American Swastika

Book excerpt: Today’s white supremacist activism originated in carefully cultivated homes, parties, rituals, music festivals, and digital media and went on to reshape the U.S. political landscape. With powerful case studies, interviews, and first-person accounts, the third edition of American Swastika guides readers through these hidden enclaves of hate to link past circumstances to present conditions. It discusses new players in the world of white power and offers a vital perspective on how white supremacy persists and why we must be vigilant if we want to check its influence. American Swastika is essential reading for anyone hungry to understand the threat of white supremacist extremism to American society. New to the Third Edition Discussion of white extremists’ “surprise” return to the American political landscape counters claims that this is “new” by explaining that it emanates from networks and ideas long nurtured outside the public eye An investigation of new hate music genres and changes in the white power music festival scene expands the discussion of how music is essential to white supremacist identity Research on new digital spaces where white supremacists connect and cultivate their culture, including mainstream and fringe networking platforms, retail sites, and video gaming sites demonstrates how online mechanisms serve as entry points for radicalization Discussion of new attention from the Biden administration on domestic terror offers hope for confronting and constraining white supremacy, while also defining many challenges involved