Episode 2057: KEEN ON America featuring R. Derek Black
How seriously should we take the white nationalist threat in the United States? Very seriously, at least according to R. Derek Black, a young man who knows a thing or two about the US white nationalist movement. The son of a Grand Wizard of the KKK and a close family friend of David Duke, Black believes that white nationalism is no longer a fringe feature of the Trumpist Republican party. And it’s this fear of the mainstreaming of overt racism that triggered Black’s new book, The Klansman’s Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism, an account of his rebellion not just against racism, but against his family, particularly his Grand Wizard father, Don Black.
Derek Black is an American former white supremacist. He is the son of Don Black, founder of the Stormfront online community, and godson of former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke. He publicly renounced white nationalism and chronicled his personal journey away from his family's beliefs.
Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.
Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Episode 2477: How Daniel Oppenheimer Learned That the Problem in his Marriage Was Himself
Episode 2476: William Deresiewicz on American Boys & Men
Episode 2475: Gregory Walton on how to achieve BIG change with small acts
Episode 2474: What Thomas Mann can teach America about how to save its democracy
Episode 2473: Is Europe about to become the World's 3rd Tech Superpower?
Episode 2472: Clay Risen on Joe McCarthy, Donald Trump and the Paranoid Style of American History
Episode 2471: Dan Brooks reveals the MAGA aesthetic
Episode 2470: Andrew Keen on the current state of American journalism
Episode 2469: Daryl Davis on His Life with the Klu Klux Klan
Episode 2468: David Masciotra on Trump's ravenous bigotry toward the trans community
Episode 2467: Will AI kill Apple?
Episode 2466: Sarah Vowell tells the Untold Story of Public Service
Episode 2464: Marc Dunkelman on Why Nothing Works