Racism in America continues to crescendo, and creating a dialogue around white nationalism has never felt more critical.
To build on this conversation, the New College Foundation’s “New Topics New College 2020-2021” series is hosting a talk at 5 p.m. Wed. Jan. 27 via Zoom entitled “Inclusion at Any Cost? When New College Was ‘Home’ to a White Nationalist.”
Featured speakers include alumni R. Derek Black, Allison Gornik and James Birmingham, who attended New College together a decade ago. At the time, Black was a young leader in America’s white nationalist movement.
“Derek Black’s story is a remarkable one,” said Bill Woodson, Ph.D., New College’s chief diversity officer and dean of outreach, who will be moderating the “Inclusion” discussion. “Lessons are here to be learned—not just from the experience of Derek and classmates Allison Gornick and James Birmingham—but from what New College and its leadership got right, and got wrong, in responding to Derek’s presence on campus.”
Woodson is referring to the fact that, during Black’s years at New College, administrative leaders made the decision to resist student calls to expel him (despite his role as a site moderator for Stormfront, America’s first “white pride” website, which was created by his father and white nationalist movement leader, Don Black).
The “Inclusion” discussion will pose questions such as: Was this the right call? Should the College congratulate itself for Black’s eventual renunciation of the white nationalist values he grew up with? And, when a community member’s political beliefs are perceived to be a clear and present danger to the community, what is the appropriate response for the community and its leadership?
“This conversation comes at a time when the threat represented by white nationalism has never been more real or more present,” Woodson said. “In exploring this story and the aftermath of Derek’s time on campus, we aspire to reveal insights that can help all of us navigate this difficult and perplexing moment in history—and to be inspired to prioritize anti-racism in our daily lives.”
More about the speakers:
Derek Black(’10-’13) was raised in a leading family of the American white nationalist movement. His father founded the first online white power community, Stormfront. From an early age, Black participated in media interviews, gave talks around the country, won public office, and ran a daily radio program in support of his family’s ideology. At New College, he was condemned by the campus community and, over several years, came to engage with anti-racist ideas. He ultimately condemned his family’s ideology in 2013, and has since spoken out against the reality of white supremacist political activism. He 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 the 2018 book by Eli Saslow,Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist.
Allison Gornik (’10-’14) of Ohio learned about Black’s white supremacist advocacy in much the same way as every other New College student, and condemned him in order to prioritize students who felt threatened. However, her suitemate, Matthew Stevenson, invited Black into their dorm room for his weekly Shabbat dinner. Although Gornik initially avoided the dinners with Black present, she eventually returned, and the two of them started to talk outside of Stevenson’s events. Through many private and often-painful conversations, Black eventually conceded that his ideology was not sound and that advocating it was actively harmful (which led him to renounce it). Gornik’s role in this story is a primary focus of Saslow’s book. Gornik is currently completing a postdoctoral fellowship, having recently graduated with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. She specializes in working with children and families, in both clinical and research settings.
James Birmingham (’06-’10) is a South Florida native and first-generation college graduate. He was working for the Office of Volunteerism and Service Learning as a VISTA volunteer at New College when word got out that Black was a student. Birmingham became a predominant and active voice in challenging Black’s presence on campus, and led critical campus-wide conversations on what having a prominent white nationalist at New College meant (which is detailed in Saslow’s book). Now an ex-Ph.D. student and craft bartender, Birmingham is working toward opening a worker-owned leftist bookstore café/social center. He is on the board of directors for the Institute for Anarchist Studies; co-founded the decade-long All Power to the Imagination! conference at New College; is a founding member of the Black Trowel Collective; and organizes with the North American Anarchist Studies Network. He resides in Sarasota with his partner, Tiffany; a dog named Waffles; and a cat named Grits.
“New Topics New College 2020-2021” series is a collaboration of New College and the New College Foundation. To mark New College’s 60th anniversary, this year’s series features noteworthy alumni whose New College experience prepared them for careers of exceptional impact.
The series runs from October through March, and tickets are $10. Reservations can be made here or by calling the New College events hotline at 941-487-4888. Tickets are free for New College students, faculty, staff and alumni. Reservations must be made at least 48 hours in advance.
For more information on this and other “New Topics New College” events, visit ncf.edu/alumni-and-friends/the-foundation/ntnc-tickets/
Abby Weingarten is the senior editor in the Office of Communications & Marketing.