Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels, and Black Power

Ever hear of the Young Patriots Organization or Rising Up Angry? If not, then you haven't really heard the history of the Civil Rights movement. Indeed, while most historians of the 1960s are content to portray poor and working class whites as - at best - spectators to the Civil Rights movement and - at worst - as reactionaries and racists, fact is that white participation in the movement extended far beyond the small group of white college activists and included some of the nation's most underprivileged whites joining forces with Black radicals for a new social reality. In their new book Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels, and Black Power, longtime activists James Tracy and Amy Sonnie unearth the ignored history of an important coalition: white working class radicals and the Black Power movement. Based on ten years of research and personal interviews with many movement participants, Hillbilly Nationalists couldn't be a more timely read. My guests are Amy Sonnie and James Tracy.