White Supremacists

White supremacists follow a doctrine that believes in the superiority of the white race over races of color. This view moves beyond prejudice by claiming that the white race is “supreme” above all others and, as such, should have power over nonwhite groups. The bigotry of white supremacists has expanded over time, targeting groups for other reasons than race (e.g., homosexuals).

One of the earliest and most influential racist thinkers was Joseph Arthur comte de Gobineau, a 19th-century French writer and diplomat. His fourvolume Essay on the Inequality of Human Races professed that the white race was superior over all others and that Aryans (i.e., the Germanic people) were at the pinnacle of it. Gobineau theorized that a civilization's fate is determined by its racial composition and that the white race would flourish only if it was not tainted by mixing with nonwhite races. Gobineau's theories influenced and inspired other scholars and political leaders in the 19th and 20th centuries, including Friedrich Nietzsche and Adolph Hitler.

[Page 524]The white supremacy movement gained momentum in the United States in the late 1860s with the organization of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), one of the most recognized white supremacist groups. Originally formed as a social club, it soon transformed into a violent resistance group aimed at restoring white power after the Civil War and keeping basic civil rights (such as the right to vote) away from blacks. Over the years, the KKK has had fluctuations in both its strength and numbers. Today, it is a very fractured organization, with total membership estimated at around 5,000; however, its message of hate has expanded to include not only blacks, but Jews, homosexuals, immigrants, and non-Protestants.

Although the KKK is the most notorious of the white supremacist hate groups, there are other more powerful, globally linked groups and movements in existence that provide platforms for hate-filled rhetoric and a call to violent action. These include Christian Identity, the National Alliance, Aryan Nations, the National Socialist White People's Party, the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC), neo-Nazi skinheads, The Order, and the White Aryan Resistance (WAR). No two groups are the same, but their basic, common ideology, whether based in racism, politics and/or religion, is to create a society that is dominated by whites and denies the rights of nonwhites and other groups.

Violence is the hallmark of these white supremacist organizations. The anti-Semitic WCOTC, believing that the federal government, international banking, and media are under Jewish control, supports a racial holy war (or RAHOWA) to rid the world of “mud races.” Courses in urban terrorism and guerrilla warfare are offered by the Aryan Nations at their various summer festivals. They also participate in prison outreach programs, corresponding with prisoners through newsletters and correspondence. This has led to an offshoot of their organization, the Aryan Brotherhood, a network of prison gang members.

One of the most violent factions of the white supremacist movement is the neo-Nazi skinheads. They have been linked to numerous murder and assault crimes against blacks, Hispanics, Asians, homosexuals, and even the homeless. The skinheads have become firmly established within the ranks of other white supremacist groups, such as the Aryan Nations and WAR.

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