With raw, uncomfortable frankness, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eli Saslow dissects the ideological transformation of a man once considered the 'Great White Hope,' the heir to the White Nationalist movement ... Saslow handles this delicate story with journalistic integrity. The hundreds of hours spent with his subject are evident in the portrayal of the intense internal conflict Derek and his girlfriend undergo. Rising Out of Hatred is a powerful story of the damage hate is capable of, as well as the potential of faith and hope.
In Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist, journalist Eli Saslow charts Black’s conversion from a right-wing extremist to a high-profile critic of the movement ... For me, it was at times unclear what specific circumstances and conversations prompted his dramatic about-face ... Rising Out of Hatred is a disturbing look at the spread of that extremism — and how it is planted and cultivated in the fertile soil of American bigotry. And yet, Saslow’s vivid storytelling also conveys that during this period of deepening racial division, there is the possibility of redemption.
It may be the exception that proves the rule in these partisan times, but the transformational tale of Derek Black is powerful and riveting all the same ... Eli Saslow, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at The Washington Post, has written an eye-opening account of one man’s ideological metamorphosis. Rising out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist is at once disturbing and uplifting.
The book is a reminder of something that most of us know, but often neglect to heed: that if we want to encourage someone to think in new ways, genuine, prolonged engagement is infinitely more effective than simply excluding them or ranting against their beliefs ... Saslow, a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter for the Washington Post, researched his subjects thoroughly ... It’s no surprise that he depicts Derek with empathy. The more challenging task is to create a nuanced, compassionate portrayal of a committed white supremacist like Derek’s father ... Why are some people open to change when their core beliefs are challenged, while others dig in their heels and retrench? One person’s story can’t give us the answer. But it’s a good question to keep asking.
With the skill of a novelist, Saslow tells the extraordinary story of how the 'rightful heir to America’s white nationalist movement' came to repudiate his racist heritage. If anyone could lay claim to an impeccable pedigree in prejudice, it would be Derek Black, the son of the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard who founded Stormfront, a vicious internet hate site, and the godson of white supremacist David Duke ... Nothing in this thoughtful account suggests the conversion Black experienced is likely to become widespread among his former compatriots, but it’s reassuring to learn of one instance in which reason, hope and love prevailed over hate.
Expanding on an October 2016 feature on Derek leaving the movement, effectively severing ties with much of his own family in the process, Saslow deftly applies his skill for earning the trust of (and access to) those at the heart of even the most sensitive stories ... Saslow details how Black reluctantly steps out of the shadows after that transformation, urged on by his supportive and persistent girlfriend, to denounce the movement he once stood to inherit after it embraced the rise of Donald Trump and, later, carried out a deadly 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Va., that shook the nation.
... a superb piece of reporting: suspenseful, moving, and compassionate. Ultimately, it is a story of sin and redemption. Saslow seems to have persuaded almost everyone involved to talk to him and to share revealing e-mails and text messages.
Saslow’s decision to recount Black’s transformation with politically neutral detachment makes his story no less captivating ... Amid the current swirling controversies around racial issues, Saslow’s work is both timely and encouraging.
...absent widespread changes of heart, Black’s story is an anomaly, if an instructive one—and one that closes with a dark message that conflict is looming as the white nationalist movement appears to be mushrooming. A sobering book that deserves a wide audience among politics-watchers in an age of reaction.
Saslow tells this story with an impressive evenhandedness and empathy for everyone involved. The result is a gripping and timely examination of the alt-right' subculture and the potential for dialogue and moral reasoning to overcome hateful dogmas.
