John P. Jackson Jr.

I've been studying how science has been used to fight against or support racism for the last thirty years. I travel across the U.S. exploring historical archives to uncover hidden parts of history. Through my research, I’ve discovered how scientific racists and far-right groups use science to back up their beliefs. They claim to be unbiased and objective, but really they're pushing a racist agenda.

I mainly look at the history of anthropology, evolutionary biology, population genetics, and psychology. I've written five books and more than twenty articles. I’ve published in history, psychology, philosophy, and rhetoric. Plus, I run a blog called Fardels Bear: A History of the Alt Right, for people who are curious about this area.

The Washington Post asked in 2016, 'Where did Donald Trump get his racialized rhetoric?" and they answered, "From libertarians." In my current book project, Free to Discriminate: The History of an American Idea. I look at how libertarians and the racist right have been connected since the 1940s. The libertarian movement, which focuses on property rights and economics, opposed the Civil Rights movement after World War II. It wasn't by accident that libertarians and racists joined forces. They both believed in a society where freedom meant being able to discriminate based on race. During that time, libertarians openly supported discrimination and criticized democracy. Private correspondence shows their support for segregationist arguments to uphold Jim Crow laws. Some even used their Christian beliefs to question American Jews’ commitment to free market principles.

If you would like to learn more about how this line between the line between the "respectable" and "radical" right is getting blurry, there are some recent books that tackle this subject. Good ones to check out are Rachel Maddow's Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism, Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway's The Big Myth: How American Business Taught US To Loathe Government and Love the Free Market, and Edward H. Miller's  A Conspiratorial Life: Robert Welch, The John Birch Society, and the Revolution of American Conservatism. And don't forget about my book which will show how some people on the extreme right connect freedom with racism through libertarianism. Just a few must-reads to add to your list!