by Hibah Samad
“Violence and abuse were a common part of my life. I was a kid that lived in fear,” said Frank Meeink.
As a 14-year-old skinhead gang member living in South Philadelphia, Meeink said he yearned for a sense of belonging, and being around his older cousins who were part of the neo-Nazi movement, had swastikas tattooed on them and “spoke angrily,” he soon became a person others feared. He began to feel like he mattered.
Moving to a new school that had a predominantly Black student population, Meeink began fighting. He chose the path of white supremacy with the mindset that “others” from different ethnicities were the reasons that bad things were happening in the world. He got a swastika tattooed on his neck to provide his loyalty. He soon became one of the most well-known skinhead gang members in the country. He had his own public access show, The Reich, and appeared on Nightline and other media outlets as a spokesman for the neo-Nazi movement.
At 18, Meeink found himself in a prison in Chicago for kidnapping an individual for having an “Antifa” ideology — activists known not for what they support, but what they oppose, which includes white supremacy. He said that once he went to prison there were a “bunch of moments” that kept happening that eventually led him to change his life journey. A part of it was that in prison he spent time with people from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. Individuals who he got along with better than the people he is used to being around. He started reevaluating his own racist beliefs and his transformation began.
“I got out of prison. I have a big swastika on my neck…no one was going to give me a job, but a Jewish person gave me a job working in his antique company,” Meeink said.
Meeink said no matter what mistakes he made on the job, the man was always nice to him and encouraged him.
Eventually, Meeink rejected all of his old beliefs and became a civil rights activist. He’s been an activist for 25 years, but found out only in 2017 through a DNA test he is of Jewish ancestry. He said that despite going through the ups and downs in life, from battling with drugs, and alcohol, to losing his son and mother, there were always signs leading to where he is today — an advocate for tolerance and diversity.
After moving to California two decades ago, Meeink began speaking at schools to share his story. “I started to believe in karma. I had to build good karma,” he said. He started doing this by talking to people from the heart, which drew him into activism. But he has also started organizations called “Life After Hate” and “Harmony for Hockey” that aspire to change people’s lives.
This Thursday, April 20, Meeink will share his journey away from a life of hatred and white supremacy toward his mission to make the world understand the negative impact of misguided hatred. Hosted by the South Bay Coalition Against Hate, the event will take place at American Martyrs.
Meeink said he wants to impact the younger generations now so that one day they can “write an obituary to racism.”
Learn more about the event and register here. You can also read more about him in his book, Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead.
