Christopher Buckley
Afghanistan Veteran; ; Former White Supremacist; ; Founder, TRP(Trauma Recovery Program); interventionist and speaker, Parents For Peace
2021, 2022, 2023
Former extremist and interventionist at Parents for Peace, is an Afghanistan war veteran. When he returned from Afghanistan, he joined the Georgia White Knights as an Imperial Nighthawk, because their anti-Muslim and racist values were consistent with his worldview after returning from war. Arno Michaelis, a former white power skinhead, and Dr. Heval Mohamed Kelli, a Kurdish Muslim refugee, were able to teach Chris the error of his ways and helped bring him out of the movement. He also gives educational speeches to spread awareness and educate the public about the dangers of white supremacist extremism. Chris has now been working with Parents for Peace for four years, providing direct interventions to hundreds of families and individuals of concern. He also founded the Trauma and Recovery program, a program aimed at providing positive coping skills to service members and law enforcement officers. The program was successfully piloted at the Aurora Police Department back in March 2021, currently studying trauma under Dr. Bassel Vanderkolk, and has testified before U.S. Congress at the HVAC in 2022.
The inaugural Eradicate Hate Summit was a truly impressive gathering of leaders dedicated to finding lasting and effective solutions to violent extremism. I was particularly moved by the prominence given to survivors and family members of victims of hate and violence throughout the event. Their stories and those of so many others must be at the center of what we do and why we do it.
