Can someone who has known nothing but violence and bigotry, change his life when the evidence of his past is permanently etched on his face? Lawrence will host this new msnbc documentary, "Erasing Hate," on Sunday June 26 at 9 pm ET.
The piece chronicles Bryon Widner, a former skinhead. While most skinheads are known for sporting tattoos, Bryon’s head-to-toe ink made his appearance especially menacing.
After years of extreme violence against minorities in the name of the white race, Bryon’s life changed forever when he became a husband and father in 2006. He and his wife knew they couldn’t raise their family within the white power movement, but getting out wasn’t easy.
Bryon’s racist tattoos were a constant reminder of his violent past and he found it nearly impossible to support his family. With financial aid from the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2009, Widner made the life-changing decision to embark on an extensive and excruciating 20-month laser removal process at Vanderbilt University.
“Erasing Hate” producers spent nearly two years chronicling Bryon’s incredibly painful tattoo removal treatment — a penance of sorts for the hurt caused to so many others.