Ex-White Supremacist Leads Anti-Hate Meeting At St. Barnabas

CHICAGO — Christian Picciolini, a former white supremacist leader who has since reformed and now helps lead the effort against hate, led a community forum on Monday, Aug. 12 at St. Barnabas Catholic Church in Beverly. He was joined by Nora Flanagan, an English teacher in Chicago who has researched and organized opposition to racism for decades.

The meeting was organized by 19th Ward Ald. Matt O'Shea as a way to begin a response to racist rhetoric that has been found in the neighborhood over the past year or so. Most recently, flyers promoting white supremacy groups were found on cars parked in the West Beverly and Mount Greenwood neighborhoods.

"This is a good start, but it cannot end here," Picciolini said of the meeting. "This needs to be the beginning of a long conversation."

Picciolini's journey from being a racist white supremacist to helping lead the charge against hate has been well-documented. He touched on many ideas related to the topic, including what leads a person to white supremacy and how the racist material found in the neighborhood has a much different effect on the groups targeted than it does on white people.

"It might be easy for us white people to downplay it, say we don't tolerate it and throw it in the garbage... But to a person in the African-American community, a Jewish person or a Muslim person this is a threat on their life."

Picciolini said that there are certain criteria white supremacists use when deciding on where to promote their hate. An area that's mostly middle-class is one of the criteria and may be why the 19th Ward has been targeted recently.

"We have to stay resilient and be proactive," he said.

Flanagan encouraged people at the meeting to reach out to the community groups that are already working to find an end to hate in the neighborhood, specifically lauding the Southwest Chicago Diversity Collaborative for their efforts. Members of the SCDC were at the meeting promoting an "anti-hate" march set for Sept. 7.