Frank Meeink
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Frank Meeink (born Francis Steven Bertoline; May 7, 1975) is a former
white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
skinhead gang member in the United States. After a three-year stint in prison, he left the racist
skinhead A skinhead or skin is a member of a subculture that originated among working-class youth in London, England, in the 1960s. It soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working-class skinhead movement emerging worldwide i ...
movement and now lectures against it.


Early life

Born in
South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...
, Meeink lived a violent and unpleasant childhood with a lack of a structured family.Powell, Caleb. The Nervous Breakdown. 15 January 2011. In his early life, he had no relationship with his biological father and had an abusive stepfather. Meeink's mother abused drugs and alcohol. As a teenager, Meeink was constantly bullied and taunted at school because his peers considered him to be an outcast. At age thirteen, Meeink was out with his cousin when he discovered the
Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
movement. Meeink has some ancestors who were
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
but had no idea of this fact until much later in his life when he left prison in the midst of his anti-hate work. While studying for a documentary, a rabbi helped Meeink discover his Jewish roots. Since his Jewish heritage is matrilineal, he is halachically Jewish.


Life in prison

At 17, Meeink was arrested after he had nearly killed a man and had kidnapped another.Powell, Caleb. American History X-treme. 16 March 2010. 27 January 2013 Meeink used a gun in the kidnapping, which led to him being tried as an adult; he had recorded the attack on videotape. Meeink had also been arrested prior for smaller crimes,A 'Recovering Skinhead' On Leaving Hatred Behind. 7 April 2012. 27 January 2013 for these, he was sentenced to three years in prison. Meeink served his prison term near
Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...
. Prison changed his life. He met people of many different ethnicities. Due to a shared interest in sports, Meeink became friends with many black prisoners. In games like football and basketball, Meeink earned the respect of fellow black inmates. Moreover, Meeink felt that the black inmates supported him more than the skinheads while in prison.


Life after prison

After being released from prison, Frank tried to return to his past life, but realized that during his time in prison he had learned that he did not have the same prejudices he had prior to his incarceration.Meeink, Frank. "A 'Recovering Skinhead' On Leaving Hatred Behind." NPR. NPR, 07 Apr. 2010. Web. 03 Feb. 2013. He also continued to suffer from not having a stable home and was almost lost to drug addiction. The 1998 film ''
American History X ''American History X'' is a 1998 American crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye (in his feature directorial debut) and written by David McKenna. The film stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong as two brothers from Los Angeles who are invol ...
'' is loosely inspired by Meeink's life in numerous ways. The film's main character, Derek, played by
Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. After graduating from Yale College in 1991 with a degree in history, he worked for a few months in Japan before moving to New York City ...
, becomes a skinhead after his father is killed by black drug dealers, and helps start a Neo-Nazi gang in Los Angeles. Like Meeink, the character goes to prison for 3 years for the murder of two black gang members. In prison, he too forms a bond with an African American inmate, and they share love of
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, among other things. After he gets out of prison, he decides to leave the Nazi movement he helped form. Norton was nominated for an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for his performance. After Meeink served his prison sentence, he went back to where he had spent his childhood in South Philadelphia and by helping with the local hockey team, the
Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...
, he created Harmony Through Hockey. This organization was created to give young kids a chance to stay out of the way of violence and have fun while participating. He also visits schools and gives lectures on his life and how to avoid falling into violence and crime. During a March 2021 interview on CNN, Meeink commented on the effect of
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
:
Fox News has completely radicalized so many Americans. If you look at Fox News and then you compare that to hate radio from
Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
, and what started that civil war, there’s comparisons there. We have to know that a lot of our fellow Americans, our fellow children of god, have been radicalized by a network of news. As a former radical, I can tell you, from watching Fox News all day, I can show you where they’re saying radical stuff that I used to say...instead of when I would say “Jews”, they say “Big Media”. They just swapped out a couple of words here and there.


Notes

* A 'Recovering Skinhead' On Leaving Hatred Behind. 7 April 2012. 27 January 201
A 'Recovering Skinhead' On Leaving Hatred Behind
* Meeink, Frank. Autobiography of Frank Meeink Students at Ashford University. 29 January 2013. * Meeink, Frank. "A 'Recovering Skinhead' On Leaving Hatred Behind." National Public Radio, 7 April 2010. Web. 3 February 2013. * Powell, Caleb. American History X-treme. 16 March 2010. 27 January 201
American History X-treme
* Powell, Caleb. The Nervous Breakdown. 15 January 2011. 31 January 201
The Frank Meeink Interview
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeink, Frank Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Criminals from Philadelphia 1975 births American anti-fascists Former white supremacists Jewish American anti-racism activists American anti-racism activists 21st-century American Jews