White Supremacy and Its Damaging Hold on The United States

Long before George Floyd's murder was caught on camera in May of 2020, white supremacists had profound impacts on our national culture, profound oppression of people of color, and profound support for white privilege. Black Lives Matter has thrust the idea of racism and white supremacy to the forefront of American attention and mediated discourse. Thus, people today are becoming more educated on structural racism in America. However, the history and current impacts of white supremacist organizations remain largely absent from those discussions. In my digital presentation, I discuss the historical roots of white supremacy, the feverish commitment of so many people today to white nationalism, and the power and scope of white nationalist organizations. Even those concerned about systemic racism might be inclined to dismiss white supremacists as disorganized, disenfranchised, and uneducated. This would be a mistake. They are a true power and danger, and as feminist scholar Kimberle Crenshaw said, you must see a problem before you can solve it.