One of the greatest worries that I have in the past 2 years is the rising incidents of racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia and the anti-immigrant harassment around the country. The Southern Poverty Law Center has recently reported that the number of hate groups in the U.S. from 892 groups in 2015 to 927 groups in 2016. The rise in hate groups is concurrent with the rise in the Alt Right movement, a white nationalist movement. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes how Alt Right leaders like Richard Spencer, Jared Taylor, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Mike Enoch are promoting the idea that "white identity" is under attack by multicultural forces and that has led the Alt Right movement to attack immigration, the Black Lives Movement, refugees and Muslim Americans. Richard Spencer has specifically stated that the Alt Right movement has as one of its goals to create a new kind of conservative movement to supplant mainstream conservativism. Because of this, conservatives as well as liberals are concerned about the Alt RIght movement and the racism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia that they are trying to incite in the wider society. Conservatives like David Brooks, George Will, Bill Kristol, Glenn Beck and several mainstream conservatives have denounced the Alt Right and its bigotry and xenophobia. I don't agree with their politics, but I admire the integrity and courage of these conservatives in denouncing the Alt Right and withstanding the criticism of their fellow conservatives. These conservatives realize the long term damage that the Alt Right will do to the conservative movement. In the 1950s and 1960s, William F. Buckley used his magazine The National Review to fight the attempts of the John Birch Society and other racist groups from gaining a prominent voice within the conservative movement. Conservatives have a similar challenge right now with the Alt Right. One of the things that gives me hope is a recent article I read in PBS Independent Lens about a group of former white supremacists who are working to get other white racists to reject bigotry in all its forms. Scott Shepard, for instance, is a former Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan who now fighting racism to atone for his past behavior. Reformed racists like Derek Black, T.J. Leyden (a former member of Hammerskin Nation, a neo-Nazi group), and Duke Schneider rejected their racist ideals when they were forced to confront the humanity of the individuals they were taught to hate. One former white supremacist, Arno Michaels, helped found a group called Life After Hate where former white racists help people leave hate groups and build a more positive life.