White Revolution

Headquartered in Mountain View (Stone County), White Revolution was a neo-Nazi group founded by Arkansas native Billy Roper in 2002. Roper copyrighted the name White Revolution and set up a website and forum for members to exchange ideas, post events, and build an online community. Although not an indicator of total group membership, on March 17, 2011, the White Revolution forum had more than 1,200 participants. Before the election of Barack Obama as U.S. president in 2008, the forum hovered at around 300. Roper encouraged members of his group to contribute to the forum and use other social networking media to promote the organization and recruit members. The anti-Semitic organization promoted the interests of whites over other ethnic/racial groups, recruited racially aware members, and educated supporters. Potential members had to be be heterosexual, non-drug users, and of European ancestry. In August 2011, citing health and financial problems, Roper shut down the website, although he continues to be involved in white racial activism in Arkansas.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, White Revolution had been active in sixteen states since its founding: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia. In a survey conducted in 2010, in addition to the states listed above, there were several people who reported European citizenship. Chapter affiliates had been planned for locations in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Germany, according to Roper. Another watchdog group, the Southern Poverty Law Center, reported that although White Revolution tried to become an umbrella for various extremist organizations in Arkansas and other states, the hate group had little success with that goal.

People who joined White Revolution paid monthly dues on a sliding scale based on personal income. These dues financed projects that included the White Family and Community Network. Group members collected donations of clothing, toys, and/or financial contributions for white families that were experiencing economic hardship. White Revolution also sponsored a program for white prisoners called the P.O.W. and White Prisoner Outreach Fund. They collected money for stamps and envelopes, and Roper organized fundraisers to help pay legal defense fees for prisoners deemed as friends of the movement who were believed to be unjustly incarcerated.

White Revolution created the White Caucus, which specifically endorsed white nationalist candidates running for public office. Roper tested the political waters himself in 2010 as a write-in candidate for governor of Arkansas. The long-term goal of the White Caucus was to establish a coalition with the Nationalist Party of America, a political party organized by Roper and promoted heavily on the White Revolution website. A short-term initiative included combining campaign strategies such as ballot access, petition initiatives, and fundraising efforts in order to get as many white nationalist candidates on the ballot in as many states as possible for the 2012 elections. Unable to raise enough funds to keep the party going after the Arkansas gubernatorial election campaign, Roper stopped mobilization efforts.

People who joined White Revolution automatically became members of another neo-Nazi organization, Blood and Honour American Division. Members were encouraged to attend events hosted by Blood and Honour in Arkansas and surrounding states. Roper’s focus was for White Revolution members to participate in cooperative projects and form bonds that could strengthen both groups. White Revolution also forged alliances with Thom Robb’s Knights of the Ku Klux Klan group located in Zinc (Boone County). Under Roper’s leadership, White Revolution members were exposed to Christian Identity theology and were encouraged to support symbols used by the Klan, such as the Confederate flag. In February 2011, White Revolution members traveled to Marshall (Searcy County), where they protested the city council’s ordinance to remove the Confederate flag, which the mayor flew at city hall on Robert E. Lee’s birthday.

Now that White Revolution is defunct, Roper appears to be formally aligning with Robb, who has opened his group to historically non-Klan supporters such as neo-Nazis and skinheads.

For additional information:
Dentice, Dianne. “The Nationalist Party of America: Right-Wing Activism and Billy Roper’s White Revolution.” Social Movement Studies 10 (January 2011): 107–112.

Morlin, Bill. “Racist Leader Billy Roper Shutters White Revolution, Joins Klan.” http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2011/09/08/bill-roper-shutters-white-revolution-joins-klan/ (accessed February 2, 2022).

Snipes, Whitney. “Local Man Seeks High Office.” Russellville Courier, August 16, 2010, pp. 1, 7A.

Dianne Dentice
Stephen F. Austin State University