White Supremacists and the (Pan‐)Ethnic Imperative: On “European‐Americans” and “White Student Unions”

Abstract

Working from literature on the social construction of ethnicity and on white ethnic identity, I explore contemporary white supremacist discourse aimed at presenting whites as a “pan‐ethnic” community of European descendants, whose ethnicity is equivalent to that of established ethnic and minority communities. First, I look at how white supremacists struggle with uniting all “whites,” negotiate the meanings and boundaries of “whiteness” and “European‐American,” and conceptualize their putative ethnicity as lamentable. Second, I look at discourse on efforts to organize “White Student Unions.” The use of the hyphenated‐American strategy and the development of white student unions both reflect tactical breaks with the past and are part of a “new racist” focus on putting forth a more presentable image for white supremacy and presenting whites as an ethnic/minority group, with ethnic‐like concerns and traits. If indeed there is an emergent pan‐ethnic phenomenon among “European‐Americans,” then it may prove important to recognize when this phenomenon is rooted in white supremacy and when it is not.