White Power

White Power (1986)
Duration: 00:28:46

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Themes: Urban Challenges |

Guests: Ted (no last name), Paul (no last name), Susan Watson
Host : Ed Gordon
Producer : Tony Mottley


Summary: Gordon's introduction cites recent racially charged incidents - the attack on three black men in Howard Beach, N.Y., and an anti-segregation march in Forsythe County, Georgia - as indications of what appeared to be a rise in racial hostility in America.

Gordon acknowledges the potentially inflammatory nature of the program with the caveat, "It our hope only to bring about awareness of this topic."

Ted, who is the main spokesman, says the SS Action Group is the security arm of the American National Socialist Party. He says the aim of the party, primarily, is to reduce the influence of Jews and communists in the government of America.

"We would like to see a country that is freer for the white man than what we are seeing today," Ted says. "We would like to put the government back into the hands of the people, and the more those people who hold the government are white, the more we would like it."

He says the party is not anti-black and does not argue that minorities are getting more than their share, but believes many white people who are also in need are not given the same support and consideration. "Some of our people are being overlooked," he says.

He also says that the reporting of crime is unbalanced and unfair because it emphasizes race when a white commits a crime against a black, but ignores race when a black commits a crime against a white.

A caller from the viewing audience asks if Ted would object to having his life saved in an emergency by a black firefighter, police officer or medical technician. Ted says he would not object, and would call for an ambulance or police help if he saw a black person injured in an accident. The emphasis of his group, he says, is not to harm blacks, but to promote cohesiveness among whites.

"We are trying to bring about harmony in the white community," Ted says. "We cannot pay attention to the black community. You have to get your own organization, only more black controlled . . ."

Ted alleges that the NAACP is largely controlled by Jews, and suggests that Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam is a more authentic black leader. "We respect him," he says. "If we were black, . . . we would be pro-Black Power," he adds.

The show concludes with a commentary by Detroit Free Press columnist Susan Watson, who dismisses the claims of white supremacists. "The louder their protestations, the more shallow they appear," she says. "The meaner their statements, the more frightened they seem. And the harsher their threats, the more cowardly and morally bankrupt they are."

The program provides an intriguing - and astonishingly civil - look at one of the more volatile aspects of American social conflict.

Related Production Materials held at MSU Libraries, Special Collections:
Box 22, File 8, White Racist Groups