ACOM’s ethnic media briefing pulls back the curtain on how once-fringe ideologies now shape laws, faith, and public life
White supremacist ideology is no longer confined to extremist fringes. ACOM’s national briefing with ethnic media reveals how racism and Christian nationalism are reshaping American politics and policy.
Magazine, The Immigrant Experience
In an America increasingly fractured by culture wars and political division, it was a briefing designed not just to inform but to awaken.
Hosted by American Community Media (ACOM), the weekly ethnic media national briefing on November 14th, 2025, brought together leading scholars and journalists to explore an unsettling trend: the mainstreaming of white supremacist ideology.
Pilar Marrero, ACOM’s Associate Editor and a veteran journalist known for elevating Latino and immigrant voices, opened the conversation with a sobering observation: “White supremacist and far-right ideologies that once operated at the margins have increasingly entered mainstream political, cultural, and even religious life in the United States.”
The panel was stacked with some of the country’s sharpest observers of extremism. Dr. Sanford F. Schram, Adjunct Lecturer in Political Science, Stony Brook University (SUNY) and co-author of Hard White: The Mainstreaming of Racism in American Politics; Matthew D. Taylor, Ph.D., Senior Christian Scholar, Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies (ICJS), and author of The Violent Take It By Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy; and Heath Druzin, journalist and host of the Extremely American podcast, covering the mainstreaming of extremist and militia movements, as well as Christian Nationalism
Each of them, from their vantage points in academia, journalism, religion, and data-driven research, painted a grim but necessary portrait of where the nation stands.
From Backlash to Blueprint
For Dr. Schramm, the rise of white identity politics can be traced to a singular moment: the election of Barack Obama. “It triggered a resurgence of racial resentment that had long been brewing,” he explained, noting that even during Reagan-era conservatism, figures like Pat Buchanan had already begun to mainstream sanitized versions of Klan rhetoric. That arc found its full expression in Donald Trump, whose racially inflammatory rhetoric normalized grievance politics.
But this isn’t just about one president. Beauregard underscored that what we’re seeing is not a spontaneous cultural shift but the fruits of decades-long organizing. From militia groups to COVID-denial activists, the far right has created vast networks of influence. “Movements matter,” he said pointedly. IREHR has tracked nearly 1,000 state legislators affiliated with extremist groups. The result? Conspiracy theories like chemtrails have gone from fringe flyers to state-level policy.
The Gospel According to Nationalism
Matthew Taylor offered a piercing look into how Christian nationalism intertwines with this racial agenda. He outlined three main strands: far-right Catholic traditionalists, Calvinist patriarchs like Doug Wilson in Idaho, and independent charismatic movements that believe Trump is a divine figure.
“Trump has uniquely enlisted this coalition,” Taylor noted, pointing to Paula White—Trump’s spiritual advisor and a leading voice in the prosperity gospel movement. These spiritual narratives don’t just prop up a political figure; they sanctify a vision of America where whiteness, patriarchy, and Christian dominance are divinely ordained.
Heath Druzin brought those ideologies down to street level, or rather, small-town Idaho. His reporting on Doug Wilson’s Christ Church reveals how theology becomes strategy. Wilson runs a 500-school Christian education network and has established media, publishing, and entertainment arms. His mission? As Druzin put it: “To recreate society in a fundamentalist Christian image.”
Replacement Rhetoric and Immigrant Blame
Unsurprisingly, immigrants are central targets of this ideological campaign. In response to a question from Pamela Cruz of Ethnic Media Services, panelists emphasized how white nationalist narratives frame immigration as a threat to white dominance.
The “Great Replacement Theory,” once dismissed as a neo-Nazi delusion, is now echoed by mainstream pundits and politicians. Beauregard warned that such framing is not just rhetoric—it’s policy. From mass deportation plans to anti-immigrant education bills, the ideas once whispered at Aryan Nation compounds are now being shouted from statehouses.
Journalists on the Front Lines
For ethnic media outlets, this moment demands vigilance. “Know the language,” urged Taylor. Dog whistles are often cloaked in talk of “heritage,” “tradition,” or “protecting the family.” Druzin added that journalists should track the infrastructure of these movements—the school curriculums, the book fairs, and the churches. These are not isolated extremists; they are organized communities with resources, rhetoric, and political access.
One journalist asked, “With declining church attendance, how can Christian nationalism be growing?” Taylor’s answer was chilling: because power, not faith, is the goal. As some white Christians feel themselves becoming a minority, they grasp for control—not through conversion, but legislation.
What Comes Next
The panel ended with a challenge. As immigrant communities, journalists, and concerned citizens, what do we do with this knowledge?
Schramm offered a warning wrapped in clarity: “This movement doesn’t end with Trump. White identity politics is now a durable force.”
And Beauregard added, “Ideas that seemed laughable five years ago are now public policy.”
Which means we can no longer treat these developments as fringe. The pipeline from meme to movement to law is real.
For immigrant communities, especially, the stakes are life-altering. In schools, in immigration courts, and in voting booths, these ideologies are already shaping outcomes.
We cannot look away. And ethnic media—trusted, local, truth-telling—remains one of the strongest lines of defense.
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