Current:Home > My"American Whitelash": Fear-mongering and the rise in white nationalist violence-LoTradeCoin
"American Whitelash": Fear-mongering and the rise in white nationalist violence
View Date:2024-12-23 23:19:50
Journalist Wesley Lowery, author of the new book "American Whitelash," shares his thoughts about the nationwide surge in white supremacist violence:
Of all newspapers that I've come across in bookstores and vintage shops, one of my most cherished is a copy of the April 9, 1968 edition of the now-defunct Chicago Daily News. It's a 12-page special section it published after the death of Martin Luther King Jr.
The second-to-last page contains a searing column by Mike Royko, one of the city's, and country's, most famed writers. "King was executed by a firing squad that numbered in the millions," he wrote. "The man with the gun did what he was told. Millions of bigots, subtle and obvious, put it in his hand and assured him he was doing the right thing."
- Read Mike Royko's 1968 column in the murder of Martin Luther King Jr.
We live in a time of disruption and racial violence. We've lived through generational events: the historic election of a Black president; the rise of a new civil rights movement; census forecasts that tell us Hispanic immigration is fundamentally changing our nation's demographics.
But now we're living through the backlash that all of those changes have prompted.
The last decade-and-a-half has been an era of white racial grievance - an era, as I've come to think of it, of "American whitelash."
Just as Royko argued, we've seen white supremacists carry out acts of violence that have been egged on by hateful, hyperbolic mainstream political rhetoric.
- Gallery: White supremacist rallies in Virginia lead to violence
- Prominent white supremacist group Patriot Front tied to mass arrest near Idaho Pride event
- Proud Boys members, ex-leader Enrique Tarrio guilty in January 6 seditious conspiracy trial
- Neo-Nazi demonstration near Walt Disney World has Tampa Bay area organizations concerned
With a new presidential election cycle upon us, we're already seeing a fresh wave of invective that demonizes immigrants and refugees, stokes fears about crime and efforts toward racial equity, and villainizes anyone who is different.
Make no mistake: such fear mongering is dangerous, and puts real people's lives at risk.
For political parties and their leaders, this moment presents a test of whether they remain willing to weaponize fear, knowing that it could result in tragedy.
For those of us in the press, it requires decisions about what rhetoric we platform in our pages and what we allow to go unchecked on our airwaves.
But most importantly, for all of us as citizens, this moment that we're living through provides a choice: will we be, as we proclaimed at our founding, a nation for all?
For more info:
- "American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress" by Wesley Lowery (Mariner Books), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available June 27 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
- wesleyjlowery.com
Story produced by Amy Wall. Editor: Karen Brenner.
See also:
- Charles Blow on the greatest threat to our democracy: White supremacy ("Sunday Morning")
- In:
- Democracy
- White Supremacy
veryGood! (57)
Related
- Prayers and cheeseburgers? Chiefs have unlikely fuel for inexplicable run
- Afternoon shooting in Nashville restaurant kills 1 man and injures 5 others
- Are banks, post offices, UPS and FedEx open on Easter 2024? Here's what to know
- Roll Tide: Alabama books first March Madness trip to Final Four with defeat of Clemson
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom will spend part of week in DC as he tries to Trump-proof state policies
- Will Tiger Woods play in 2024 Masters? He was at Augusta National Saturday, per reports
- Bus in South Africa plunges off bridge and catches fire, killing 45 people
- Millions of recalled Hyundai and Kia vehicles with a dangerous defect remain on the road
- Where you retire could affect your tax bill. Here's how.
- Millions of recalled Hyundai and Kia vehicles with a dangerous defect remain on the road
Ranking
- Satire publication The Onion acquires Alex Jones' Infowars at auction
- Why do we celebrate Easter with eggs? How the Christian holy day is commemorated worldwide
- Chance Perdomo, 'Gen V' and 'Sabrina' star, dies at 27: 'An incredibly talented performer'
- Beyoncé drops 27-song track list for new album Cowboy Carter
- Cruel Intentions' Brooke Lena Johnson Teases the Biggest Differences Between the Show and the 1999 Film
- The 10 best 'Jolene' covers from Beyoncé's new song to the White Stripes and Miley Cyrus
- Biden says he'll visit Baltimore next week as response to bridge collapse continues
- Women's March Madness Elite Eight schedule, predictions for Sunday's games
Recommendation
-
Biden funded new factories and infrastructure projects, but Trump might get to cut the ribbons
-
Men's March Madness highlights: Elite Eight scores as UConn, Alabama advance to Final Four
-
A mom's $97,000 question: How was her baby's air-ambulance ride not medically necessary?
-
How to watch Iowa vs LSU Monday: Time, TV for Women's NCAA Tournament Elite 8 game
-
Stock market today: Asian shares meander, tracking Wall Street’s mixed finish as dollar surges
-
Roll Tide: Alabama books first March Madness trip to Final Four with defeat of Clemson
-
The Bachelor’s Joey and Kelsey Reveal They’ve Nailed Down One Crucial Wedding Detail
-
Inside Paris Hilton, Victoria Beckham and More Stars' Easter 2024 Celebrations