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Council of Conservative Citizens

 
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Logo of the Council of Conservative Citizens.

The Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC) is an American political organization that supports a large variety of conservative and paleoconservative causes in addition to white nationalism and white separatism. Some members of the CofCC board of directors are former leaders of the segregationist Citizen Councils of America, founded by Major Bob Patterson, which is sometimes referred to as the White Citizens' Council. It is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and its most active chapter is in Mississippi. Other US states with active chapters include Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, California and New York. Sporadic CofCC activities occur in other parts of the country as well.

Contents

History

The CofCC was founded in 1988 in Atlanta, Georgia, and is now headquartered in St. Louis. The CofCC was formed by various leaders of the Citizens' Councils of America, sometimes called "Citizens' Council", the American Populist Party, and others. Lester Maddox, the late former segregationist governor of Georgia, was a charter member.[1] Gordon Lee Baum is the current CEO. Tom Dover, head of Dover Cylinder Repair is the president. Leonard Wilson, a former Alabama State Committeeman for both Republican and Democratic parties, sits on the CofCC Executive Board. Bill Lord Sr, Carrol County Coroner, former head of the Carrol Academy School Board, also sits of the Executive Board.

In 1997, several members of the CofCC attended an event hosted by Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front party. The delegation from the CofCC presented Le Pen with a Confederate flag, which had been flown over the South Carolina state capitol building.[2]

The CofCC became involved in national politics during the 1990s when it was discovered by journalists and researchers that many politicians, including Bob Barr, had belonged to or spoken at CofCC functions (saying later in Barr's case that he found the groups' racial views to be "repugnant," and didn't realize the nature of the group when he agreed to attend), had either attended the group's meetings, corresponded with its leaders, and/or spoken favorably of it.[3] Subsequently it was found that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott had also spoken at a CofCC meeting. In the ensuing controversy the CofCC was denounced by the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Jim Nicholson, for holding "racist and nationalist views". Other national and state politicians who have given speeches or attended CofCC meetings include former Senator Jesse Helms, and former governors H. Guy Hunt of Alabama and Kirk Fordice of Mississippi. Former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt also attended event of the organization's St. Louis predecessor the "Metro-South Citizens Council" shortly before the name change in the mid-1980s. This was an event he has repeatedly referred to as a mistake.[4]

The SPLC and the Miami Herald tallied a further 38 federal, state, and local politicians who appeared at CofCC events between 2000 and 2004.[5]

The ADL states the following politicians are members or have spoke at meetings: Senator Trent Lott, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Mississippi state senators Gary Jackson, and Dean Kirby, several Mississippi state representatives. People who have also spoken at CofCC meetings include Ex-Governors Guy Hunt of Alabama, and Kirk Fordice of Mississippi. U.S. Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi is said to have attended as well.[6]

In 1993, Mike Huckabee, then the Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas, agreed to speak at the CofCC's national convention in Memphis, Tennessee. By the time of the convention, Huckabee was unable to leave Arkansas. Instead, he sent a videotaped speech, which "was viewed and extremely well received by the audience," according to the CofCC newsletter.[7] In April 1994, Huckabee withdrew from a speaking engagement before the CofCC. He commented, "I will not participate in any program that has racist overtones. I've spent a lifetime fighting racism and anti-Semitism."[8]

In 2005, the Council of Conservative Citizens held its National Conference in Montgomery, Alabama. George Wallace Jr., an Alabama Public Service Commissioner and former State Treasurer who was then running for Lieutenant Governor, and Sonny Landham, an actor, spoke at the conference.

Issues

The CofCC considers itself a traditional conservative group opposing liberals and neo-conservatives and they also seek to promote some of the ideals of the Confederate States of America. Its specific issues include states rights, race relations, and conservative Christianity. They have criticized Martin Luther King,[9] Abraham Lincoln, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Frankfurt School on their website. Consistent with paleoconservatism, they regard American culture as an offshoot of the European cultural tradition.

The Council of Conservative Citizens is currently fighting against immigration by non-whites, affirmative action and racial quotas, interracial marriage, free trade, homosexuality, forced busing for school integration, and gun control. The CofCC also looks favorably towards European nationalist and anti-immigration groups such as British National Party, Front National, and Vlaams Belang.

In 2005 the CofCC staged the largest protest ever held in front of the offices of the SPLC in Montgomery, Alabama. About 72 members demonstrated and received state-wide publicity. The CofCC has also protested speaking engagements by Morris Dees in Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Indiana, and South Carolina.

Activities

The CofCC publishes the Citizens Informer newspaper quarterly. Previously edited by the late Samuel T. Francis, Joel T. LeFevre took over, and the editorial board includes Baum, Virginia Abernethy, Sam G. Dickson, Wayne Lutton, and Jared Taylor. Recent contributors to the Citizen Informer have included Lawrence Auster, Louis Calabro and Robert Locke. It has also printed syndicated columns of Joseph Sobran, Patrick Buchanan and Congressional speeches of Ron Paul. Numerous Mississippi businesses advertise in the Citizens Informer, most notably the famous Crystal Grill.

The CofCC has a non-profit foundation, the Conservative Citizens Foundation, which is currently raising money for a Confederate monument project.

State chapters

Tennessee

In Tennessee there are several chapters. One in west Tennessee, one in Middle Tennessee, one for east Tennessee and another for southeast Tennessee. In Western Tennessee the chapter runs the The Political Cesspool radio show.

Mississippi

In Mississippi there are several chapters that are working closely with private “academies”. These academies (many of which were originally called “council schools”) in Mississippi are inexpensive private schools that provide whites with an alternative to sending their children to majority-black public schools.

Mississippi is the only state that has major politicians who are open CofCC members, including State Senators and State Representatives. The CofCC once claimed 34 members in the Mississippi legislature.[10]

Every four years, Mississippi State Chairman Bill Lord holds the Blackhawk Rally in Blackhawk, Mississippi. The rally raises money for the Carroll County Academy busing association that provides buses for private academies. The rally is co-sponsored by the CofCC and other county organizations.

Haley Barbour, a long-time Republican National Committee chairman and later the Governor of Mississippi, spoke at a Blackhawk Rally. A photograph of Barbour with CofCC members appeared on the CofCC webpage during Barbour's gubernatorial campaign, and a firestorm of media demanded that Barbour ask for his picture to be removed from the site. Barbour refused; his Democratic opponent said that he would also have appeared at the event, but for a scheduling conflict. Barbour was later elected governor.

South Carolina

The South Carolina CofCC held a rally opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants with over 1,000 in Greenville, SC on April 29, 2006, the largest such rally in the nation.[citation needed] After WYFF NBC Greenville falsely reported that only "dozens attended," the SC CofCC demonstrated in front of their station with about 125 people.[citation needed]

Council of Conservative Citizens

The Council of Conservative Citizens held mass demonstrations in South Carolina between 1993 and 2000 to keep the Confederate flag on the state house dome. Demonstrations were held in the upstate, down to the tourist coast in Myrtle Coast and Hilton Head Island. The rallies started as a response to NAACP rallies calling for the flag to come down. The CofCC fought a lone battle to keep the flag up for seven years. After a 1999 rally, when the CofCC drew 1,500 demonstrators to the capital, other groups asked to form a coalition. In 2000, a coalition march drew 8,000 people. However, several coalition members endorsed a compromise that led to the flag coming down and being placed in front of the statehouse on the Confederate Soldier statue.

The previous SC CofCC state director, Francis Bell died in 2005 after fighting a long battle with cancer. The South Carolina CofCC is now headed by a four member board of directors. and has active chapters in Charleston and Greenville.

Controversy and criticism

The Anti-Defamation League describes the Council of Conservative Citizens as a "white supremacist"[6] organization. The CofCC is considered by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to be part of the "neo-confederate movement." The NAACP, League of United Latin American Citizens, SPLC (which lists it as a "hate group"[11]) Anti-Defamation League, and even some conservative groups, such as Conservative Political Action Conference,[12] consider the Council of Conservative Citizens a racist and homophobic organization, pointing to its purported advocacy of white supremacy. This view is partially based on the CofCC's statement of principles, which condemns racial integration (see item 2), immigration by non-Europeans (see item 2), homosexuality, and interracial marriage (see item 6).[13]

The group has not responded to this charge. According to its opponents, the Council of Conservative Citizens resorts to slanted and inflammatory language and images to promote its message. An April 2005 photo essay on the CCC website showed a selection of gruesome images of decapitated, burnt and mangled bodies of white victims of black violence in South Africa, while the caption states that whites may one day become a minority in the United States, and "it can happen here."[14]

Conservative columnist Ann Coulter has defended the group against charges of racism. [15]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Remembering Lester Maddox". http://web.archive.org/web/20070611112129/http://cofcc.org/memoriam/lester_maddox.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-19. 
  2. ^ Taylor, Jared (1998-09). "A Festival for France: The Front National's gigantic celebration of French Nationalism". American Renaissance. http://web.archive.org/web/20080411091458/www.amren.com/ar/1998/11/index.html. Retrieved 2007-03-12. 
  3. ^ Barr, Bob (1999-03-01). "Representative Barr Responds (Letter)". Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,990317-2,00.html. Retrieved 2007-03-12. 
  4. ^ Cameron, Carl (2004-01-11). "Gephardt Admits Mistake on Race Issues in '70s". FoxNews.com. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,108068,00.html. Retrieved 2007-03-12. 
  5. ^ SPLCenter.org: Communing with the Council
  6. ^ a b Council of Conservative Citizens - Extremism in America
  7. ^ Blumenthal, Max (2008-01-18). ""Mike Huckabee's White Supremacist Links"". The Nation. http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?pid=272545. Retrieved 2008-01-21. 
  8. ^ Duhart, Bill (1994-04-12). "Huckabee won't appear with racist.". Philadelphia Tribune. 
  9. ^ "Reparations for Slavery: Strategies and Tactics". 2003. http://www.cofcc.org/foundation/reparations.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-14. 
  10. ^ Beirich, Heidi; Potok, Mark (Fall 2003). "40 to Watch: What does the radical right look like after a year of reverses? The future may lie in the personalities still peopling the fringe". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=115&printable=1. 
  11. ^ "Center Report Exposes Links Between Hate Group, Lawmakers". Southern Poverty Law Center. September 2004. http://www.splcenter.org/center/splcreport/article.jsp?aid=103. Retrieved 2007-03-12. 
  12. ^ Beyond Macaca: The Photograph That Haunts George Allen
  13. ^ "Statement of Principles". Council of Conservative Citizens. unknown. http://www.cofcc.org/manifest.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-04. 
  14. ^ Shelby County Tennessee Chapter
  15. ^ "Hate in the Mainstream: Ann Coulter Defends White Supremacist Group". http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=1048. Retrieved June 9, 2009. 

External links


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