Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist

by Eli Saslow

“Intrinsically, white people in this country always expect that their interests should come first,” Derek told Allison that summer. “American history is so fundamentally based on white supremacy that it’s still the basis for most of our culture and our politics.” Whereas that fact had once seemed to Derek like an opportunity as a white nationalist, now he considered it America’s foundational flaw.

Eventually, the white supremacy embedded into America’s history would again rise fully to the surface, Derek had told his listeners. Sure, maybe whites could accept or even encourage multiculturalism when it posed no imminent threat to their interests. It was easy for whites to be humane and benevolent when they were still securely in place at the top of the social hierarchy—when the economy was booming, and everyone had jobs, and a disproportionate share of the wealth and power was still going to white families. But now a black man had risen to the country’s most powerful position, income growth had stagnated for middle-class whites, and a presidential candidate was promising to “take the country back.”