The current state of white supremacist groups in the U.S.

[ellenrr]

How many white supremacist groups are there right now?

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups in the United States, estimates that there are a little more than 930 such groups in the country right now. Most of these are white supremacist groups or white nationalist groups, according to Potok, a senior fellow at the SPLC.

Is that more groups than there were recently? Fewer groups? Give me some context.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/12/30/the-current-state-of-white-supremacist-groups-in-the-u-s/

[countryjake]

1. Up by 56% since 2000.

Hate and Extremism

http://www.splcenter.org/what-we-do/hate-and-extremism

Since 2000, the number of hate groups has increased by 56 percent. This surge has been fueled by anger and fear over the nation’s ailing economy, an influx of non-white immigrants, and the diminishing white majority, as symbolized by the election of the nation’s first African-American president.

These factors also are feeding a powerful resurgence of the antigovernment “Patriot” movement, which in the 1990s led to a string of domestic terrorist plots, including the Oklahoma City bombing. The number of Patriot groups, including armed militias, skyrocketed following the election of President Obama in 2008 – rising 813 percent, from 149 groups in 2008 to an all-time high of 1,360 in 2012. The number fell to 1,096 in 2013.

This growth in extremism has been aided by mainstream media figures and politicians who have used their platforms to legitimize false propaganda about immigrants and other minorities and spread the kind of paranoid conspiracy theories on which militia groups thrive.

[loyalsister]

2. Here is where they are

I was surprised by the northeastern states. Vermont??

The SPLC notes that in 2013, 939 different hate groups were active in the United States. Every state except Hawaii, had at least one hate group. California led the way in the total number of hate groups with 77, followed by Florida with 58, and Texas with 57.

However, if one measures hate groups per capita, Arkansas leads the way with one hate group for every 123,000 residents. Closely following Arkansas in hate groups per capita are the states of Montana, Mississippi, Vermont and Tennessee.

http://www.liberalamerica.org/2014/12/27/the-state-of-hate-in-every-state/

I don't know details about the developments in recent history, but the Southern Poverty Law Center has a wealth of information.