By Ben Garfield ‘22

In an era where white supremacy seems suddenly in the forefront of our political discussion, it’s hard to see any positive view on the matter. But in his book, "Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist", Eli Saslow tells the story of a young man who broke free, disowned his family, and showed how compassion and acceptance can lead those who we seem most at odds to become our closest allies.

The book details the life of Derek Black, the godson of former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, who was largely seen as the heir to the helm of the American white supremacy (or nationalist) movement. Derek grew up in surrounded solely by a community of white supremacists, and at a young age was a leader in the movement. His father, Don Black, started the white nationalist website, Stormfront, and Derek created the subdomain, kids.stormfront.com. For years, Derek and Don had a morning radio show where they spewed white nationalist propaganda and hatred.

But chances are, you haven’t heard of Derek Black. It’s likely you’ve heard of others in the movement, like David Duke or Richard Spencer. But Derek isn’t a part of the movement anymore. In fact, he’s disowned it, retracted everything he ever said as a member, and has tried to repair, as much as he can, the damage he did. And to many, the work he did, the damage he did to our country, can never be forgiven. Derek seems to understand that. But what’s important is the process Derek took to realize that he was in the wrong, and reckon with what he had believed his entire life. 

"Rising Out of Hatred" is an amazing story about the power of conversation, compassion, and bringing people in, and how change can come about. Derek Black began at New College Florida in 2012 while still very involved in the white supremacist movement. But at New College, one of the most liberal schools in the country, he knew he couldn’t be open about his beliefs. And when students at New College learned about who Derek was, it launched the campus into turmoil. In the end, most students agreed the best way forward was to make Derek feel unwelcome on campus, and not attempt reconciliation. But a few students, people of color and Jewish students, whom Derek had been friendly with before, and who cared about making change, decided to take another method. For nearly 2 years, they simply accepted him, and tried to get him to talk and make conversation. When he finally started talking about his beliefs with one friend, it would lead to tense arguments for multiple years.

But what’s incredible about this story is how it’s possible to change someone’s mind when they’re so entrenched in their beliefs. When we believe strongly in something, we often see ourselves as in the right, and others as in the wrong. It’s incredibly hard to accept that we’re wrong, and that another belief is better or correct. It’s even harder when that belief is one of hatred towards another group of people, and to be one of those who is attacked by beliefs can be nearly impossible to reconcile. But Derek’s story shows that it’s possible. Maybe it takes a certain type of person to push this change in those with hate-filled beliefs. But maybe it’s those exact conversations and processes that need to occur for our country to move beyond this difficult moment.