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https://www.them.us/story/former-white-nationalist-kkk-r-derek-black-memoir-trans
Former White Nationalist R. Derek Black Has Come Out as Trans
In Black’s new book The Klansman’s Son, they chronicle their journey from KKK poster child to anti-racist activist.
BY JAMES FACTORA
May 14, 2024
Image may contain Blonde Hair Person Brown Hair Adult Face and Head
A former poster child for the Ku Klux Klan has released a memoir in which they come out as transgender publicly for the first time.
R. Derek Black’s memoir, The Klansman’s Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism, was released today by Abrams Books, and in the epilogue, the author reveals that they identify as trans, according to The Daily Mail. (While other outlets have reported that Black uses they/them pronouns, their current bio on X lists their pronouns as they/she.)
Black’s father, influential white supremacist Don Black, founded the neo-Nazi internet forum Stormfront in 1995, and was a former national leader in the Ku Klux Klan. R. Derek Black created the “kids’ page” of Stormfront, according to the book’s synopsis, and appeared on a daytime TV show at the age of 10 to publicly announce their intent to lead white nationalism into the next generation. But in 2013, while attending the New College of Florida, the younger Black publicly renounced white nationalism, and apologized for the harm they caused, leading their family to stop speaking to them.
In excerpts from their memoir published in The Daily Mail, Black wrote that as a child they grew their hair past their ears and enjoyed being “mistaken” for a girl. “I liked the gender confusion, except in public bathrooms, where adult men always took it upon themselves to compliment my looks before telling me I was in the wrong room,” they wrote. “After puberty started, I kept my hair long, but I was able to use the bathrooms in peace, and was relieved to stop getting the inappropriate comments.”
Black expressed empathy for the political climate that today’s trans and gender-nonconforming kids are subject to, writing, “'I can’t imagine how horrible it would have been to grow up in the current political environment as a child who, until puberty, was quite happy about being often perceived as a girl, and who then hid that part of myself.”
In a thread posted to X on Tuesday, Black wrote that although they previously could not have imagined writing a book like this, they eventually came to the realization that “remaining silent was no longer a choice I could make.”
“It’s been years now that I’ve learned who my new community is and what I can do to help the people I’ve met along the way,” they wrote. “Yet I’m proud to have waited until I had more perspective to write this.”
They added that the book describes their current perspective, which is that “we form our identities and decide what we believe based on who we love.”
“Changing your mind about who you are is the same thing as changing the constellation of people you feel responsible for and care for,” they wrote.
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I don't know who lied to him and told him he looked cute as a girl...because he doesn't.. But anyway, glad he at least left the cult of neo Nazism.
Then:
Now:
Former White Nationalist R. Derek Black Has Come Out as Trans
In Black’s new book The Klansman’s Son, they chronicle their journey from KKK poster child to anti-racist activist.
BY JAMES FACTORA
May 14, 2024
Image may contain Blonde Hair Person Brown Hair Adult Face and Head
A former poster child for the Ku Klux Klan has released a memoir in which they come out as transgender publicly for the first time.
R. Derek Black’s memoir, The Klansman’s Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism, was released today by Abrams Books, and in the epilogue, the author reveals that they identify as trans, according to The Daily Mail. (While other outlets have reported that Black uses they/them pronouns, their current bio on X lists their pronouns as they/she.)
Black’s father, influential white supremacist Don Black, founded the neo-Nazi internet forum Stormfront in 1995, and was a former national leader in the Ku Klux Klan. R. Derek Black created the “kids’ page” of Stormfront, according to the book’s synopsis, and appeared on a daytime TV show at the age of 10 to publicly announce their intent to lead white nationalism into the next generation. But in 2013, while attending the New College of Florida, the younger Black publicly renounced white nationalism, and apologized for the harm they caused, leading their family to stop speaking to them.
In excerpts from their memoir published in The Daily Mail, Black wrote that as a child they grew their hair past their ears and enjoyed being “mistaken” for a girl. “I liked the gender confusion, except in public bathrooms, where adult men always took it upon themselves to compliment my looks before telling me I was in the wrong room,” they wrote. “After puberty started, I kept my hair long, but I was able to use the bathrooms in peace, and was relieved to stop getting the inappropriate comments.”
Black expressed empathy for the political climate that today’s trans and gender-nonconforming kids are subject to, writing, “'I can’t imagine how horrible it would have been to grow up in the current political environment as a child who, until puberty, was quite happy about being often perceived as a girl, and who then hid that part of myself.”
In a thread posted to X on Tuesday, Black wrote that although they previously could not have imagined writing a book like this, they eventually came to the realization that “remaining silent was no longer a choice I could make.”
“It’s been years now that I’ve learned who my new community is and what I can do to help the people I’ve met along the way,” they wrote. “Yet I’m proud to have waited until I had more perspective to write this.”
They added that the book describes their current perspective, which is that “we form our identities and decide what we believe based on who we love.”
“Changing your mind about who you are is the same thing as changing the constellation of people you feel responsible for and care for,” they wrote.
Get the best of what’s *****. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.
I don't know who lied to him and told him he looked cute as a girl...because he doesn't.. But anyway, glad he at least left the cult of neo Nazism.
Then:
Now:
