With raw, uncomfortable frankness, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eli Saslow dissects the ideological transformation of a man once considered the "Great White Hope," the heir to the White Nationalist movement. Derek Roland Black grew up engulfed in white nationalism. His father, Don Black, was a prominent Klansman and founder of the racist Internet community Stormfront. His godfather is David Duke, the notorious Grand Wizard of the KKK. And his half-sisters are Duke's daughters--Derek's mother, Chloe, was married to Duke before Derek's father.
Drawing on years of interviews and research, Saslow paints a detailed picture of Derek's upbringing. A smart, perceptive child, Derek absorbs the theory, mythology and history embraced by his family and their friends. When the Florida public schools teach diversity and multiculturalism, Don and Chloe pull Derek out, opting to homeschool instead. For the first two decades of his life, a bubble of white nationalism encases Derek.
When Derek chooses to attend Florida's prestigious--and liberal--New College, that bubble bursts. He becomes friends with minority students and briefly dates a Jewish girl. However, when the campus learns of Derek's affiliation, pandemonium breaks out. But a small group of students accepts him and talks to him and exposes him to a way of thinking Derek has never experienced before. With patience and kindness, they change his life forever.
Saslow handles this delicate story with journalistic integrity. The hundreds of hours spent with his subject are evident in the portrayal of the intense internal conflict Derek and his girlfriend undergo. Rising Out of Hatred is a powerful story of the damage hate is capable of, as well as the potential of faith and hope. --Jen Forbus, freelancer