David Duke
Won a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1989, becoming the first former Klan leader to hold state office in the United States since the 1970s.
Born 1950 (age 76)·American white supremacist·Birthday: July 1·Baby Boomers
Biography
David Duke served as a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for the 81st District from 1989 to 1992. He secured the position with 50.7% of the vote in a special election, leveraging a platform that substituted explicit racial slurs for terms like 'welfare reform' and 'ethnic integrity.' Duke had served as National Director of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan from 1974 to 1980, where he mandated business attire for members and focused on television interviews. He founded the National Association for the Advancement of White People in 1980. Duke lost a 1990 U.S. Senate race to J. Bennett Johnston and a 1991 gubernatorial runoff to Edwin Edwards. He received 39% of the white vote in the latter contest. A 2002 federal conviction for mail fraud and tax evasion resulted in a 15-month prison sentence. Duke’s political career provided a template for cloosing white nationalist rhetoric within mainstream conservative talking points.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
David was born in 1950, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When David Was Born
The biggest hits of 1950
#1 Movie
Cinderella
Best Picture
All About Eve
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
David's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1950Born
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1955Started school
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1963Became a teenager
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1966Could drive
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1968Could vote
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Turned 21
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1980Turned 30
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 40
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 50
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 60
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 70
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 76 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Elected as a Louisiana State Representative in 1989, serving one full term.
- Founded the National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP) in 1980.
- Authored two books, 'My Awakening' (1998) and 'Jewish Supremacism' (2003), which became foundational texts for modern white nationalist movements.
Did You Know?
Converted to Catholicism in his late teens, later citing it as part of his racial identity formation.
Won the Louisiana State Chess Championship in his youth in 1968.
Served in the United States Army from 1971 to 1974, including a posting in West Germany.
“I am not an anti-Semite. I am a Judaic critic.”
