Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Pleasure In Cruelty Is The Point: Reflections On The Souls Of White Jokes, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

"The Pleasure in Cruelty is the Point: Reflections on The Souls of White Jokes,"

Book review of The Souls of White Jokes: How Racist Humor Fuels White Supremacy. Stanford University Press, 2022, by Raúl Pérez, Reviewed by Jessie Daniels. Paperback ISBN: 9781503632332

To be published in:

Identities: Global Stuies in Culture and Power

White Privilege And Teacher Perceptions Of Teacher-Child Relationship Quality, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Colin M. Mcginnis, Sheng-Lun Cheng, Dwayne Ray Cormier, Natalie A. Koziol

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

In this study, we investigated differences in teachers’ perceptions of the teacher-child relationship from kindergarten through second grade as a function of child race and gender from the perspective of critical race theory and the cultural synchrony hypothesis. Given the extensive evidence of White privilege and anti-Black racism in the US education system, we expected that teachers, particularly White teachers, would perceive their relationships with White children more positively than with Black children. Controlling for family SES and child gender, results supported this hypothesis. Black boys had the highest risk of being perceived by teachers as having poor relationships with …

Book Review: A Field Guide To White Supremacy, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

"With All The Majesty Of The Law": Systemic Racism, Punitive Sentiment, And Equal Protection, Darren L. Hutchinson

Faculty Articles

United States criminal justice policies have played a central role in the subjugation of persons of color. Under slavery, criminal law explicitly provided a means to ensure White dominion over Blacks and require Black submission to White authority. During Reconstruction, anticrime policies served to maintain White supremacy and re-enslave Blacks, both through explicit discrimination and facially neutral policies. Similar practices maintained racial hierarchy with respect to White, Latinx, and Asian-American populations in the western United States. While most state action no longer explicitly discriminates on the basis of race, anticrime policy remains a powerful instrument of racial subordination. Indeed, social …

Findings And Implications From A Project On White Supremacist Entry And Exit Pathways, Matthew Demichele, Wesley S. Mccann, Kathleen Blee, Peter Simi

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

This Research Note provides an overview of the main findings from a project on white supremacist pathways - or why some individuals join and leave white supremacist groups - with a specific focus on elucidating common themes, theoretical applications, main takeaways, and providing recommendations for academics and policymakers. One key lesson is that identity is central to entry and exit pathways.

What Factors In The Life Experience Of African Americans Cause Them To Comply With Or Confront Law Enforcement Officers?, La'shelle Jefferson-Mcdonald

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Widespread availability of cell phones has given most Americans the ability to record events as they happen. This has included recordings of increasing instances of police brutality directed at African Americans by White officers, including the shooting and killing of unarmed People of Color, particularly males. With such encounters being recorded and widely viewed by the general population, there is an increased need to focus on stopping this serious social problem. This study gives historical context on how this came about, what common stereotypes are associated with African Americans, and examples of several cases where unarmed African Americans were killed …

"Divide, Divert, & Conquer” Deconstructing The Presidential Framing Of White Supremacy In The Covid-19 Era, Vivian Louie, Anahi Viladrich

Publications and Research

Based on the analysis of President Donald J. Trump’s social media, along with excerpts from his speeches and press releases, this study sheds light on the framing of white supremacy during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Our findings reveal that the triad of divide, divert, and conquer was crucial to Trump’s communications strategy. We argue that racist nativism—or racialized national threats to American security—is key to comprehending the external divisiveness in this strategy. When Trump bitterly cast China as the cause of America’s pandemic fallout and Mexico as the source of other key American …

Umaine Office For Diversity And Inclusion Stop Aapi Hate. Reject White Supremacy Email, University Of Maine Office For Diversity And Inclusion

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Email from the UMaine Office for Diversity and Inclusion with various details of the Office's work and violent and discriminatory acts leveled against Asian people in America.

The Culture Of Violent Talk: An Interpretive Approach, Peter Simi, Steven Windisch

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

One of the defining characteristics of extremist movements is the adherence to an ideology highly antagonistic to the status quo and one that permits or explicitly promotes the use of violence to achieve stated goals and to address grievances. For members of extremist groups, talk is one of the most concrete manifestations of how adherents communicate their ideas to each other and the general public. These discussions, however, do not necessarily involve a direct correspondence between words and future behavior. To better understand the culture of violent talk, we investigate how white supremacist extremists use these discussions as a rhetorical …

Colonized Loyalty: Asian American Anti-Blackness And Complicity, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt

Faculty Publications

In this essay, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstad argues that solidarity between and within communities of color remains our only chance to fight against the brutal and insidious forces of racism, white supremacy and racial capitalism.

In Our Own Words: Institutional Betrayals, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt

Faculty Publications

When Dr. Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt, professor of English at Linfield College, asked a large group of underrepresented faculty members why they left their higher education institutions, they told her the real reasons for their departures — those that climate surveys don't capture.

This essay originally appeared as part of Conditionally Accepted, a career advice blog for Inside Higher Ed providing news, information, personal stories, and resources for scholars who are, at best, conditionally accepted in academe. Conditionally Accepted is an anti-racist, pro-feminist, pro-queer, anti-transphobic, anti-fatphobic, anti-ableist, anti-ageist, anti-classist, and anti-xenophobic online community.

The Group Formerly Known As The Umaine College Republicans Deserves To Be Ousted, Gabriel Karam

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

The former UMaine College Republicans (UMCR) got what it deserved: it is no longer recognized by the University of Maine Student Government (UMSG). The UMCR’s conduct over the last several months has been more intended at childishly offending people instead of contributing a venue for political discussion.

On The Permissibility Of Homicidal Violence: Perspectives From Former U.S. White Supremacists, Steven Windisch, Peter Simi, Kathleen M. Blee, Matthew Demichele

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Drawing upon in-depth life-history interviews with 91 North American-based former white supremacists, we examine how participants perceive homicidal violence as either an appropriate or inappropriate political strategy. Based on the current findings, participants considered homicidal violence as largely inappropriate due to moral concerns and its politically ineffective nature but also discussed how homicidal violence could be an appropriate defensive measure in RAHOWA (Racial Holy War) or through divine mandate. Capturing how white supremacists frame the permissibility of homicidal violence is a step toward better understanding the “upper limit” or thresholds for violence among members who are trying to construct and …

The Color Of Creatorship: Intellectual Property, Race, And The Making Of Americans (Introduction), Anjali Vats

Book Chapters

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW, the body of legal doctrine and practice that governs the ownership of information, is animated by a dichotomy of creatorship and infringement. In the most often repeated narratives of creatorship/infringement in the United States, the former produces a social and economic good while the latter works against the production of that social and economic good. Creators, those individuals whose work is deemed protectable under copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, and unfair competition law, create valuable products that contribute to economic growth and public knowledge. Infringers, those individuals who use the work of creators without their permission, steal …

Racism In Modern Information And Communication Technologies, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

These are the remarks given at a keynote address at the United Nations, before the 10th session of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Geneva, Switzerland.

"So Much For Darwin" An Analysis Of Stormfront Discussions On Race, Dianne Dentice

Faculty Publications

Even though people who actively participate in the white nationalist movement appear to be a relatively small percentage of the global population, it appears that racist and anti-Semitic attitudes continue to inform a new generation of white nationalists, many of whom populate discussion forums on Stormfront, online since 1995 and billed as the first Internet site in the hate genre. Membership in extremist groups and support for sites like Stormfront embody specific attitudes about race, the importance of the existence of biological races, intellectual superiority of whites, and justification for these beliefs that is sometimes framed with a religious perspective …

Anger From Within: The Role Of Emotions In Disengagement From Violent Extremism, Peter Simi, Steven Windisch, Daniel Harris, Gina Ligon

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

There is growing recognition about the similarities between generic criminality and violent extremism. Using data derived from a unique set of in-depth life history interviews with 40 former U.S. white supremacists, as well as previous studies of criminal desistance, we examine the emotional valence that characterizes actors' descriptions of the disengagement process. More specifically, results suggest that negative emotions (i.e., anger and frustration) directed toward the extremist group and oneself function as a catalyst for disengagement. Negative emotions become a source of motivation in re-evaluating the relative importance of the group as it relates to the individual. Ultimately, the reevaluation …

W.E.B. Dubois For The Twenty‐First Century: On Being A Scholar‐Activist In The Digital Era, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

W.E.B. Du Bois began his work as a scholar-activist at the dawn of the twentieth century, and this paper argues that his example has much to teach contemporary scholar-activists in the twenty-first century. In order to publish The Crisis, the magazine of the activist organization he co-founded, DuBois purchased a printing press. This meant he could own the means of his own knowledge production and foretold both the promise of what it means to be a scholar-activist in the twenty-first century and the limitations built into the current systems of knowledge production. Du Bois was also prophetic when he …

Are You Supporting White Supremacy?, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt

Faculty Publications

Dr. Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt, professor of English at Linfield College, provides an opinion piece in the form of a checklist of 15 “troubles” she has identified to help others in academe recognize (un)conscious contributions to white supremacy.

This essay originally appeared as part of Conditionally Accepted, a career advice blog for Inside Higher Ed providing news, information, personal stories, and resources for scholars who are, at best, conditionally accepted in academe. Conditionally Accepted is an anti-racist, pro-feminist, pro-queer, anti-transphobic, anti-fatphobic, anti-ableist, anti-ageist, anti-classist, and anti-xenophobic online community.

The Algorithmic Rise Of The “Alt-Right”, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

As with so many technologies, the Internet’s racism was programmed right in—and it’s quickly fueled the spread of White supremacist, xenophobic rhetoric throughout the western world.

Understanding The Micro-Situational Dynamics Of White Supremacist Violence In The United States, Steven Windisch, Peter Simi, Kathleen Blee, Matthew Demichele

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

While substantial effort has been devoted to investigating the radicalization process and developing theories to explain why this occurs, surprisingly few studies offer explanations of the micro-situational factors that characterize how extremists accomplish violence. Relying on in-depth life history interviews with 89 former white supremacists, we analyzed the situational, emotional, and moral considerations surrounding white supremacist violence. Overall, we identified a variety of strategies white supremacists utilize for overcoming emotional and cognitive obstacles required to perform violent action. Furthermore, we also identified the callous effect of habitual violence. We conclude this article with suggestions for future research and recommendations for …

Twitter And White Supremacy: A Love Story, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

Social media is a haven for hate groups, who use the instantaneous medium to organize and troll. So why do the platforms continue to protect them and not those they abuse?

Book Review Of Kirsten Dyck's Reichsrock: The International Web Of White-Power And Neo-Nazi Hate Music (2016) And Nancy S. Love's Trendy Fascism: White Power Music And The Future Of Democracy (2017), Tim Engles

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

A review of Kirsten Dyck's Reichsrock: The International Web of White-Power and Neo-Nazi Hate Music (2016) and Nancy S. Love's Trendy Fascism: White Power Music and the Future of Democracy (2017).

An Indictment Of The System, Jonathan Petrie

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

This past week, the nation was hit by a shock wave. Donald Trump, the former host of NBC’s “The Apprentice,” was elected president of the United States. People are wondering, “how could this be?” This is a man who openly used race-baiting rhetoric, endorsed xenophobic policies, insulted disabled reporters and performed so many more ridiculous acts I probably could not fit them into this piece. So how could this guy have possibly won?

Velveteen Illusions And Daily Mini ''1919s'': Constructing Societies That 'Belong To All', Prexy Nesbitt

Rozell 'Prexy' Nesbitt Writings and Speeches

Prexy Nesbitt, a Chicago-based anti-apartheid activist and educator, delivered this lecture at the Illinois Humanties Council- Elective Studies Supper Club. 12 pages.

The Demise Of White Revolution: What's Next For Billy Roper? [Abstract], Dianne Dentice

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Control, Discipline, And Punish: Black Masculinity And (In)Visible Whiteness In The Nba, Rachel Alicia Griffin, Bernadette Marie Calafell

Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Faculty Scholarship

This chapter critiques the “allegorical power of sport” in relation to historical and contemporary manifestations of white supremacy. In particular, it argues that media discourse about the NBA commissioner David Stern as well as his public statements demonstrate white paternalism. From the onset of his career as commissioner, Stern normalized whiteness as a nonracialized space by repeating discourse that marked the racialized “other” as criminal. Moreover, in a popular sport in which seventy five percent of the players are black but virtually all of the corporate owners and commissioner are white, Stern's enforcement of extreme penalties and policies affecting primarily …

The First 100 Days Stormfront Responds To Obama’S Presidency [Abstract], Dianne Dentice, James L. Williams

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Cloaked Websites: Propaganda, Cyber-Racism And Epistemology In The Digital Era, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

This article analyzes cloaked websites, which are sites published by individuals or groups who conceal authorship in order to disguise deliberately a hidden political agenda. Drawing on the insights of critical theory and the Frankfurt School, this article examines the way in which cloaked websites conceal a variety of political agendas from a range of perspectives. Of particular interest here are cloaked white supremacist sites that disguise cyber-racism. The use of cloaked websites to further political ends raises important questions about knowledge production and epistemology in the digital era. These cloaked sites emerge within a social and political context in …

Combating Global White Supremacy In The Digital Era, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

This chapter explores both the ability of white supremacists to connect globally through Internet technologies, and considers international efforts to combat white supremacy. The United States is not a willing partner in fighting white supremacy online due to certain interpretations of the first amendment. However, absolutist views of free speech contradict the Supreme Court of the US which has ruled that there is a burning cross is not protected by the first amendment. Failing to take action against white supremacy online, the US functions as a global haven for hate speech.