Nationalism So White

What percent of Americans see white nationalism as a “somewhat” or “very” serious threat?

1. How accurate was your prediction?

2. What story does the data tell?

3. Make a claim that can be substantiated by the data in the chart:

4. How surprised are you by this data?

5. What trend do you see in the data?

6. Describe the difference between Democrats and Republicans about whether white nationalism is a threat:

7. What do you think best explains this difference?

8. Explain how the racial demographics of the Democratic and Republican party impact this difference about whether white nationalism is a threat.*

9. What is one consequence of this party difference regarding the threat of white nationalism?

10. What impact do you think the current President has had on this data?

11. In your opinion, how much of a threat is white nationalism?

12. What is the difference between white nationalism and racism?

13. According to the most recent HuffPost/YouGov poll, 77 percent of Democrats think Trump supports white nationalism, but only 10 percent of Republicans agree. What do you think?

14. Based on this and the 52 point difference in party opinion on the severity of white nationalism in the chart above, my student Frederick argued that it would be fair to say that we live in two different countries. Make a claim about whether America has become two different countries.

15. What impact does the news media have on the large differences in opinion?

16. Democratic politicians, including many of the 2020 contenders, have called the president a “white nationalist” and a “white supremacist,” and have been outspoken in saying that Trump’s rhetoric incites violence. Explain whether you think this will be a successful electoral strategy.

17. According to a survey from the Pew Research Center conducted in May — prior to the El Paso attack — large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans said that when elected officials use “heated or aggressive language” to talk about certain people or groups, it makes violence against those people more likely. A majority of respondents from both parties also agreed that politicians should avoid “heated language” because they think it could encourage violence. do you think the President avoids heated language?

18. Do you think the President should avoid heated language?

19. In 2017, after the Unit The Right white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, President Trump held a press conference defending white nationalists saying they included “some very fine people,” and that “You also had some very fine people on both sides.” Were you surprised to hear the President of the United States refer to white nationalists as “very fine people”?

20. In 1776, when Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal lines of the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” there were more than 500,000 Black Americans were enslaved, and Thomas Jefferson, himself, enslaved over 100 humans. How does that history impact race relations in America today?

21. What part of the federal government would most likely be tasked with protecting the United States against white nationalism?

Visual Extension*

Learning Extension

Check out the Southern Poverty Law Center’s interactive Map of Hate in the U.S. and see where hate lives in your state.

Action Extension

Contact the President or a top Democratic candidate for President and tell them what you think they should do about white nationalism.

Trump

Biden

Warren

Sanders

Harris

AP Studio Art

Now draw what you have learned about the difference in perception of the threat of white nationalism. Take 10 or 20 seconds. That’s all you need. Nothing fancy. Don’t expect a masterpiece. Draw with symbols or stick figures if you wish. Now Look at your drawing. You’ve got it. That’s all.