Frank Meeink is the most famous ex-skinhead in America, his life the basis for the character of Derek Vinyard, the neo-Nazi portrayed by Edward Norton in American History X. But Frank is not quite Derek; as he states in Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead, “American History X isn’t my story. It’s every skinhead’s story to some extent… it was every other kid who ever got sucked up into the white supremacy movement.”
Frank’s tale, as told to Jody M. Roy, Ph.D., is a harrowing look at the white supremacist, neo-Nazi, and skinhead movements in the US, a graphic depiction of a broken home, drug abuse, addiction, and self-destruction. In South Philly, where “talking shit to somebody’s grandma can get you killed,” Frank is raised in and out of dysfunctional homes and streets infested by ethnic gangs. His only love and release is hockey, and he feels an atavistic pull toward violence, alcohol, and the notoriety offered by white supremacist gangs. Soon he starts beating the hell out of gays and blacks and homeless people. But the objects of his most intense hatred are Jews: “I felt alive when they bled. I craved the power I felt surging through my veins every time I slammed my boot into some dude’s face.”
Frank’s tattoo repertoire includes a swastika on his neck, a ten-inch portrait of Joseph Goebbels on his chest, S-K-I-N-H-E-A-D across his knuckles. When he gets busted after assaulting a gay man one of Frank’s comrades taunts the arresting officer, “I’m Charles Manson, and I’ve got the swastikas to prove it… on my dick. Come on, copper, suck my swastika!”
The narrative borders on sensationalism: Meeink is beaten regularly by his stepfather, his mother lives on pills and alcohol, Frank roams the streets and whomps everyone’s ass, until he himself is raped at gunpoint. The author and editors of Autobiography were clearly concerned about the factual accuracy of these stories; they ran background checks and consulted Meeink’s friends, family, counselors, jailers, and social workers, until they were satisfied with the accuracy of Meeink’s memories.
Amazingly brutal and difficult to digest, Autobiography follows Frank from childhood through his involvement with the white supremacist movement, a felony conviction, and incarceration, introducing readers to the Aryan Nations, the National Alliance, the KKK, and other groups. They celebrate Hitler’s birthday, swap theories about the Zionist Occupational Government, debate the Turner Diaries (a book that influenced Timothy McVeigh), and revere the thugs in A Clockwork Orange. Frank claims to believe in God but accepts the white supremacist version of Christianity. He gushes when introduced to a neo-Nazi hero, describing him as an “Aryan warrior” and “the most hardcore white supremacist I’d met… The red laces in his Doc Martens dripped blood” before the two of them assault a homosexual outside a gay bar. “I felt proud, truly proud, for the first time,” Meeink recalls.
When he’s caught on film committing assault, Frank is arrested and pleads guilty, receiving a sentence of three to five years in prison. His girlfriend is pregnant, he’s an alcoholic, he’s suicidal. “You’re not a ‘race warrior,’” his girlfriend tells him. “You’re a thug.” In Illinois’ Stateville Correctional Center, he becomes a “skinhead celebrity.” But prison opens his eyes. Black inmates offer more support and solidarity than the other skinheads. He plays football on an all-black team. His best friends in prison are black and rather than descend to a deeper white supremacy he sees everyone as of one race.
The transformation continues after his release. He forms a friendship with a Jewish employer and starts speaking out against racism, though without breaking bonds of friendship with his skinhead brothers who eventually brand him a traitor to the race and subject him to the “Axis Stomp.” Addictions with alcohol, cocaine, pills, and heroin while fathering three children with three women add to his drama. However, he starts speaking publicly about the follies of white supremacy, achieves celebrity, and commands lecture fees of $2,000 or more. A life of relative stability begins as he founds Harmony through Hockey, marries, and reconnects with his family.
For all the focus on Meeink’s addictions and travails, Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead doesn’t provide much introspection by its subject. As if to compensate, the book ends with an interview of both Meeink and Roy, in which he discusses religion, spirituality, and his newfound tolerance. “No matter the race or any other differences, we learn to walk at the same time, at about one year, we start to learn to talk at the same time… we’re all human, we all care about the growth of our children.” It would seem to be a tale of redemption, relevant to any reader who wants to understand hatred and take part in the process of forgiveness. But the book’s lasting impression is of the brutality of Meeink’s earlier incarnation, and one wonders if those drawn to white supremacy and hatred could take any lessons from it before their beliefs come to harm others.
10 responses
I don’t know if the author lacked “introspection” but I have not been able to stop thinking about the book since I put it down. I thought it was amazing.
I was so moved by Franks story, My boyfriend was assigned this book for a reading class, I picked it up and couldn’t put it down!!!!!! I feel as though if he can survive all that then my problems aren’t so bad. Thanks Frank for sharing and educating us all.
A YOU WENT TO MY SCHOOL FRANKININ GREELEY CO, I GOT TO SAY THE STORY THAT YOU TOLD US WAS VERY VERY NICE IT GOT TO A LOT OF PEOPLE [KIDS] BUT ANY WAY I WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE IT GOT TO YOU HAVE A AMASING STORY I HOPE IT CAN HELP ALOT OF PEOPLE LIKE ME I WAS SCAMING THRU YOUR BOOK AND MAN I GOT TO SAY I LOVED THAT BOOK IT IT INSPIERING IT SOWS HOW HARD YOU LIVE WHEN YOU WER SMALL YOU DIDN’T KNOW WAT WAS RIGHT FROM WRONG A THAT AGE.
Finished reading the American History X-Treme article and found it extremely interesting and important considering the events of today. My son Mike Newcomb, who is also a physician and the host of The Mike Newcomb Radio Show in Phoenix,Ariz. Station 1480kphx.Mike is a South Philly boy also and he would love to interview both you and Frank on his show if that is possible or just one of you. If, you are interested let me know at my email address which is:
thecaptain2540@aol.com. I am Pat Newcomb father of Mike.
Looking forward to your reply.
Frank’s life was not based on Derek. Both Frank and the writer of the move both denie this. The writer of the film got the idea for the film from growing up in a verry rasist enviroment. He got the idea of Derek from him self growing up. It is a comon mistake.
No, it is not based on a true story. Some people seem to think it is. If you Google “American History X true story” you will find more than a few people who claim it’s a true story, either about a man named Frank Meeink, or some other racist skinhead.Â
But the person who wrote the screenplay, David McKenna, makes no mention of it being a true story (neither does the Wikipedia page nor the imdb page for the movie). See the first Related Link below for McKenna’s account, in his own words, of how he came up with the idea for the story. He says he got the idea from the bigotry he saw when he was growing up. But he does NOT say that the characters and events were specifically based on anyone or anything real.Â
And Frank Meeink’s official website (see second Related Link) says nothing aboutAmerican History X being based on his life. Frank Meeink was indeed a former Nazi skinhead, but the movie American History X was not based on him.Â
So don’t listen to the claims that, “it’s based on Frank Meeink, and I know this because he came to speak at my school.” Frank Meeink and American History Xhave nothing to do with each other. If Mr. Meeink did come to speak at these kids’ schools, then clearly they paid very little attention to what he was saying, since he does NOT claim that American History Xis based on his own life.Â
David McKenna didn’t write American History X. Neither did Tony McKaye. I did. Well, I wrote the original draft anyway. It was called Generation X. It was horribly written, I’ll be the first to admit, bouncing between the past and the present, making it difficult to follow. My mom struggled with the grammar but ultimately suggested it would make a better movie than book (I’d just been discharged from the navy in ’96 when I started writing Generation X, and hadn’t completed so much as English 101 by that point). Obviously, I am a Generation Xer, but the “X” on the cover of my draft was split down the middle, the left side being Malcom X, the right side being the right side of the confederate flag. Unimaginative, true, but apparently it caught someone’s eye, be that David McKenna or Tony McKaye’s, who re-wrote the mess into something far more manageable. In late ’96, early ’97, if I recall correctly, I happened across a small advertisement in the back of a magazine requesting scripts, so I sent off what I had, accompanied by a letter, requesting that if anything should ever come of it, I wanted neither money nor fame (What aspiring writer wants to be typecast as White Supremacist?), convinced what I’d written about was worthy of…something…but unconvinced I was the person to finish the job. I also sent copies to the NAACP, ACLU, and a number of other organizations with the help of a Jewish professor at the College of DuPage. When American History X was released, it was somewhat recognizable, but McKenna had re-written–as I’ve said–a huge, huge mess, extracted the original point–that a White Supremacist can be reformed–and brought to life with the help of others on the silver screen. Why do I mention this now? Who knows. I doubt anyone will believe me anyway.
As for Frank Meeink, I never met the guy. I don’t know anything whatsoever about him.
I could see a slight simialarity with the character of Derek in American History X with the young Muslims joining ISUS terrorist groups or doing terrorist acts.
American History X, which I watched last night was a great movie.
Does anyone know if the subplot surrounding Derek Vineyard’s father was based on a true story? Derek’s father was a white firefighter who was killed in the line of duty by a black man. A very similar thing happened in Denver, CO in January 1993 to a Denver firefighter named Doug Konecny. (Google it for more info). I’m really curious as I grew up in a family of firefighters in Denver.
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