Sen. Barack Obama’s historic victory in the Democratic primaries, celebrated as a symbol of racial progress, has also sparked an increase in racist and white supremacist activity, according to leaders of hate groups and the organizations that track them. Neo-Nazi, skinhead and segregationist groups have reported gains in numbers of visitors to their Web sites and in membership since the senator from Illinois secured the Democratic nomination June 3. His success has angered a community of racists, experts said, concerned by the possibility of the country’s first black president.
“I haven’t seen this much anger in a long, long time,” said Billy Roper, a 36-year-old who runs a group called White Revolution in Russellville, Ark. “Nothing has awakened normally complacent white Americans more than the prospect of America having an overtly nonwhite president.”
Such groups have historically inflated their influence for self-promotion and as an intimidation technique, and they refused to provide exact membership numbers or open their meetings to a reporter.
Leaders acknowledged that their numbers remain small – “the flat-globe society still has more people than us,” Roper said. But experts said their claims reveal more than hyperbole this time.
“The truth is, we’re finding an explosion in these kinds of hateful sentiments on the Net, and it’s a growing problem,” said Deborah Lauter, civil rights director for the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate group activity. “There are probably thousands of Web sites that do this now. I couldn’t even tell you how many are out there because it’s growing so fast.”
Neo-Nazi and white power groups acknowledge that they have little ability to derail Obama’s candidacy, so instead some have decided to take advantage of its potential.
White-power leaders who once feared Obama’s campaign have come to regard it as a recruiting tool. The groups now portray his candidacy as a vehicle to disenfranchise whites and polarize America.
The past few months reflect a recent trend of hate group growth, watch organizations said. Fueled primarily by anti-immigration sentiment, white supremacy groups have increased by nearly half since 2000, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups. The KKK has diversified regionally and now has about 150 chapters spread through 34 states.
“Our side does better when the public is being pressured, when gas prices are high, when housing is bad, when a black man might be president,” said Ron Doggett, who runs a white power group called EURO in Richmond, Va. “People start looking for solutions and changes, and we offer radical changes to what’s going on.”
The groups also despise Republican Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for his moderate views on immigration and his willingness to stick with the Iraq war. Better for Obama to win, leaders said, because his presidency could fuel a recruitment drive big enough to launch events that the white power movement has spent decades anticipating.
There is also another possibility, of course, one that makes white power leaders despise Obama even more.
“What you try not to think about is that maybe if Obama wins, it will create a very demoralizing effect,” Doggett said. “Maybe people see him in office, and it’s like: ‘That’s it. It’s just too late. Look at what’s happened now. We’ve endured all these defeats, and we’ve still got a multicultural society.’ And then there’s just no future for our viewpoint.”
Poster's comment: Not a peep when black power groups siezed on the campaign and Obama's website proudly bragged of their support (New Black Panther Party) and didn't pull the plug on it until it received negative publicity.