Editing American History X (section)

==Plot==
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Danny Vinyard antagonizes his [[Jewish]] history teacher Murray by writing an essay on ''[[Mein Kampf]]''. As a result, [[African Americans|African-American]] principal and [[outreach]] worker Dr. Bob Sweeney gives an ultimatum to either study history directly under him through [[News|current event]]s, "American History X," or be expelled. Danny must write a paper on his older brother Derek, Sweeney's former student and [[neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] leader, whose prison release is scheduled that day.

Years earlier, Danny and Derek's [[firefighter]] father is shot and killed by a black drug dealer while extinguishing a fire at their home. Immediately afterwards, Derek erupts in a televised, racially-motivated tirade. High-profile neo-Nazi Cameron Alexander becomes his [[Mentorship|mentor]], and they form a violent [[White supremacy|white supremacist]] gang called the Disciples of Cameron (D.O.C.) in [[Venice, Los Angeles|Venice Beach]].

A skilled [[basketball]] player, Derek defeats several [[Crips]] members, winning control of the local ball courts. Later, he organizes an attack on an Asian-owned supermarket employing black people and immigrants.

Derek's mother Doris invites Murray, her then boyfriend, to dinner, where an argument about [[Rodney King]] and the [[1992 Los Angeles riots]] ensues. Derek assaults his sister Davina and openly berates Murray, causing Doris to banish Derek.

That night, several Crips members, whom Derek had defeated on the basketball court, attempt to steal his truck. When Danny alerts him, he kills two of them, one with a bullet and the other, by [[curb stomp]]ing him in front of Danny. He is arrested and sentenced to three years in the [[California Institution for Men]] for [[voluntary manslaughter]].

In prison, Derek joins the [[Aryan Brotherhood]] and befriends black inmate Lamont, who was assigned as his workmate in the prison laundry. Disillusioned by [[prison gang]] politics, Derek learns the Aryan Brotherhood is buying drugs from the [[Mexican Mafia]] and then selling to other white inmates. Derek realizes they are a criminal gang using [[neo-Nazism]] and [[white supremacy]] as a [[façade]], and he loses his belief even further when nobody from the D.O.C. visits him. He ultimately abandons the Aryan Brotherhood, who then beat and [[Prison rape in the United States|gang rape]] him in the [[communal shower]].

Derek is visited in the hospital wing by Sweeney, with whom he pleads for help to get out of prison. Sweeney rebukes him for wanting to avoid dealing with the consequences of his actions, revealing his own racist past and warning that Danny has joined the D.O.C. to follow in Derek's footsteps. After recovering and leaving the hospital wing, Derek publicly snubs the Aryan Brotherhood and Lamont warns that he will be murdered by African-American inmates as the Brotherhood no longer protects him. No attack ever comes, though, and, upon his release, Derek thanks Lamont for intervening on his behalf.

Returning home, Derek finds Danny sporting a D.O.C. [[tattoo]] and becoming a [[White power skinhead|skinhead]]. When Derek tries to persuade him to leave the gang, Danny feels betrayed. Derek's best friend Seth, also a D.O.C. member, frequently disrespects Derek's mother and sister while grooming Danny for the group; Cameron controls Seth and Danny closely.

At a D.O.C. compound party, Derek confronts Cameron for using and then abandoning him for three years. He declares his departure from the group and refusal to allow them to use Danny similarly. When mocked, Derek brutally beats Cameron. Seth and the others, including Derek's ex-girlfriend Stacey, attack Derek. Seth pulls a gun, but Derek disarms him and holds everyone at gunpoint before fleeing, tossing the gun into a nearby bin.

Danny finds Derek and angrily confronts him over his actions. Derek tells him about his experience in prison, which seems to prompt a change in him. They return home and remove [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] posters from their shared bedroom. The next morning, Danny completes his paper, reflecting on how Derek initially adopted racist views from their father, as shown in a flashback.

Derek walks Danny to school, stopping at a [[diner]]. Sweeney and a police officer inform him that Seth and Cameron were attacked the night before and are in an [[intensive care unit]]. He denies knowing anything or being involved in any way, but reluctantly agrees to inspect the people he denounced.

Danny is shot dead in a bathroom by a black student he had confronted the day before. Derek runs to the school, pushing past crowds and police officers to find Danny's bloodied corpse. He cradles Danny's body in hysterics, blaming himself for influencing his views and actions. In a [[narration|voiceover]], Danny reads the final lines of his paper for Dr. Sweeney, quoting the final stanza of [[Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address]].