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While Ohio's rich history of abolitionism is deservedly known, its equally long history of white supremacist activity-including the Ohio-founded neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer and the many groups currently documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center-is less talked about. In A History of Hate in Ohio: Then and Now, historian Michael E. Brooks and political scientist and journalist Bob Fitrakis join forces to present the first comprehensive study of white supremacy and hate groups in the Buckeye State. Brooks analyzes the historical origins of white supremacy in Ohio and the emergence of the earliest hate groups, covering the colonial period into the 1970s. Fitrakis then picks up the narrative to trace the evolution of hate activity into the present day, documenting the growing interconnections between the once-separate Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups as well as the concurrent emergence of antiracist groups in Ohio. An essential primer on the origins and workings of hate groups, A History of Hate in Ohio issues a timely challenge to all Ohioans to acknowledge, understand, and repudiate hate.
About the author
Michael E. Brooks is Associate Professor of Teaching at Bowling Green State University. He is the author of
The Ku Klux Klan in Wood County.
Bob Fitrakis is Distinguished Full Professor of Political Science at Columbus State Community College and editor/publisher of the
Free Press.
