I wrote about this here, back in 2011, when my own campus at SUNY New Paltz in New York had "an incident" around the same time that one happened at Williams College in Massachusetts. Prior to that, in 2010, my campus had an ugly James O'Keefe-inspired affirmative action bake sale. Campus administrations for the most part have tried to cope by holding forums, and discussions, but hate speech is free speech so though certain groups may not be allowed legitimacy on campus, they cannot be denied access.

Thoughts about this made me more interested in following news about racist youth organizing. Through the Southern Poverty Law Center's tracking I first became aware of one of the new breed of hate organizers, Matthew Heimbach. Heimbach was the brains behind the formation of a White Student Union at Towson State.



Considered by many to be the face of a new generation of white nationalists, Matthew Heimbach founded a campus chapter of Youth for Western Civilization at Towson University in Maryland and later started the White Student Union there. He also has been a member of the neo-Confederate League of the South. Since graduating in the spring of 2013, he has entrenched himself further in the white nationalist movement and become a regular speaker on the radical-right lecture circuit. In His Own Words:

“No longer will the homosexual, Muslim, and black supremacist groups be allowed to hijack our campus. … Youth for Western Civilization is preparing to take our campus back, all we need is the help of people like you to make it happen.” – Youth for Western Civilization blog, January 2012

When confronted about his activities at Towson, Heimbach and his followers denied being racists , and he has defended his efforts to patrol the campus as a crime patrol , but his recent activities have pulled the hood off. He was a speaker at the recent Stormfront 3rd Annual Practical Politics Seminar, elated to be in the illustrious company of Klansman David Duke.

Heimbach reports about his experience on his Traditionalist Youth blog, in one segment outlining his own come to the Nazi-Klan transformation.



Early in High School, I fell into the liberal crowd due to the social pressures. I had always been interested in Fascism, National Socialism, and the white pride movement from my love of history and having frequently watched the History Channel. Before they become the channel of Pawn Stars and American Pickers, they used to actually include historical programs. Although any white advocate was always demonized and belittled, I always was intrigued by what I saw. From videos of German soldiers marching into battle or the glow of a cross being illuminated, the message of white nationalism and Tradition struck a chord deep inside me. Growing up in a moderate conservative home I did not have any ideological indoctrination in white nationalism or the Church Militant until I began researching on the internet. When one begins to start flirting with Traditionalism and white nationalism, where do you look for answers? I believe the biggest reason for the lack of involvement of my parents’ generation in the struggle for Tradition was primarily the lack of available information. Before the Internet, the elites were able to control the flow of information to a few selected media outlets. Jewish and Communist control of our school system meant that dissenting opinions were crushed early on in life and without available outlets for Traditional messages to get through. Then the previous generation was easily brought into the fold of the System’s agenda.



Aside from the “Koran Bar­be­cue,” Heim­bach and Par­rott recently passed out fly­ers in the town of Perry, Michi­gan, adver­tis­ing TYN. Perry is just 12 miles south of Owosso, where TYN has a P.O. Box. The fly­ers handed out by Heim­bach and Par­rott attack “con­ser­v­a­tives” for being sur­prised when “fem­i­nism, glob­al­ism, open bor­ders, rad­i­cal Islam, and anti-White racism always end up win­ning.” The fly­ers also allege that the left “hates us because we rep­re­sent a gen­uine threat to Cultural Marx­ists, to Orga­nized Jewry, and to Global Capitalism.”

"Kehoe was an ''A'' student in a class for the gifted and talented."...his parents

"were antigovernment white separatists, followers of the Christian Identity religion, which teaches that whites are the chosen people and that Jews are the descendants of Satan. ''My father was extremely racist, extremely anti-Semitic in the sense he would like to exterminate anything that's not white,'' Chevie Kehoe said. ''If they're not white, then they don't have the right to exist.''

Heimbach has upped the ante with calls for violence against non-whites, and had planned to do a "Koran Barbeque" on Sept. 11 (the burnings were cancelled).From these roots are born domestic terrorists like Chevie Kehoe Kehoe was leader of the so-called Aryan Peoples Republic . He sits in prison for life, but the ideologies that spawned him are alive and well and targeting a new generation.

There are, however, other sectors of the youth who are being drawn into white supremacy, and not just through the usual paths of right-wing traditionalist Christian groups obsessed with anti-abortion. Several years ago, while teaching my anthropology of religion course, which attracts many students who are curious about or interested in neo-paganism, I encountered a student who was very involved in Ásatrú. Few of my students embrace or practice the religion of their parents and grandparents. Most are not atheists, but are seeking some form of spirituality. They are drawn to all things new age. Young feminists are often involved in forms of Wicca. Unfamiliar with Ásatrú in the U.S. I did some research and found that it has, in some instances, become another vector for youth racism and white supremacy. There is a "White Power Folkists" faction. This was explored at The Political Pagan blog after the Sikh Temple massacre in Wisconsin in 2012. That massacre, perpetrated by Wade Michael Page, has slipped out of the public eye, but he was an active member of the white power music scene, discussed below.

The ADL (Anti-Defamation League) also tracks extremist events, and you might be surprised if you look at their calendar to find that a supremacist gathering is coming to a neighborhood near you.

I often write about race, racism and privilege. I refuse to deny that it is right in front of us, and have no illusions that it is going away anytime in the near future. That does not mean the future is hopeless, nor am I discouraged by the fact that I will not get to live in that future world. My goal is to keep on pushing us toward eliminating racism and other "isms" and supporting those individuals and groups who are doing the same work.

One of those groups is Imagine 2050:

Imagine 2050 includes activists, immigrants, artists and students who are invested in a future nation that embodies a multiracial democracy. By the year 2050, one out of five Americans will be foreign born. Latino and Asian communities will increase significantly. There will be no clear racial or ethnic majority. We will become a nation of minorities. Today’s perceptions of foreignness will challenge how Americans identify themselves over the coming decades. In light of these challenges, Imagine 2050 is committed to igniting candid conversations around race, immigration, environment, and American identity.

CNC partners with organizations in over twenty states to support, build, and advance a shared commitment to democratic community, where racism, bigotry, and nativism are exposed and countered.Through its strategic research, education, training, and organizing, CNC takes on the forces that would undermine democratic community, with a particular focus today on the nativist, anti-immigrant movement.

White Power Band map from Turn It Down

Through their blog I discovered The Center For New Community (CNC):

The CNC site led me to their project Turn It Down, illustrated on their map above, tracking certain music genres that have become vehicles for carrying white supremacy messages.



Turn It Down is youth, bands, parents, teachers, and friends in the record industry speaking out, standing up, and turning down the sounds of hate. Thousands of young people and hundreds of bands, record labels, distributors, pressing facilities, and booking agents have joined to work against the spread of hatred.

You can download their resource kit and get a copy of Soundtracks to the White Revolution: White Supremacist Assaults on Youth Music Subcultures

One of the largest movements on campuses that has now spread to high schools, middle schools and grade schools is the national Day of Silence held in April. Started on the University of Virginia campus in 1996, it is successfully building coalitions between LBGT youths and allies of all colors and religions, and while it is fighting bullying it also combats racism.

I am proud to see and support the efforts of groups like the Dream Defenders who are fighting racist laws in Florida, and United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation.

These are the kinds of youth coalitions we need to support.

The progressive activism of young people does give me hope. But ... we cannot afford to ignore or deny the other side of the equation. There are still too many young people being taught to hate.

We ignore them at our own risk.