Angela King (born May 26, 1975) is an American peace activist, speaker, and researcher who co-founded the peace advocacy group Life After Hate.[1] King spent eight years in the neo-Nazi skinhead movement before she was arrested, convicted and sentenced to prison for her part in an armed robbery of a Jewish-owned store.[2] She is also a co-founder of ExitUSA, which provides support to individuals who are looking to leave racism and violence behind.[3]

Early life

King was born and raised in South Florida, the eldest of three children. She was raised in a strict conservative family, attended a private Baptist school and Catholic Church services each week.[4] When King was still young her parents divorced; she and her sister lived with their mother, while her brother moved in with her father.[4]

Career

King was arrested in 1998 for armed robbery and served three years in federal prison. There she fell in love with another inmate and the two began a romantic relationship. King has since come out a gay woman.[5] When she was released from prison in 2001, King was dedicated to de-radicalizing and leaving the violent far-right. At the suggestion of her probation officer, she began speaking publicly about her experiences, and attained a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies at the University of Central Florida.[1]

In 2011, she helped co-found Life After Hate and is currently the organization's Director of Innovation & Special Projects. She also co-founded ExitUSA.[6]

In 2018, she was the inspiration for, and was among the cast in, an award-winning virtual reality film, Meeting a Monster, which was produced by Oculus VR and was featured at the Tribeca Film Festival.[7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Providing A Way Forward From Hate--Hate Group Recovery". The Story Exchange. 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  2. ↑ "3 Neo-nazis Plead Innocent In Robbery". tribunedigital-sunsentinel. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  3. ↑ "Life After Hate". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  4. 1 2 Bates, Claire (2017-08-29). "I was a neo-Nazi. Then I fell in love with a black woman". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  5. ↑ "Why are so many white nationalists "virulently anti-LGBT"?". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  6. ↑ Osberg, Molly. "This woman was once a violent skinhead. Now she rehabs former neo-Nazis". Splinter. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  7. ↑ "Meeting a Monster | Oculus VR for Good". www.oculus.com. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  8. ↑ "Meeting a Monster | 2018 Tribeca Film Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
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