1. Why is this research important for Iowa?
RACISM AND ANTISEMITISM:
A CONTINUING PROBLEM
1965
AMY WINDMILL, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
PROF. LARA TRUBOWITZ, MENTOR
TODAY – ACTIVE IN CHARLES CITY
What is this research?
Investigating racist and antisemitic political and social movements of the 1960s that eventually prompted the passage of hate-crime legislation
Asking how and why hate rhetoric works and survives
Tracing the movement of racist rhetoric from the past to the present, and examining the ways in which it manifests today
How is it conducted?
Using the resources of the University of Iowa Special Collections, which includes rare, original ANP/KKK documents
Working with the FBI and the National Archives to obtain records of neo-Nazi and racist activities in the 1950s
Careful comparison of the rhetorical strategies used by The American Nazi Party/KKK in the 60s and modern hate groups
Why is this research important for Iowa?
Racism and antisemitism are counter to Iowa’s fundamental values: equality, compassion, and community
The Southern Poverty Law Center notes that extremism is on the rise in the US – and lists six separate neo-Nazi/racist groups currently operating in our state
Hate rhetoric is sometimes oblique rather than overt – it hides itself in “racetalk” and works its way into public policy