 "Photo: T.J. Leyden")
As T.J. Leyden walks on stage he looks seemingly normal - light blue jeans, rectangular-rimmed glasses and two layered shirts - a green, short-sleeved T-shirt over a beige, long-sleeved shirt. Upon first glance, one would never know the long-sleeved shirt - a constant staple of his wardrobe - conceals dozens of tattoos of Nazi symbols, permanent reminders of a past filled with racism and violence.
Leyden spent 15 years as a neo-Nazi white supremacy activist and recruiter. He said characters in the movie "American History X" are loosely based off his life. Now he speaks on campuses nationwide promoting diversity and tolerance and denouncing the hate that filled his past.
On Nov. 10 Leyden, accompanied by an armed guard, gave a speech titled "Turning Away from Hate" to a crowd of approximately 700 students in Trabant University Center. A majority of the attendees were members of the Greek Community, as the event was sponsored and paid for by the Interfraternity Council and only announced to Greek organization members. Leyden's contract prohibited campus-wide advertisement to protect his safety.
IFC's Vice President Judicial Kevin Shalley began the event by introducing Leyden and describing the speaker's former life, which involved becoming a neo-Nazi skinhead at age 15 and spending the next 15 years promoting, organizing and recruiting for white supremacy.
"At one point, he had more than 29 tattoos of swastikas and other Nazi symbols covering his body," Shalley said. "He spent holidays and family vacations at white supremacist events. He committed violent acts against Jews, blacks, Latinos, homosexuals and other minority groups on a regular basis - he even hung a Nazi flag over the crib of his newborn son."
Shalley then discussed Leyden's transformation from neo-Nazi to motivational speaker and questioned the audience about what lesson everyone can take from Leyden's story.
He said although Leyden receives regular death threats and must take extraordinary measures to protect himself from his former friends, Leyden has become an advocate for appreciating the difference in all people.
"How can a man turn away from a life of hate that defined him for so long and what can we learn from his experiences that will help to combat hatred in our community?" Shalley said.
Leyden began his speech with a disclaimer emphasizing the fact he is not proud of his past. In recounting stories from his former life, he is only trying to encourage understanding rather than to boast or brag about who he once was.
The first half of the speech was dominated by descriptions of Leyden's life as a white supremacist. He recalled graphically violent stories about his time as a neo-Nazi, ranging from drive-by shootings to beatings targeted toward racial minorities to the infamous "American History X" curb stomp scene, which he said he witnessed.
Leyden also discussed how he became a part of the Neo-Nazi movement, the acceptance of racism during his service in the Marine Corps, the idea of separatism among different races and the tactics used by white supremacy groups to recruit new members, especially children, through the use of cartoons, video games and music.
He also addressed common misconceptions and the changing face of Neo-Nazis in this country, stating, "Not all racists are rednecks in pick-up trucks with baseball bats -the majority of racists in this country are just the opposite," listing a number of leaders in the white supremacist movement who are scientists, inventors and other professions.
"None of these guys drove pickup trucks, and they sure as shit didn't carry baseball bats," Leyden said. "You're looking at the most educated people, some of them, that are out there and that is why they're the most dangerous sorts of racists because they're educating men with ideas."
In the second half of the speech, he described what sparked his own transformation into an activist against racism, bigotry and prejudice.
Leyden identified his own turning point as a moment when his 3-year-old son referred to a black actor on the children's show "Gullah Gullah Island" with a racial slur.
Although he explained his initial response to his young son's racism was excitement, he eventually came to a realization about his children's futures.
"I was looking at them and I was trying to think of who they were going to be, but all I could see in their future was me and my cousins and my friends," Leyden said. "I started thinking about the 16 times I got arrested, the time I was stabbed when I was 18, the multiple times I've been shot at. I was thinking about who my kids were going to be."
He said he began to wonder whether or not the cause he had so strongly believed in was worth it.
"I started thinking and I asked myself this question," Leyden said. "Are you ready to sacrifice your children for your beliefs? Do you believe in it so much that you are willing to watch your children die for it? The weird thing was the answer in my head was no."
He said 18 months after that particular incident, he decided to leave the white supremacist movement. Since that moment, Leyden has worked for the Simon Wiesenthal Center teaching about fighting against hate; spoken at a White House Conference on hate; trained at the Pentagon, the FBI and military bases and for numerous law enforcement agencies; testified against former friends on trial for hate crimes; lectured across the country and created the organization Str8 Talk Consulting.
Leyden advised attendees to combat racism by not condoning it.
"Next time we are in the presence of a racist joke or hear a bigoted comment and you do nothing, I want you to remember something - you just became silent, indifferent and complacent," Leyden said. "You just became part of the disease of spreading racism rather than part of the cure of ending racism."
Leyden ended with two pieces of advice for students. The first was to attack racists not with acts of violence but rather through thoughtful resistance.
"You ever see Dr. Martin Luther King at a Klan rally? No," Leyden said. "He fought racism where it was truly dangerous, where it was institutionalized."
The second bit of advice was students should act as positive mentors to the youth in their communities.
"There's a kid in this town or the town that you're from who needs your help," Leyden said. "Either the Boys Club, the Girls Club, the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, a mentoring program, they need your help. Help this world stop creating people like me."
Assistant Director of Student Centers Matt Lenno said this is Leyden's second visit to the university as he spoke two years ago to the Greek community.
"You could hear a pin drop in the room," Lenno said. "It was so moving and so informational for students that there were requests to bring him back."
IFC President Matt Gallo said Leyden was chosen because the IFC attempts to book different speakers to educate the Greek community on a diverse range of topics.
Gallo said it was necessary to approach this speaker differently than other speakers in the past.
"We said all right, if we're going to bring him in, we need to keep it quiet - well not quiet - but appeal to Greek students," Gallo said. "We didn't advertise or sell tickets."
He said last year's speaker Paul Rusesabagina, on whom the movie "Hotel Rwanda" is based, was more publicized.
"We advertised that to the whole community, Newark, basically the whole town," Gallo said. "We wanted to bring in a diverse group but this was just aimed at juniors, seniors, sophomores, whatever, but people we knew would feel comfortable and wouldn't be shocked when they came in like 'Oh my god, what am I listening to?' "
He said although, for the most part, attendees' response were positive, some students were uneasy with the manner in which Leyden spoke.
"He holds nothing back when he speaks," Gallo said. "A lot of people were offended - well maybe not offended - but shocked and surprised by the way he presented it."
Junior Jessica Baroff said she was disturbed by the event.
"I think maybe he talked way too much about hate rather how to actually prevent hate," Baroff said.
She said she thinks Leyden's detailed account of life as a white supremacist could in some cases encourage the wrong type of effects on audience members.
"I was really upset and I just thought he took is way too far." Baroff said. "Mainly, the thing is if someone thought they might want to get involved in the movement, he was there basically showing here's the Web sites you can go to, here's where you can buy a Nazi doll. He was inadvertently showing you. It was a two-sided thing. He was like 'I'm against the hate, but here's where you can go to if you want to get involved.' "
She said she feared the contents of Leyden's lecture could be used negatively if the wrong type of person was in attendance.
"I was worried that even though all the people who attended were a part of Greek life, maybe there was one person who was unsure of themselves at that point in life or maybe a little depressed or trying to get involved in something," Baroff said. "They could maybe get pulled into the propaganda he's proposing."
Sophomore Jared Weintraub said he thought the graphic nature of the speech was vital to promoting understanding.
"I think that there were people who probably wouldn't have felt as strongly about his argument if he was just wishy-washy about it instead of being so detailed and putting it in people's faces and saying this is reality," Weintraub said.
He said Leyden's speech was both informational and inspirational.
"It was interesting to hear what it was like to be on the other side of things like to be very racist and discriminatory," Weintraub said. "It was also good to hear a success story. He dropped out and turned his life around for the better so I thought it was a good message."
Lenno said he believes students are so affected by Leyden because he exposes them to a lifestyle they may have not understood otherwise.
"Many students on campus sometimes don't get the life experiences they need, and sometimes they lead a sheltered life," he said. "This was one of those experiences where people can see something that have never encountered and see how it has affected other people in the world."
Lenno, who said he got chills throughout the speech, said Leyden inspires students by highlighting anyone's potential to change.
"He was a skinhead," he said. "He was a miserable human being. He bred hate and he has shown that he can change. Not only is this a speaker on diversity but he is a motivational speaker. He has shown that he can change and he leads a movement against hate no matter what the cost is to his family or whatever it may be. If someone like that, that horrible of a human being can change, anybody can change what they're doing and anyone can change their message."
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