Lecture Series to Feature New College Alum and Former White Nationalist Derek Black

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- by Sarasota Magazine

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***** Please note, the date of the event is Wednesday, January 27th.  The magazine printed an incorrect date of January 25th *****

New College of Florida’s next “New Topics” lecture will feature R. Derek Black, a former leader of the white nationalist movement and a New College alum. Black, who attended New College from 2010-2013, was a site moderator for Stormfront, the country’s first “White Pride” website, created by his father and white nationalist movement leader, Don Black.

Dr. Bill Woodson

Dr. Bill Woodson
IMAGE: COURTESY PHOTO

During his tenure at New College, many students demanded that Black be expelled; in 2013, after engaging in anti-racist ideas with his fellow students, Black wound up eventually renouncing the white nationalist values he grew up with. He has spoken out over the past several years against the reality of white supremacist political activism and is currently a doctoral student in history at the University of Chicago, researching the medieval and early modern origins of racist hierarchies and ideologies. Black is the subject of a book by Washington Post reporter Eli Saslow, Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist. We spoke with Black and Saslow in 2018; read the story here.

The New College lecture will take place on Jan. 27 at 5 p.m.  via Zoom; it will be moderated by Dr. Bill Woodson, dean of outreach and engagement and chief diversity and inclusion officer at New College. Black’s former classmates Allison Gornik and James Birmingham will also speak. Tickets are $10 and registration is required. Click here for more info and to sign up.