White Pride provides the viewer with unprecedented access into two of America’s most notorious extremist communities, the Ku Klux Klan and disparate groups of white nationalists. Anthony Karen‘s camera captures not only rare video of a Ku Klux Klan cross lighting ceremony but takes the viewer from public demonstrations to secret meetings and into the homes and lives of his subjects.
White Pride includes an afterword about Karen’s photography by Ben Cosgrove, editor at Life.com, and an interview with the photographer in which he talks about how he gained access to these private communities.
Though they share an ideology of white separatism, the Ku Klux Klan and white nationalists are separated by history, tradition and culture. Karen’s work spans the spectrum of white separatism in America, reminding us of its long history, enduring presence and variety of forms in our society.
From Karen’s interview: ” The ‘dark side of society’ is something very few outsiders have access to, which makes it the perfect place for a visual storyteller to be. The appeal of exploring that realm is a combination of several factors: it’s about the interaction necessary in order to be allowed into a very personal space, the trust that needs to be established in order to be granted the opportunity to bear witness to someone in, potentially, their most vulnerable moment, and the skill and artistry involved in capturing all of that intangible essence with a click of a button.”
Anthony S. Karen is an award-winning photojournalist whose work is focused on outsider groups like those presented in White Pride, practitioners of Voudou in Haiti and the Westboro Baptist Church. His work has appeared in Life, Mother Jones, National Public Radio, the Discovery Channel among others. Karen is a retired U.S. Marine and volunteers regularly for humanitarian medical missions, including: Friends in Deed, Smile Train and Surgical Volunteers International. Karen’s work on extremist groups in the U.S. has been included in Duke Universities Rare Book and Manuscript Library archive.
Anthony S. Karen‘s passion for photography began in Haiti, where he documented the various Vodou rituals and pilgrimages throughout the country. His project was interrupted when an opportunity to photograph a Ku Klux Klan cross lighting came through. Over the years to follow, Anthony found himself with unrestricted access into America’s most private white separatist organizations. Anthony was a contributing member of World Pictures News before going freelance in 2008. Over the years Anthony has worked on several projects, including extensive documentation of the Ku Klux Klan, which led to his first book, The Invisible Empire: Ku Klux Klan, released in 2009 by Powerhouse books. This work has been exhibited at the annual Noorderlicht Festival and featured in various forms of media, such as the Discovery Channel, NPR radio, Life, Mother Jones, Focus and a special release book by Time/Life – Secret Societies. His work has been frequently featured in Norway’s Magasinet Plot and Life.com, including “Inside the Westboro Baptist Church”, which received two MIN Editorial Awards in 2011. Anthony served in the US Marine Corps and worked for many years in the personal protection industry. He has traveled extensively worldwide and has volunteered on numerous international medical missions. His charitable affiliations include Friends in Deed, Hospice, Smile Train, Surgical Volunteers International and the Humane Society. In 2011, Duke Universities Rare Book and Manuscript Library invited Anthony to include his ongoing life’s work to its biographical archives. Earlier that year he received a grant from the George A. Robinson IV Foundation for his work with humanitarian causes.
White Pride by Anthony S. Karen
New digital photo book
with an Afterward by Ben Cosgrove (photo editor at Life.com)
An interview with Anthony S. Karen by publisher Svetlana Bachevanova.
Published by FotoEvidence
168 color photographs of the Ku Klux Klan and white nationalist groups in the U.S.
Rare video of a Ku Klux Klan cross lighting ceremony.
Additional video and audio elements.
