Former white supremacists helping students identify, combat hate

MCFARLAND, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Hundreds of high school students got a unique opportunity to learn about antisemitism and hate crimes after hearing from two former white supremacists.

At McFarland High School, Chris Buckley and Richard McKinney were the keynote speakers at the Youth Unity Summit. Both shared some of the raw details of their lives and how they moved on from a life of hate, to now helping others do the same.

Buckley was a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan's Georgia White Knights. After serving in the Army for 13 years, and tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, Buckley said he was on a downward spiral and had this "resentment and anger inside" him.

That all changed in 2016 after finding an unexpected friendship with a Syrian refugee, Dr. Heval Kelli.

"Taking the step to talk about what got me to that point will help someone else who might be going through some of those situations now, and realize it doesn't end well," Buckley told an auditorium of 350 high school students.

McKinney, who had a 25-year career in the US Marine Corps, said during combat he developed a hatred toward Islam. After returning home, it only worsened.

McKinney planned to plant an explosive device and leave it in front of an Islamic Center in Muncie, Indiana - his hometown. A plot he later abandoned.

"It really was a self-loathing from my own personal situation, and I decided to take it out on other people," McKinney said. "I was wrong. I was wrong in my belief. I was wrong in my actions, and I was wrong."

His story is depicted in the film, "Stranger at the Gate," which recounts how he ended up converting to Islam after walking into the mosque and being accepted with open arms.

"They took me in, and they welcomed me not to become one of them, but just as a neighbor," he said.

Now, Buckley and McKenny travel across the country talking about ways to develop strategies for combating hate and hate-motivated violence. They said it's rare they get to have tough, meaningful conversations with teens and young adults.

"I think these kids are craving to have these conversations," Buckley said. "Rather than politicizing the conversation to the right vs. left mentality, sit down and address it as a human problem and give them the tools they need."

The program was offered through United Against Hate, a nonprofit organization that's working to help students identify potential hate crimes and help prevent future ones from happening.

"We're really trying to elevate students' voices and have them be the ones moving this conversation forward in their schools," said Emily Zachary, unity director, United Against Hate.

More than 350 students from more than 20 Wisconsin high schools attended the event.