America TonightMon-Fri 9:30pm ET/6:30pm PT
On June 17, Dylann Roof delivered a chilling message of racial hatred when he shot and killed nine black parishioners in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
“You rape our women and you’re taking over our country,” he reportedly told those inside the church. “I have to do what I have to do.”
The idea that white people are under the threat of extinction from a violent minority has long been a tenant of the white supremacist ideology.
Roof himself credited the Council of Conservative Citizens, a known white supremacist hate group, for “awakening” him to the purported epidemic of black-on-white violence that, he said, forced him to act. And in the days following the mass shooting, many pointed to racist forums like the Daily Stormer and Stormfront as a source of Roof’s racist ideology.
Virtually ignored, however, has been the role of another powerful tool that racist organizations have used for decades to indoctrinate people to their message: hate music. In an interview with The Intercept, Roof’s cousin said that “Dylann was normal until he started listening to that white power music stuff.”
“My job was to incite people, to recruit them, to market this ideology to them,” said Christian Picciolini, former lead singer of the bands White American Youth and Final Solution. “And 3,000 people would come hear me sing those lyrics and would get violent.”
Aaron Flanagan, a former hate music researcher at the Center for New Community in Chicago, says music can be a powerful call to action for those who already subscribe to the white supremacist ideology.
“That echo chamber of refrains and choruses of white power music around someone just sinks it in there more and more,” he said. “It’s an accelerant, for sure.”
Though it’s largely an underground genre, current producers of hate music say the Internet has made it easier than ever to find new listeners. It’s also adapting with the times.
“Now, you have all different kinds of genres,” said Jeff Schoep, owner of white power music label NSM 88 and head of the National Socialist Movement. “You’ve even got some bands that sound like rock and roll. You have a few country artists sprinkled in there, even folk singers.”
Far from retreating into the shadows, racist music is becoming increasingly prevalent and finding more listeners, particularly young people. America Tonight looks into the changing face of white power music – and the dangerous effects it can have on its listeners.
Error
Sorry, your comment was not saved due to a technical problem. Please try again later or using a different browser.