westfield state university criminal justice professor george michael teaches a class on white supremacist groups. he describes the difference between white supremacist and white separatist groups. he also discusses the relationship between the extreme subculture and other groups. professor michael: today we are going to take a look of a history of the way the separatist -- the history of the white separatist movement in the united states. it is a marginal movement. in light of some very important trends, the movement could become more salient in upcoming years. white separatism should be distinguished from this notion of white supremacy. to be sure there are white

separatists that are also white supremacists. i think there is a distinction. separatists denotes different long-term objectives than supremacist. essentially separatists want to establish an exclusive mono state. supremacists seek to dominate other ethnic groups. supremacists might also be segregationists. they advocate separating racial groups within the same state. examples include the jim crow system, the american south, war the system of apartheid in south africa. some claim white river schism is little more than a façade adopted to make their goals seem more publicly acceptable by claiming to be separatists, white nationalists can present their aspirations in a way not unlike other ethnic movements around the world today such as

tibetan independence movement. by cloaking their aspirations in self-determination verbiage they feel their movement is seen as more legitimate. let me give you some historical background on the white separatist movement. the 1960's was a time of great social of people in america. the vietnam war polarized the nation counterculture. eventually jim crow was dismantled. there were vigilante groups such as the ku klux klan that resisted the civil rights movement but ultimately failed. there were some people in the white supremacist movement that thought the country might

actually implode under the weight of racial strife. they thought it would be impossible for blacks and white to occupy the same country in any amicable way. blacks no longer accepting a subordinate status. there were some instances in which both white separatists and black separatists establish a dialogue in the hope of coming to some modus operandi and creating separate states. george lincoln rockwell and members of his american nazi party met with representatives of the nation of islam which was named after -- which was led by elijah mohammed at that time. the early white separatists assumed the vast amount of territory in thewould be reserved for the white

population. blacks will be given a small territory, perhaps in the american south to build a so-called new africa. the status of other americans at the time was left unaddressed. the emergence grew out of the failure of the larger white supremacist movement. white supremacists failed to establish anything resembling a mass movement in america. in the 1960's rockwell believed trends such as race riots and rising crime would lead to mayhem. they create a favorable conditions to take power. entertain the idea that his already could actually win national power by elections by

1972. rockwell fell to an assassin in 1967 and with his departure some elements of the extreme right became disillusioned with this conservative approach. furthermore the immigration and nationality act of 1955 ushered in a sea change in immigration policy in the united states. as a consequence the population in america became more racially diverse. so the white separatist movement emerged around the 1970's. there were groups that began to reformulate their strategies. instead of trying to take over the whole country they believed it would be more feasible to establish the relatively small nation in which only like minded whites would reside. there is an obscure religious

creed that became an important vehicle for white separatists. it is a religion that has its origins in something known as british is realism. that first gained popularity in england. the people of northwestern europe are the true descendents of the tribes of israel. according to this narrative, under the syrians and babylonians these tribes made their way through mountains and eventually settled in western europe. this sect found its way to america and moved into something known as christian identity. leslie swift was considered to be the most important figure in the history of the christian

identity movement. in the 1960's he recruited someone by the name of richard butler into the creed. in june of 1978 richard butler created the aryan nation to serve as a religious group he previously founded called the church of jesus christ christian. he proposed the establishment of an exclusively white republic and a pacific northwest. he called this the butler plan. he created a compound which served as headquarters of the aryan nation. it had become an important venue for right wing extremists. now, the area nation was not directly involved in terrorism but the compound was the foundation where it actually

crystallize. it was formed in the summer of 1983 around the same time federal marshals killed a tax protester in a confrontation in arkansas. the call belong to an up secure right wing group. members of the group believed the county sheriff should be the highest level of political authority. at the annual area nation conference someone came up with the idea of creating an underground resistance group to avenge the death of gordon kahl.

that included armored heists, bombings, even a few homicides. at the time in 1984 and set the record for the highest amount of money ever stolen in such a robbery. with the stolen money the group hoped to fund the white separatist movement in the notice states. the fbi caught up with matthews in washington state in december

of 1984. matthews hunkered down in a cabin and refused to surrender. eventually swat team surrounded the cabin lost patience and launched a pyrotechnic devised. the cabin was burned down to the ground. matthews was killed. now, strategically the order did not really accomplish much. however its campaign crystallize the revolutionary orientation of the american extreme right. now the u.s. government was seen as the enemy. they began to take on a revolutionary posture. no longer did they seek to preserve the status quo. they sought to overthrow the u.s. government under the heel of something known as zionist occupation government. so the extreme right subculture,

metzger and his organization, they lionize the incarcerated members as prisoners of war. they were encouraged to write letters to them, to send money to their families and show their support. the idea of separatism big-game -- became more popular. the order was inspired by books called the turner diaries. it was published in 1978 and became an underground bestseller. it sold about 450,000 copies. it is available on the internet. it has been translated into a number of languages including depression, french, spanish. the book was written by dr. william l pierce under the name andrew mcdonald. he was a physics professor. he would go on to found a

neo-nazi organization called the national alliance. it is the story of a race war that convulses america in the late 1990's. the protagonist is a member of a group called the organization. they fight the u.s. government. in the novel the government is controlled by jewish conspiracy that seeks to destroy the white race. a new law takes effect. federal agents begin to round up people's firearms. that serves as a catalyst for the rebellion. the organization commences attacks against the government. the story is a lot of violent episodes interspersed with ideological transgressions.

one is the day of the rope. race traitors are hanged from lampposts in california. earl turner is inducted into the organization called the order. he is inducted into the group and he is supposed to fly a crop duster plane laden with a nuclear weapon into the pentagon. he succeeds and the organization creates this new order. out of this destruction a new order emerges. not only would the turner diaries inspire a number of right-wing terrorists but the novel established a genre of literature in the extreme right subculture. numerous authors have expressed exasperation's and novels which may be interpreted as blueprints

for revolution. besides the area nation's there was another white separatist group that operated in northern arkansas in the late 1970's. another christian identity minister founded a community known as the covenant sword and arm of the lord. the group took on a paramilitary organization. he attended the area nation conference in 1983. he declared himself to be the white resistance leader of the american homeland. he provided sanctuary to some members of the order when authorities were pursuing them. the csa was linked to several episodes of terrorism including the firebombing of a jewish community center in indiana. and the bombing of a gay church in springfield, missouri. once the authorities implicated

them in these offenses, they surrounded the compound. it was the first time hostage rescue team was deployed. ellison surrendered without incident. the organization basically disintegrated after that. after the demise of the order and the csa, the white separatist movement languished for a while. there was a highly charged incident in 1992 which attention. randy weaver, a white separatist lived with his family in the hills of idaho. he sold to sawed-off shotguns to atf. he had visited the area nation

compound. atf offered him a deal if he would agree to inform on the people in the compound. in exchange he would receive a light penalty for his offenses. he refused the offer and that began a protracted and costly investigation. finally, in 1992, six u.s. marshals drove out to ruby ridge to conduct reconnaissance of his property. a martial shot and killed the family pet dog. this set off an exchange of gunfire. the deputy marshal was shot and

killed by kevin harris. harris was a friend of the weavers and had been living on the property at that time. other marshals fired back. sandy, randy weaver's son was killed. the fbi assumes responsibility of the situation. once again the hostage rescue team was deployed. an fbi sniper shot and killed randy's wife as she held her infant daughter. after the trial randy weaver and karen harris were acquitted of the most serious charges. weaver was convicted of a weapons offense. they pay for damages related to that incident. six months after the fiasco there was another federal siege in waco, texas.

although it wasn't a right-wing group, those people in the extreme bright subculture interpreted the raid as a message from the federal government that it would have no compunctions about repressing dissident groups. these incidents galvanized the extreme right culture in america. there were new projects that began to emerge around this time. for example, the so-called neo-confederates seek to secede from the union and create a new southern nation. it crystallized around the mid-1990's. in 1990 42 brothers, james ronald and walter donald kennedy posted a book called the south was right. around the same time, the league

of the south was founded in tuscaloosa, alabama. the organization was founded and led by dr. hill, a former college professor. there is a multitude of organizations that compose the southern nationalist movement. it is far from monolithic. some organizations are divided on particular issues with respect to raise. there are two competing camps. one is racialist. they prefer a southern celtic nation. the other is territorial and favors a diverse dixie in which southern culture can flourish without regard to race. gregory cade published 4 novels that tells the story of a

movement in the south. they establish a new independent southern nation. recent controversy surrounding the display of the confederate auto flag have had a polarizing effect in the south between mostly white defenders who view the flag as part of their regional identity and african americans who view the flag as a blatant insult of past servitude. now, on the other side of the country, harold covington advocated for the creation of an all-white homeland. his organization is called the northwest front. his career in politics has spanned over five decades. he was from north carolina but he lived overseas included south

africa, england and ireland. while he was in ireland the republican army left a deep impression on him. he saw the ira as an exemplar of the revolutionary movement. his chief criticism of the american white nationalist movement is that its goals have always been ill-defined and unrealistic. in a country that is majority nonwhite by midcentury he argues it is foolish to pursue a strategy that seeks to return america to a white majority population. instead he argues that by concentrating the assets of the white separatist movement, white separatist goals are more likely to be realized. beginning in 2003 he published a series of five novels based on the white separatists insurgency.

the novels fixed all the exploits of the northwest volunteer army. and the scenario, america has been in terminal decline, outsourcing and other harmful economic trends have decimated the working class. the u.s. military was overstretched and bogged down in a series of inlets small wars in the middle east. that put the federal government in a predicament. it seemed a opportunity. they create a racially exclusive homeland for whites. essentially the insurgents mount the war of attrition that persuades the u.s. government to relinquish a limited amount of

territory. president chelsea clinton agrees to an armistice and seize territory for them. in 2010, covington began broadcasting and internet radio program called radio free northwest. he exhorts whites to relocate to the pacific northwest to form a community of like-minded activists. he does not advocate violence under current conditions, only after severe crisis arrives will terrorism be called for. but even carving out a territory consisting of a few american states would still be a very tall order. some activists urge whites to congregate together and select towns and neighborhoods. as the south african activist martha kemp -- they can take over local governments and as

their numbers expanded higher tiers of government, under control. he cites the examples of the colony in postapartheid south africa and the zionist project in israel as successful case studies that could be emulated by white nationalist. today such efforts appear for circle as evidenced by his attempt beginning in 2011. it did not find supporters. instead it brought division in the media. in recent years, matthew heimbach has emerged as the most articulate voice of white separatism in the united states.

he first gained notoriety in 2012 when he organized a white student union in maryland. he founded another group called the traditionalist youth network. he believes the united states should be divided into separate ethnically and culturally homogeneous states. he thinks most fair and practical way would be to establish a number of separate as no states -- ethno states. not unlike native american tribal groups that have their own regions to control for their respective tribes. most of the followers are white nationalists. he has reached out to other ethnic groups. he told me most followers in

california are latinos. he sees the american system as the major enemy. he argues denigration causes racial tension. he sees separation as the most appropriate course for the country. he sees the appalachian area as the most fertile ground for his white separatist aspirations. what is most significant? his energy. he's an activist. although he is only in his mid-20's he's already an accomplished orator. i asked him about what form a white separatist foreign policy might take. he has traveled to europe on a number of occasions. he has net with a number of

nationalist leaders. the foreign policy he proposes for his states would be to unite with various nations around the world that oppose globalism. that could include trade and military alliances with russia, iran, syria and venezuela. he identifies himself as the leader of the eurasian movement in america. the recognized leader is someone by the name of alexander dugan. he's a speaker in russia. much of his anti-americanism stems from his strident critique of liberalism. according to duke in the american liberal ideology with its emphasis on individual liberty when taken to its extreme abolishes all forms of collective identity and therefore is a destructive force which ruins nations. in recent years there has been a

lot written on dugan. it is not entirely clear how much influence he actually has in russia. according to some his vision has become the lodestar for vladimir putin's foreign policy. there are some people in the white nationalist movement that take issue with the idea of separatism. some extreme right groups reject separatist projects as defeatist. they argue whites should not settle for a state. moreover, some point out if most white separatists congregated in one region than they would be sitting ducks for a hostile

federal government. for his part, dylan roof in charleston last summer, he rejected this idea of creating the state for white separatists. this was similar to fling to suburbs. he urged whites to stand up and fight. be that as it may there does seem to be a trend in which the broader nationalist movement seems more amenable to this idea of separatism. even jared taylor who presented himself as a civil rights leader for white people in a recent lecture mentioned because there seems to be such strongly held irreconcilable views on race, some form of separation was in order.

in addition to internal critics, the white separatist movement faces very strong opposition from the media, the government, and private monitoring groups. they share information with law enforcement and intelligence agencies, including the fbi and the department of homeland security. moreover, these monitoring groups have done much to discredit the white separatist movement in the media. for these and other reasons, it is quite difficult for the white separatist movement to mobilize in the united states. however, recent events seem to have galvanized the white nationalist movement. i would be remiss if i did not say anything about the presidential campaign of donald trump and the reception to it in

the white nationalist movement. in this campaign, donald trump has been outspoken in his advocacy of building a wall on the southern border of the united states. and of course, this resonated with many americans -- not just members of the white nationalist movement. many people are understandably worried about the effects of widespread immigration on issues such as the economy, infrastructure, schools, and health care, to name a few. but people in the white nationalist movement in particular are concerned about massive immigration from latin america because they fear it might reduce whites to minority status. as a result, their existence as a separate race would be in peril. so some representatives of the white nationalist movement has spoken out in favor of donald trump. the most notable of whom is david duke, a long-standing white nationalist activist.

although he did not formally endorsed donald trump, because he agreed with some of his other positions such as trump's support for israel, duke nevertheless urged his followers to get involved in the trump campaign. -- disagreed with some of his other positions. trump drew criticism in the media because he did not immediately disavow dukes support. at first, trump said he did not know enough about duke to categorically reject his support, the later he formally disavowed any support from duke and related parties. be that as it may, that has not stopped the media from caricaturing trump and his supporters as racist and biggest -- bigots, as was depicted in a segment on "saturday night live." another contemporary issue worth noting is the idea of white

privilege, which has gained currency in recent years. the term was coined back in 1988 by peggy mcintosh, and the idea has been promoted by other antiracist activists, including tim wise. they may even go so far as calling for abolishing the white race. essentially, white privilege means that people identified as white enjoy certain advantages that nonwhites do not experience, solely because the color of their skin. but for white privilege to really have any meaning, by definition white people would have to live with nonwhites in the same nationstate. as jerry taylor of american renaissance pointed out, in a racially exclusive nationstate composed solely of whites, white privilege would not be operative. so the issue of white privilege

presents somewhat of a conundrum for critics of white separatism. it would be hard to accuse white separatists of having white privilege if, after all, they are trying to form an exclusively white nation. on the other hand, the establishment of such a political entity presupposes ethnic cleansing writ large. it is hard to see how the goals of white separatists could be attained without resorting to widespread violence. although the mainstream media condemns overt forms of white separatism, arguably it is still practiced on an individual level by many people when they decide where to live. take, for example, bill clinton. back in 1988, toni morrison, the great african-american novelist went so far as to characterize bill clinton as the nation's first black president. however, after leaving the white house, bill and hillary clinton

purchased a home in chappaqua in new york state. the population there is less than 1% african-american. it is not a very diverse community. over the past several years, the department of housing and urban development has been putting pressure on the county where chappaqua is located to open up the place for more minority residents. the county doesn't seem to be very enthusiastic about this. so there are some significant demographic trends that will make the issues of segregation and separatism more acute in this century. back in 1967, president lyndon b. johnson commissioned a panel of civic leaders to investigate the underlying causes of racial unrest in america. the commission's findings criticized whites for fleeing the cities and moving to the suburbs. the report issued the famous conclusion -- "our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white, separate and

unequal." but since then, there have been great gains for african-americans in many areas of american life, including sports, entertainment, business, and politics. despite these gains, racial segregation has remained largely in place. it is true that in the aggregate, many metropolitan areas have become more ethnically and racially diverse. however, according to a recent study, people in these metropolitan areas still usually live in neighborhoods that are either mostly white or mostly black. and there is evidence that people in america are taking into consideration is use such as race -- into consideration issues such as race when moving from one part of the country to another. one scholar observed the demographic changes have affected the population of all major groups in america. she pointed out that census figures show whites are moving

away from high immigration metropolitan areas. those states that have undergone an immigration inflow have experienced a native outflow. self-segregation is evident as whites tend to flee the areas that become more diverse. although overt expressions of white separatism are still taboo in america, white separatism should be viewed in light of current political and demographic trends in america that could really have far-reaching effects. for instance, according to census bureau projections, by the year 2042, whites will no longer comprise a majority of the american population, due in large part to increases in both the hispanic and asian segments of the population. this development is viewed in nearly apocalyptic terms in the white nationalist movement.

more and more people in that movement seem to believe that some form of separatism will be necessary to ensure, as they put it, white racial survival. even among ordinary people, people who consider themselves to be mainstream but not extremist, they might feel a sense of unease when it they are demographically reduced to minority status. furthermore, the last few years have witnessed a return of urban unrest in america. these disturbances were precipitated by some high-profile confrontations between the police and african-american men, including eric garner, michael brown, protest movements such as black lives matter have gained many supporters across the country. so it is conceivable that there could be a counter mobilization among some whites who feel threatened.

white flight is nothing new, but it becomes increasingly untenable as the population of the country gets larger and becomes more racially and ethnically diverse. of course, it goes without saying that the geography of the country is fixed, so it makes it increasingly difficult to flee to the suburbs ad infinitum. so although overt white separatism is really still taboo in america, white separatism is a very marginal political movement, there could be more people who join if they feel and harold -- imperiled in the increasingly diverse america. anybody have any questions? somebody? heidi, you must have a question for me. >> the projections for 2050, right?

prof. michael: originally, but it has been revised to 2042 when the nation will no longer have a white majority. there will be no majority, every group will be a minority. this can get a little murky, too, because there are many interracial marriages today, so it becomes increasingly difficult to classify people by race, as there is more and more intermarriage. >> the previous slide, potentially trying to get individuals to move in that are minorities. isn't that also them discriminating by saying it is only minority or only african americans that are considered individuals that would not be able to live there? prof. michael: the idea is there would be low-cost housing built their.

it is a very exclusive, expensive neighborhood. i forget how much the clintons paid for their home, it was very expensive. the idea is there would be low-cost housing, so it would be open to minority residents. african americans, but i assume other minorities, perhaps latinos, might be included as well. >> has there been another type of report that has been done by the government? prof. michael: not to my knowledge. there are central figures, but there hasn't really been anything comparable to the kerner report in recent years. i know president barack obama has talked about race relations in america, and some people have talked about america entering a post-racial era after the

election of barack obama in 2008. we still see quite a bit of occasional racial tension that emerges. to the best of my knowledge, the government has not really released a new kerner report. christopher, what you got for me? >> i guess the turner diaries. do you think that has had any influence on any current nationalist -- or not nationalist, but current movements toward terrorism within? prof. michael: it has been a big influence, primarily on the extreme right subculture. it has presumably influenced a number of terrorists, the most important of whom was timothy mcveigh, who was responsible for bombing the oklahoma city federal building in april 1995,

which killed 168 people. he was enamored of the turner diaries, he bought many copies and sold them at gun shows. he was a right-wing -- there was a right-wing bomber who bombed some places in london in 1999. there is people in the extreme right subculture who think the turner diaries is kind of misguided to follow that blueprint for revolution, this idea that the federal government is going to disintegrate and there is going to be revolution. some people think, no, that is not really a viable strategy, so there is some debate within the extreme right subculture whether the turner diaries is good, whether that is really a prophecy for future events. other people would say no, this is fantasyland and we should get back -- get into the idea of doing hard work, activism, recruiting people into the

movement, rather than expecting the federal government to implode. jonathan, what do you have for me? >> do you see any contemporary -- you said rockwell i believe in and not the party -- nazi party. do you know anything that is contemporary? prof. michael: to reiterate what i said before, matthew heimbach has been reaching out to people from groups. he said a lot of his supporters in california are latinos. as he put it, he supports white power, black power, and brown power. the notion that whites are not necessarily superior, but they should have their own separate state, self-determination. he has reached out to people like that, people of other ethnic and racial groups.

as far as how much success he has had, i can't really say. on the surface, i don't really see much success. it is a work in progress from his point of view. any further questions? >> [inaudible] it has things like health care, free health care for everyone, and the fact it is so accepting towards not just whites but all different types. do you think that has the potential for significant growth? because his thought process -- but little by little, that movement has been growing. do you think it is going to be significant? prof. michael: by his own admission, covington says this movement is very small. i think he said he has around maybe 3000 or 5000 internet listeners that listen to the show each week, so his success has been limited. some people think that would be a good place to create an

all-white nation. the campaign of the order was active there. there is a tradition of white separatism in that area. other people think that it is bad, because although it is mostly white, the pacific northwest, a lot of the people there are politically liberal, for example seattle. covington, i would say, has really put the most thought into it for separatism. he has even come up with a constitution for his north west republic. there are some socialistic elements. detox about providing health care. at the present time, it is still a very marginal movement. whether it will take off, that is to be seen. covington is getting kind of advanced in age, well into his 60's right now. i don't know if there will be somebody to take over the reins when he decides to retire. it has been one of the more endearing separatist projects, but to date, there is not really much to show for it. -- one of the more unduring separatist

projects, but today, there is not really much to show for it. >> the ferguson riots, there was a sign that said isis was here. do you think it could be argued they are exploiting civil unrest in america right now? prof. michael: some islamist groups, isis and al qaeda, they have commented on the urban unrest that has engulfed america. al qaeda has an online english-language magazine called inspire. isis has a very robust social media presence as well. some things, like giving advice to protesters, palestinian activists have given advice to protesters, talked about their struggle and palestine and how it is relatable to ferguson. so yes, there have been instances where radical islamists -- >> if covington has socialist views, wouldn't it be difficult

to appeal to the far right? prof. michael: because we think of socialism as being on the far left. sometimes it can be hard to pigeonhole groups like that. hitler's movement, the formal name of his party was the national socialist german workers party. even that is considered the extreme of the extreme light also had elements of socialism as well. sometimes we will see that. oftentimes with these nationalistic movements because they champion a cohesive nation, oftentimes there are socialistic elements in their political programs. anything else? ok. that concludes this evening's lecture. for next week, make sure you read chapter 10 and the race talk about that. see you folks later, have a good rest of the week. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the

national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> announcer: join us every saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. and midnight eastern as we join students and college classrooms to hear lectures ranging on topics in the american revolution to 9/11. lectures and history are also available as podcasts. visit our website c-span.org/history/podcast or download them from itunes. >> the prolonged conflict in the light 19 centered between the apaches in the u.s. government. he describes the southwest as a volatile. he focuses on the apache leader and his interactions with u.s. troops.