Tom Martinez used to be a racist, living a life of anger and crime as a member of various hate and terrorist organizations.
At 6 p.m. tomorrow, a reformed Martinez will speak at Baker University Center Ballroom.
Martinez’s appearance is sponsored by Students Teaching About Racism in Society (S.T.A.R.S), Student Senate, The Kennedy Lecture Series and the Black Student Union.
Keith Hawkins, a sophomore studying astrophysics and co-president of S.T.A.R.S, said it is important for students not to forget the influence racism still holds.
“I’ve noticed that there are many people who believe racism is dead or gone. That couldn’t be further from the truth,” Hawkins said. “You can see a lot of racism even here on campus. As a group, we work to fight racism and raise awareness about this ongoing issue.”
Martinez, who is white, grew up in Philadelphia in the ’70s and was singled out in his primarily black high school.
“My life was turned upside-down by bullies. That’s where it all started for me. From there, I progressed to worse things,” he said.
Martinez added that he suffered frequent abuse from racially motivated bullying. After one of his best friends was stabbed, Martinez dropped out of school to preserve his safety.
“To tell you the truth, I hated black people,” he said. “Man, if you met me then and you were black, you better get out of my way. That’s how angry I was as a kid.”
Martinez went on to be involved with the Ku Klux Klan and various other neo-Nazi socialist terror groups before being arrested for passing counterfeit money.
“There was a man I knew who bragged to me about burying a body. … A contract was put out on this man, and he was taken out to the woods and beaten to death with a sledge hammer,” he said.
“That was the turning point for me that made me go in and talk to the federal government.”
After testifying against his fellow group members and putting his life at risk by going undercover for the FBI, Martinez said he and his family were placed in the federal witness protection program. His name, Tom Martinez, is actually an alias.
“I believe in helping people. I’m for the working class. I’m for the middle-class people. I’m for the poor people,” he said. “Whether you’re black, white, yellow, red, gay or straight — I’m here to help.”
Tonight, Martinez, who wrote a book about his experiences and has been lecturing about the dangers of hate and racism for 27 years now, will speak about topics including his faked murder and his decision to leave the witness protection program.
cd234008@ohiou.edu
@ThePostCulture
