Counter extremism

RISK to youth

Our society needs educators engaged in countering the risks of far-right radicalization.  And educators and families need help in this work with young people, especially white youth, who are at risk.  There are vulnerable youth in every community.  Dangers range from predatory recruitment to the quietly insidious poisoning of young minds seeking a sense of belonging, self, and certainty in a troubled time.  Efforts to protect our white youth from these threats is a priority that goes hand in hand with efforts to protect BIPOC youth from the dangers of systemic racism. Learn more.

about PERIL

“PERIL brings the resources and expertise of the university sector to bear on the pressing problem of growing youth polarization and extremist radicalization. Through partnerships, funded research and evaluations, and out-of-the-box design thinking, PERIL empirically tests scalable research, intervention, and public education ideas to reduce rising polarization and hate. What works best to increase youth empathy and cross-cultural understanding? How can media literacy training be made more effective? What intervention approaches work best with youth or with parents, teachers, college advisors and other adults to reduce radicalization and build resilience to extremist narratives? These and other questions are at the heart of PERIL’s work across the ideological spectrum.” Learn more.

NORTHEAST network

In 2019, as a school principal in small town New England, I was growing increasingly concerned about students who were seeking a sense of self and belonging in beliefs that included misogyny, white-supremacy and other traits of far-right extremism.  I reached out to experts and was drawn to the work of the PERIL.

There was much I needed to learn.  In the past, Swastikas and Confederate Flags appeared occasionally at school and were responded to with vigilance, but other symbols were unfamiliar. That year, an enraged young man introduced me to an online meme that degraded transgender people and people of color.  And it was a local business working with some our students who taught me that the upside-down OK symbol had begun its metamorphosis into a symbol of white power.  At an assembly in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., a boy made the sign when a local pastor made reference to the Holocaust.  We turned this incident into an opportunity for a school-wide exploration of the nature of symbols and the way that plausible-deniability, humor, and double-meanings are used to desensitize people to the dehumanization of others.  

Through PERIL, the Southern Poverty Law Center took an interest in the school’s anti-racist work and two journalists from the Sounds Like Hate podcast came to document our efforts to confront symbols of hate and far right radicalization.  About this same time, I became Education Advisor to PERIL, contributing to their efforts to help educators, parents and other caregivers in countering the risks of online radicalization in the COVID era.  

PERIL is now expanding its network of educators in the Vermont and the wider northeast who are committed to learning more about the dangers of white supremacist extremism and far-right radicalization in youth. In our meetings and working groups we focus on understanding the risks and finding connections to our work with youth. We support each other in the work by sharing resources, tools, and strategies. We also share our questions and struggles. We recognize that teachers, school leaders and community partners all enter this work with an array of local needs and various levels of experience. Join the dialogue. To learn more: contact.