Adam Cohen

About the author: Adam Cohen is a senior writer for the nation section of Time, where he covers law and politics. He has also written for Chicago Magazine, Chicago Tribune and the Harvard Law Review. He lives in New York.

White power music ensnares young people with pounding "hardcore" beats while spreading racist propaganda. Music works well as a recruiting tool because those who would not necessarily be drawn to the white supremacist movement by reading printed literature might be drawn in by an enjoyment of music. Once listeners are exposed to hate lyrics, it is not difficult to convince them to take the next step and join a white supremacist organization.

On first listen, the rock band RaHoWa's song When America Goes Down sounds like any bad hard-core-rock ballad...