide or have the potential to be shift in demographics in the United Carolyn Petrosino is Professor in the influenced? Should the BSU commu- States, the efforts of white national- Department of Criminal Justice. nity adopt a proactive stance in antici- ists to appeal to mainstream white pation of further incursions by white America are poised to intensify over nationalist propaganda campaigns? Can the next several years. The United States is becoming a more diverse society, not less. These developments

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