Fighting Fear

By Julie Duffin
September 2025 View more Books

As an investigative journalist, Robert W. Fieseler isn’t afraid to expose some of the darker moments in American history. In fact, the Naperville native finds hope and inspiration in discovering how marginalized communities have been able to stand up to their oppressors.

In his latest book, American Scare: Florida’s Hidden Cold War on Black and Queer Lives, Fieseler shines a light on a group of Florida lawmakers who targeted Black civil rights workers and closeted gay teachers as part of an anti-communist purge in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

“For nearly a decade, the government-funded Florida Legislative Investigation Committee [the Johns Committee] harassed anyone it felt was a threat to the state’s white, conservative regime,” he says. “This group planted seeds of fear-based politics so deeply, it continues to impact our country today.”

Fieseler spent years researching state archives, conducting interviews, and decoding censored documents to tell the stories of those targeted. “While I can’t change what happened to them, I can give them back their voices and give them their due,” he says. “I firmly believe that the truth is liberating. Knowing the truth gives you something to work with, and it makes it easier to work with the present.”

Photos: Robert W. Fieseler