Rallying Behind Racism

White supremacy has been in the news a lot recently. It is often seen as a movement at the fringes of American society, and discussion of it rarely includes white women. But women play a critical, if overlooked, role in the white supremacy movement, and examining their involvement shows it to be far less fringe than many think. So on this episode of BackStory, Brian, Nathan and Joanne dig into the little known history of white women and white supremacy.

This episode and related resources are funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this {article, book, exhibition, film, program, database, report, Web resource}, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Suggested Readings:

Stephanie Jones-Rogers, “They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South” (2019)

Thavolia Glymph, “Out of the House of Bondage: The Transformation of the Plantation Household” (2008)

Karen L. Cox, “Dixie’s Daughters: The United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Preservation of Confederate Culture” (2003)

Kathleeen Blee, “Women of the Klan: Racism and Gender in the 1920s” (1991)

Kathleen Belew, “Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America” (2018)

Elizabeth Gillespie McRae, “Mothers of Massive Resistance: White Women and the Politics of White Supremacy” (2017)