Once a skinhead, now he speaks of harmony

Frank Meeink wasn't always a good guy.

As a member of an underground Nazi movement dubbed the Strike Force, Meeink said that he "rarely went more than a week without beating on somebody."

Meeink was so proud of his violent acts, he videotaped them. When a video of the skinhead kicking and beating a victim for hours fell into the hands of Illinois authorities, Meeink was arrested and served nearly a year in prison when he was 18.

While in prison, he forged a close friendship with two black inmates. It was the relationships he formed behind bars that eventually led to Meeink's decision to turn his life around and leave the skinheads once he was released.

The 35-year-old South Philadelphia native now takes a message of harmony throughout the country to help prevent young kids from following in his footsteps.

Meeink shared his story with students from South Philadelphia and Lamberton high schools at the Wells Fargo Center yesterday afternoon.

"The kids that were there really seemed to receive his message well," said Lisa Friedlander, project director for the Anti-Defamation League. "He's not preaching to them, not telling a sob story, and not looking for sympathy; he's telling his truth."

Meeink's story is filled with grim tales of drug and alcohol addiction, suicide attempts, his being abused as a child and his own acts of unmerciful violence committed against anyone - even those of his own race.

The tales are detailed in his book, "Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead," which was published this year.

"I would hang out and do criminal things, thug things," Meeink said. "It didn't matter who it was, whatever it was, it wasn't good."

The father of five said he uses his violent past to encourage racial diversity and acceptance.

For more than a decade, Meeink has been speaking on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League, an organization dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry.

Barry Morrison, regional president of ADL, was one of the first to embrace Meeink when he decided to depart from the skinhead ideology.

"He was the embodiment of a skinhead, but he was ready to make a turn," Morrison said. "We supported that."

Along with members of the ADL staff, Morrison began finding venues for Meeink to speak with anyone who would listen.

Besides his motivational speaking tours, Meeink launched a hate-prevention program with the Philadelphia Flyers called Harmony Through Hockey. He has since launched similar programs in Iowa.

"Everything I do now is to feed the good dog in my head because I know whichever dog I feed the most will win," Meeink said.