Eli Saslow, Rising Out of Hatred

Community Partner: Anti-Defamation League

From Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Eli Saslow comes the powerful story of how a prominent white supremacist changed his heart and mind. Derek Black grew up at the epicenter of white nationalism. His father founded Stormfront, the largest racist community on the Internet. His godfather, David Duke, was a KKK Grand Wizard. By the time Derek turned 19, he had his own daily radio show and was regarded as the "the leading light" of the burgeoning white nationalist movement. At New College of Florida, he continued to broadcast his radio show in secret each morning, until a classmate uncovered his identity and sent an email to the entire school. Some students protested; others found the courage to reach out to him, including an Orthodox Jew who invited Derek to attend weekly Shabbat dinners. It was because of those dinners that Derek started to question the science, history, and prejudices behind his worldview. Rising Out of Hatred tells the intensely personal saga of one man who eventually disavowed everything he was taught to believe, at tremendous personal cost.

About the Author

Eli Saslow is a staff writer for the Washington Post and a contributor to ESPN The Magazine. He has won a Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting and a George Polk Award for national reporting, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing. His works include Ten Letters: The Stories Americans Tell Their President and American Hunger: The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Washington Post Series. He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife and two daughters.

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