Bryon Widner is an American former
white power skinhead
White power skinheads, also known as racist skinheads and neo-Nazi skinheads, are members of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations and ...
.
Involvement with skinhead movement
Widner became a skinhead at the age of 14, and he spent 16 years involved with
white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
organizations in the
midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
.
Described as a "pit bull",
Widner co-founded
Vinlanders Social Club The Vinlanders Social Club (VSC) was formed in 2003 by associates of and previous members of the skinhead group Outlaw Hammerskins. In 2010, the Phoenix Police Department
The Phoenix Police Department is the law enforcement agency responsible ...
, a
white power
White pride and white power are expressions primarily used by white separatist, white nationalist, fascist, neo-Nazi and white supremacist organizations in order to signal racist or racialist viewpoints. It is also a slogan used by the prominent ...
group in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
that soon gained a reputation for excessive violence. This organization became one of the fastest-growing racist skinhead organizations in the US.
Tattoo removal
Widner's efforts to rejoin wider society were significantly hampered by his extensive
facial tattoos, many of which were violent or racist. His wife feared that Widner would take drastic action to remove the tattoos, such as immersing his face in acid. She eventually contacted
anti-racist
Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...
activist
Daryle Lamont Jenkins
Daryle Lamont Jenkins (born July 22, 1968) is an American political activist, best known for founding One People's Project, an organization based in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Jenkins serves as its executive director.
Early life
Jenkins was bor ...
of
One People's Project
One Peoples Project (OPP) is an organisation founded in 2000 to monitor and publish information about alleged racist and far-right groups and individuals, mostly in the United States. The group has about fifteen volunteers in addition to its mo ...
who put him in contact with the
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
(SPLC).
After "several weeks of conversation," SPLC representatives agreed to help Widner in his quest to remove his facial tattoos. They found a plastic surgeon who was willing to perform the procedure, and an anonymous donor provided $35,000 for the procedures.
See also
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Widner, Bryon
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)