Community Read - "The Klansman's Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism" by R. Derek Black

R. Derek Black, author of The Klansman’s Son: My Journey From White Nationalism to Antiracism, was raised to be the heir to the white nationalist movement in the United States. Now at 35 years old, Derek is an award-winning anti-racist committed to combatting antisemitism and all forms of hate.

What changed to change Derek? Their community.

Welcomed for weekly Shabbat dinners by a Jewish classmate, Matthew Stevenson, Derek’s community grew. Their book explores how Derek changed their mind, explaining, “My big understanding of my life is that our beliefs that are really core to us are the same thing as the community of people we care about. If we want to try to persuade somebody, the question is, then, who is the community of people they care about? How do they see themselves as being loyal and beholden to those people? Somebody changing their mind is changing the network of people that they feel responsible for.” – R. Derek Black, Slate, May 18, 2024

To quote Martin Luther King, Jr., “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”

Books can be purchased here.