Ajazeera | 6 January 2010 [Updated 12 January 2010]
People & Power – White Power USA – 6 Jan 10

Update: The video, dated 6 January 2010, that had been first posted below was removed by Aljazeera from the Internet — both from YouTube and from the Aljazeera site — around 9:00 a.m. GMT on 12 January 2010, but then re-appeared after a few hours with the date changed to 12 January and a new link, which has been substituted in this post  for the old link (so that the video works).

Interestingly, a related video (also posted below now, starts with a reference to the first video) is still on both sites [Aljazeera and YouTube], and a follow seems to be promoised. All text that appears below is that which accompanies the videos.

Almost a year ago the inauguration of President Barack Obama was hailed as a turning point in US race relations. The country was said to be entering a new era of post-racial politics, on the path to a future of greater diversity and tolerance. But while crowds flocked to Washington to witness the swearing in, others were refusing to join the party. Racially motivated threats against Obama rose to new heights in the first months of his presidency, with the US seeing nine high-profile race killings in 2009. Meanwhile white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups claim their membership is growing and that visits to their websites are increasing. Filmmakers Rick Rowley and Jacquie Soohen went inside the white nationalist movement to investigate.

Postscript

Riz Khan – White Power USA – 6 Jan 2010 – Part 1

On Wednesday’s Riz Khan, we follow up on People & Power’s examination of white supremacist movements in the US.

With the election of the Barack Obama, a failing economy and anti-immigrant sentiment on the rise, some activists are calling it the perfect storm for recruitment by racist organisations.

Supremacist groups are reportedly targeting soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as trying to become part of ‘mainstream’ conservatism by organising around the successful ‘Tea Party’ movement.

Leonard Zeskind, the author of Blood Politics, who has studied the history of supremacist groups for more than 30 years joins the show.

This episode of the Riz Khan show aired from Wednesday, January 6.