Professor speaks on racial issues

Larry Brown speaks to the Fulton Rotary Club.
Larry Brown speaks to the Fulton Rotary Club.

According to researcher Larry Brown, white nationalism is having a moment in the sun.

That includes in Missouri, he said during a Wednesday talk to the Fulton Rotary Club.

"During the time I was actively researching, I found and met with 30-35 active white supremacist groups in the greater Ozark region," Brown said.

A former assistant professor at the University of Missouri and Stephens College, Brown has devoted years to researching and studying white supremacist groups and their political surroundings. He said today, white supremacist figures and viewpoints are about as mainstream as they were in the 1920s, '30s and '50s.

The motives and beliefs are the same as well, he said.

"They just have new games," Brown added.

The election of former President Barack Obama prompted a racist backlash, the effects of which are still showing today, he said.

While many white supremacist and white nationalist groups lurked in the shadows for years, Brown said these movements are currently undergoing a process called "mainstreaming."

"These extreme, racist groups began to understand that they needed to appeal to Middle America," Brown said.

This led to the emergence of groups like the Council of Conservative Citizens, based in St. Louis. While its name sounds innocuous, the group supports segregation.

Additionally, the 2016 general election saw the rise of the so-called "alt-right," which Brown said has strong white nationalist ties. He said current and former members of Donald Trump's administration, like Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka and Stephen Miller, have alt-right ties.

Brown spoke about recent events, such as the "White Lives Matter" march in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and the mass shooting committed by Dylann Roof in South Carolina.

"Those events are only a reminder of a greater racism," he said. "The links are strong between systemic racism and individual acts of violence."

Why now?

According to Brown, white nationalists are scared. They feel "whiteness" is their own identity, value system and culture, and it's under threat by everyone from immigrants to liberals.

"For the past 50 years, white nationalists have declared that 'Euro-America' is under an attack orchestrated by the Jews and carried out by minorities," Brown said.

Many see themselves as defenders of history, family values and even Christianity.

"There are groups trying to defend racism with Christianity and the Bible," he said.

These same sentiments have led to the rise of separatist and secessionist groups like the State of Jefferson, Brown claimed.

He suggested to counteract hate groups, it's best not to try to beat them at their own game.

"Listen to their beliefs and anxieties," Brown said.

He suggested joining and creating inclusive community-building organizations and supporting victims of hate.

If white nationalists rally in your neck of the woods, Brown said it's best to stay away.

"They want a loud, violent response," he said. "They thrive on controversy."

He's seen this in person. A number of years ago, Brown said, a neo-Nazi group marched in Columbia, drawing thousands of protestors and creating a chaotic scene. More recently, a group threatened to do the same in Jefferson City.

"We used slogans like 'What if you started a war, but nobody came,'" he said.

When the day of the march arrived, the marchers found no counter-protestors to fight.He said the marchers dispersed early and sent a letter to the editor complaining no one showed up.