AP EXPLAINS: Election brings white nationalism to forefront
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Donald Trump’s choice of far-right publishing executive Steve Bannon as a top White House adviser is bringing new scrutiny to a troubling, decades-old ideology: white nationalism.
The movement generally advocates formation of a nation set aside for whites. Some adherents openly supported Trump for president, and white nationalists have praised Trump’s appointment of Bannon as a senior adviser. Bannon previously headed the Breitbart website that appealed to the so-called “alt-right” — a movement often associated with far right efforts to preserve “white identity,” oppose multiculturalism and defend “Western values.”
White nationalists often support the idea that white people are under attack in the U.S., and need protection from the growth of minority and immigrant groups. Adherents sometimes use the hashtag #whitegenocide on social media to promote their belief that the future of the white race is in peril. They see diversity as a threat to fight, not a goal to embrace.
Here are some questions and answers about white nationalism in the United States: