National Geographic Channel Presents Two Portraits Of American Hate And Racial Tension

In the Midst of a Changing Face of America, NGC Investigates the Controversial New Black Panther Party and Neo-Nazis

Inside the New Black Panthers and American Nazis Premiere Sunday, January 11, 2009, at 9 PM and 10 PM ET/PT

As the nation prepares to swear in its first African-American president following a historic election that promises to usher in a new age of racial harmony, radical groups dedicated to the separation of the races are experiencing a resurgence.  On the heels of a formative era in American history, go inside two groups that threaten to have a divisive impact on our country.

On Sunday, January 11, 2009, the National Geographic Channel (NGC) premieres Inside the New Black Panthers and American Nazis, gaining rare access to the outspoken members and bold tactics of these two controversial groups.  While these factions occupy opposite ends of the racial spectrum, they share common attributes, including militant ideologies and historical legacies that are attracting a young and powerful membership via the Internet and other viral technologies.

First, on Sunday, January 11, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, the National Geographic Channel premieres Inside the New Black Panthers.  The one-hour special explores the New Black Panther Party formed in the late 20th century, as well as two disparate black nationalist groups:  the 1960s Black Panther Party for Self Defense and the recently established New Black Panther Nation/New Marcus Garvey Movement, named after one of the first men to organize a black movement in the United States (the Universal Negro Improvement Association, or UNIA).  All three groups seek to redefine black power in America, yet differ from one another in beliefs, tactics and goals.

Born of the unrest following years of racial inequality and discrimination, the 1960s Black Panther Party for Self Defense was created to promote civil rights, self-defense and racial justice.  From the 1968 Olympic podium where athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos extended their fists in the Black Power and Unity salutes to the streets of Sacramento, Calif., in 1967, when members marched to the California state capitol to protest a weapons ban, the Black Panther Party left a distinguishing mark on modern American history.

Although the New Black Panther Party claims to borrow from the legacy of the original Black Panther Party, it has evolved into a far more separatist and militant group, seeking to establish a separate nation by and for blacks.  With rare access inside the organization, NGC heads to the Harlem neighborhood of New York City to celebrate the "4th of U-lie," a festival that stresses how American Independence in 1776 disregarded enslaved blacks.  For these African Americans, the American flag that waves patriotically on the Fourth of July only symbolizes the beginning of a centuries-long struggle to gain freedom.

Then we follow King Samir Shabazz, chairman of the Philadelphia New Black Panther Party, as he seeks to advance his mission on the streets of the City of Brotherly Love. A 38-year-old high-school dropout who grew up in Trenton's Frazier projects, he is now leading the New Black Panther charge on the streets, fighting on the front line of the movement's beliefs and ideals.  According to Shabazz, the New Black Panther Party is taking a stand.  "It's up to the people to stand up, man," he says.  "Until we get this white supremacist's ideology out of our minds, we're gonna always be in this condition."

The third Black Panther party explored in the program -- the New Black Panther Nation/New Marcus Garvey Movement -- upholds the 1960s Black Panther Party's ideals by integrating into society and restoring the civic pride the Black Panther Party embodied.  Its goal is to reduce crime and drug abuse within the black community.

Then, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on January 11, NGC premieres American Nazis.  With more than 13,000 members and a growing list of criminal actions, neo-Nazis are aggressively and effectively using modern technology to become one of the most prominent and violent segments of the white power movement in the United States today.

NGC provides candid insight from group members and gives viewers an inside look at how the movement has evolved in the United States, from the American Nazi Party in 1959 to the National Socialist Movement (NSM), which staged an anti-immigration rally in Washington, D.C., in 2008.  See how a variety of homegrown groups have mobilized under one disturbing common ideology, encapsulated in the 14 words, "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."

American Nazis goes inside the NSM, led by Commander Jeff Schoep, as it uses old ideologies yet modern issues such as immigration to fuel new membership drives.  Tactics employed by Adolf Hitler and the German Nazis before and during World War II have gained new audiences today.  Footage of present-day public rallies and book burnings are circulating over the Internet, gathering recruits and helping to build a virtual army of loyal followers in the United States and around the world.  The immediacy of viral mechanisms makes it easier to market white power messages and to retain a younger, more susceptible membership base -- every NSM rally and event is immediately available on DVD, podcasts or through video-sharing Web sites.

And now more radical groups like the Ohio State Hooligans are calling for more dangerous tactics.  This band of tough-talking neo-Nazis believes the white revolution derives from the street and should erupt in violence throughout the country.  Matt Roberts, the group's leader, criticizes Jeff Schoep's NSM for not being violent enough, furthering the stigma that the Hooligans embody a white supremacist neo-Nazi ideology with a gang mentality.

Jeff Schoep counters that the NSM, on the other hand, is a legitimate political force:  "We're not a social club.  We're not a clique.  We're not a gang.  We're a real political movement in the streets working to make a change in the country."