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Racial Holy War: The Creativity Movement and the War on Terror

Damon T. Berry, Graduate Student in Comparative Studies

Damon Berry is a graduate student in Comparative Studies with a focus on religious studies and with interests in critical theory, critical race theory, and cultural studies. His interests are in the confluences of racialization and religion, especially in the United States. His previous research has been conducted on The Order, a white supremacist criminal organization which operated in the U.S. in the 1980's, and Odinism, a contemporary adaptation of ancient Nordic mythologies. More recent examinations which he has undertaken have been in The Nation of Islam, Black Liberation Theology, and Rastafarianism as movements which have formed in part as a response to white supremacy and as counter hegemonic discourses which have empowered some to express themselves in the midst of violent and systemic racial oppression.

Damon is presently finishing his thesis which is tentatively titled, "The Physis of the Earth: Racial Holy War in the Creativity Movement." In this paper he explores the concept of racial holy war developed by Ben Klassen, the group's founder, in which racialized warfare is considered a "Natural" and inevitable fact of existence as well as a solemn obligation of all "white people." He argues that this then imbues the Creator's world with a certain meaning which makes racial warfare a religious duty. He further contends that this can be compared to the War on Terror in that war there is also conceived of as inevitable and imbued with a similar meaning-the salvation of "civilization."

Damon will continue his studies in the examination of white racialist discourses since September 11th and the historic election of President Obama. In both cases, he contends, there have been varied reactions within the broad scope of "white nationalism," often calling for more violence while the intellectual elite within this broad movement have tried to appear more "main stream" in labeling themselves as "preservationists" of "Euro-American Heritage" while addressing issues such as immigration and the "crisis" in the Middle East. Similarly, responses from the Right seem to be racialized in the areas of "border security" as well as reactions to the policies of President Obama. Ultimately Damon will work to demonstrate that the "racist extremists" both grow from a racialized history in the "West" and reflect many of the sentiments from the "main stream" which are often expressed in seemingly deracialized terms. He also contends that labeling such groups extremist obscures discussion about contemporary racializations and the violence associated with them.