Council of Conservative Citizens
Encyclopedia
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
. Several members of the CofCC Board of Directors are former leaders of the segregationist Citizens' Councils of America, founded by Major Bob Patterson, which is commonly referred to as the White Citizens' Council
. The organization is headquartered in St. Louis
, Missouri
. Other US states with active chapters include Florida
, Georgia
, Alabama
, Louisiana
, Tennessee
, South Carolina
, North Carolina
, Virginia
, Texas
, Pennsylvania
, Mississippi
, Michigan
, Indiana
, Illinois
, California
and New York
. Sporadic CofCC activities occur in other parts of the country as well.
, Georgia, and is now headquartered in St. Louis. The CofCC was formed by various Republicans, Conservative Democrat
s, and some former members of the Citizens' Councils of America, sometimes called the White Citizens Council, a segregationist organization formerly prominent in the 1960s and 1970s. Lester Maddox
, the late former governor of Georgia, was a charter member. 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, Carroll County Coroner, former head of the Carroll Academy School Board, also sits of the Executive Board.
The organization often holds meetings with various other paleo-conservative organizations in the United States, and sometimes meets with Nationalist organizations from Europe. 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
.
Following several articles detailing some of its members past involvement with the White Citizens Council, several conservative politicians distanced themselves from the organization. One such politician was Bob Barr
, who had spoken at CofCC functions, saying he found the groups' racial views to be "repugnant," and didn't realize the nature of the group when he agreed to speak at the group's meeting.
In later years, additional media articles on the involvement of other Republican party leaders and conservative Democrats with the CofCC attempted to force a distinct denunciation of their association with the organization. For instance, U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Trent Lott
had also been a member of the CofCC. Subsequent to the report, the CofCC was denounced by the Chairman of the Republican National Committee
, Jim Nicholson
, for holding "racist and nationalist views" and demanded that Lott formally denounce the organization. Although Lott refused to denounce the organization he did state he had resigned his membership. Subsequently, Nicholson, demanded Lott denounce his former segregationist views following a speech he gave at Senator Strom Thurmond
's birthday dinner when he promoted the Senator's former Dixiecrat
Presidential campaign. Following the ensuring controversy Nicholson's demands initiated, Lott once again apologized for his past support for segregation, his past associations, and his remarks at Thurmond's birthday. This caused his loss of support from a number of important conservatives, not least, Thurmond himself. Consequently, Lott resigned his post as Senate Minority Leader. Similarly, former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt
also attended an 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. However, rather than gain him support, his denunciation appears to have cost him votes in Democratic primaries for the Presidency. Similarly, in 1993, Mike Huckabee
, then the Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
, agreed to speak at the CofCC's national convention in Memphis, Tennessee
in his pursuit for the Governorship of Arkansas. By the time of the CofCC 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. However, following his success in the election, 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
."
Other prominent conservative national and state politicians who were members refused to denounce, distance, or resign their membership, and continued attending meetings and giving speeches remained prominent political leaders within the conservative movement including former Senator
Jesse Helms
. Senator Helms remained supportive of the CofCC and consistently won his elections, and support from the CofCC was considered decisive enough that the organization was influential in office throughout his terms in the Senate. Similarly, former governors H. Guy Hunt
of Alabama and Kirk Fordice
of Mississippi, as well as Senator Strom Thurmond
remained active members and/or gave speeches to the organization. Strom Thurmond remained in the Senate, retiring in 2002.
The SPLC and the Miami Herald tallied a further 38 federal, state, and local politicians who appeared at CofCC events between 2000 and 2004. The ADL states the following politicians are members or have spoken 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.
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.
, home rule
, and opposition to free trade
and global capitalism
. Its specific issues include states rights, race relations (especially interracial marriage
, which it opposes), and conservative Christian
values. They have criticized Martin Luther King, who is considered by the organization as a left-wing agitator of Black American communities with notable ties to communism
, and holding personal sexual morals unworthy of a person deserving national recognition, and consider the Civil Rights Movement, and the Frankfurt School
as elementally subversive to the Separation of powers under the United States Constitution
. Consistent with paleo-conservatism, they regard American culture as an offshoot of the European cultural, specifically the British
Protestant tradition. Consequently, the Council of Conservative Citizens is currently active in organizing the restriction, reduction, and/or moratorium of immigration, enforcing laws and regulation against illegal aliens
, ending what they see as racial discrimination against whites through affirmative action
and racial quotas
, overturning Supreme Court
rulings and Congressional Acts such as forced busing and gun control
, ending free trade
economic policy, and supports sexual morality, including promotion of the Defense of Marriage Act
and persecution of homosexuality
. In turn, the CofCC works with a number of European nationalist such as Front National
, and Vlaams Belang
and the United Kingdom Independence Party
.
Following its publishing of several dozen conservative organizations ranging from the Federation for American Immigration Reform
to Vdare
as hate group
s in 2005, the CofCC staged a protest in front of the offices of the SPLC in Montgomery, Alabama
. About 72 members organized a demonstration of several hundred protesters receiving state-wide publicity and focusing attention on the SPLC's fundraising and raising suspicions of demagoguery by the center. The CofCC continues protesting speaking engagements by Morris Dees
in Alabama
, Mississippi
, Missouri
, Indiana
, and South Carolina
declaring him to be a threat to free speech and a fraud.
, 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, Rand Paul
, 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.
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.
. These academies (many of which were originally called “council schools”) are private schools established for white parents to avoid the desegregation
of public schools after the Brown v. Board of Education
ruling.
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.
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.
and the Anti-Defamation League
have described the Council of Conservative Citizens as a white supremacist organization. The CofCC is considered by the Southern Poverty Law Center
(SPLC) to be part of the "neo-confederate
movement." In general, organizations such as the NAACP, League of United Latin American Citizens
, SPLC (which lists it as a "hate group") and the Anti-Defamation League
consider it a threat. Max Blumenthal calls it America's premier racist organization and elementally dangerous to America. Some vocal critics in the Republican Party include Neo-conservatives within the Conservative Political Action Conference
, who consider the Council of Conservative Citizens a nationalist and homophobic
organization, pointing to its advocacy of Federalism
and promotion of the historic National identity
of America. This view is partially based on the CofCC's statement of principles, which condemns the Federal government's intervention into State and Local affairs in forcing racial integration (item 2), free-trade and globalism, immigration by non-Europeans (item 2), homosexuality, and interracial marriage (item 6)
According to its supporters, the Council of Conservative Citizens opposes globalism
, multiculturalism
, racism
against whites, and what they perceive to be an intrusive Federal government. The group claims it has a key role in reporting what it sees as the racial overtones of violence against whites, both in the United States
and elsewhere. An April 2005 photo essay on the CofCC website claimed that images of decapitated, burnt and mangled bodies of whites
are victims of black
violence in South Africa. The website closes with the statement that someday American whites will be a minority and will be subject to the same form of violence.
Conservative columnist Ann Coulter
has defended the group against charges of racism, claiming on the basis of a viewing of their website that there is "no evidence" that the CofCC supports segregation.
White nationalism
White nationalism is a political ideology which advocates a racial definition of national identity for white people. White separatism and white supremacism are subgroups within white nationalism. The former seek a separate white nation state, while the latter add ideas from social Darwinism and...
, and white separatism
White separatism
White separatism is a separatist political movement that seeks separate economic and cultural development for white people. White separatists generally claim genetic affiliation with Anglo-Saxon cultures, Nordic cultures, or other white European cultures...
. Several members of the CofCC Board of Directors are former leaders of the segregationist Citizens' Councils of America, founded by Major Bob Patterson, which is commonly referred to as the White Citizens' Council
White Citizens' Council
The White Citizens' Council was an American white supremacist organization formed on July 11, 1954. After 1956, it was known as the Citizens' Councils of America...
. The organization is headquartered in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. Other US states with active chapters include Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Sporadic CofCC activities occur in other parts of the country as well.
History
The CofCC was founded in 1988 in AtlantaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Georgia, and is now headquartered in St. Louis. The CofCC was formed by various Republicans, Conservative Democrat
Conservative Democrat
In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a Democratic Party member with conservative political views, or with views relatively conservative with respect to those of the national party...
s, and some former members of the Citizens' Councils of America, sometimes called the White Citizens Council, a segregationist organization formerly prominent in the 1960s and 1970s. Lester Maddox
Lester Maddox
Lester Garfield Maddox was an American politician who was the 75th Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971....
, the late former governor of Georgia, was a charter member. Gordon Lee Baum
Gordon Lee Baum
-Biography:Gordon Lee Baum attended the University of Missouri–St. Louis when it was originally named Normandy Junior College , and was a student when NJC was integrated into the University of Missouri system...
is the current CEO. Tom Dover, head of Dover Cylinder Repair is the president. Leonard Wilson, a former Alabama State Committeeman for both Republican
Alabama Republican Party
The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Alabama. It is the dominant political party in Alabama. The state party is governed by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. Most of the committee's more than 200 members are elected in district...
and Democratic
Alabama Democratic Party
The Alabama Democratic Party is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the state of Alabama. It is chaired by Judge Mark Kennedy. The Executive Director is Bradley Davidson....
parties, sits on the CofCC Executive Board. Bill Lord Sr, Carroll County Coroner, former head of the Carroll Academy School Board, also sits of the Executive Board.
The organization often holds meetings with various other paleo-conservative organizations in the United States, and sometimes meets with Nationalist organizations from Europe. In 1997, several members of the CofCC attended an event hosted by Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
's National Front party. The delegation from the CofCC presented Le Pen with a Confederate flag
Flags of the Confederate States of America
There were only three flag designs adopted, with later, minor variants made to those designs, that served as the official national flags of the Confederate States of America and used during its existence from 1861 to 1865...
, which had been flown over the South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
state capitol building
South Carolina State House
The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The building houses the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Until 1971, it also housed the Supreme Court...
.
Following several articles detailing some of its members past involvement with the White Citizens Council, several conservative politicians distanced themselves from the organization. One such politician was Bob Barr
Bob Barr
Robert Laurence "Bob" Barr, Jr. is a former federal prosecutorand a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. Barr attained national prominence as one of the leaders of the impeachment of...
, who had spoken at CofCC functions, saying he found the groups' racial views to be "repugnant," and didn't realize the nature of the group when he agreed to speak at the group's meeting.
In later years, additional media articles on the involvement of other Republican party leaders and conservative Democrats with the CofCC attempted to force a distinct denunciation of their association with the organization. For instance, U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Party leaders of the United States Senate
The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....
had also been a member of the CofCC. Subsequent to the report, the CofCC was denounced by the Chairman of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
, Jim Nicholson
Jim Nicholson (U.S. politician)
Robert James "Jim" Nicholson is an attorney, real estate developer, and a former Republican Party chairman. He was the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs from January 26, 2005 until October 1, 2007.-Personal life:...
, for holding "racist and nationalist views" and demanded that Lott formally denounce the organization. Although Lott refused to denounce the organization he did state he had resigned his membership. Subsequently, Nicholson, demanded Lott denounce his former segregationist views following a speech he gave at Senator Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
's birthday dinner when he promoted the Senator's former Dixiecrat
Dixiecrat
The States' Rights Democratic Party was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States in 1948...
Presidential campaign. Following the ensuring controversy Nicholson's demands initiated, Lott once again apologized for his past support for segregation, his past associations, and his remarks at Thurmond's birthday. This caused his loss of support from a number of important conservatives, not least, Thurmond himself. Consequently, Lott resigned his post as Senate Minority Leader. Similarly, former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt
Dick Gephardt
Richard Andrew "Dick" Gephardt is a lobbyist and former prominent American politician of the Democratic Party. Gephardt served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from January 3, 1977, until January 3, 2005, serving as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, and as Minority Leader from 1995 to...
also attended an 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. However, rather than gain him support, his denunciation appears to have cost him votes in Democratic primaries for the Presidency. Similarly, in 1993, Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
, then the Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, agreed to speak at the CofCC's national convention in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
in his pursuit for the Governorship of Arkansas. By the time of the CofCC 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. However, following his success in the election, in April 1994, Huckabee withdrew from a speaking engagement before the CofCC. He commented, "I will not participate in any program that has racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
overtones. I've spent a lifetime fighting racism and anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
."
Other prominent conservative national and state politicians who were members refused to denounce, distance, or resign their membership, and continued attending meetings and giving speeches remained prominent political leaders within the conservative movement including former Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Jesse Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
. Senator Helms remained supportive of the CofCC and consistently won his elections, and support from the CofCC was considered decisive enough that the organization was influential in office throughout his terms in the Senate. Similarly, former governors H. Guy Hunt
H. Guy Hunt
Harold Guy Hunt was an American politician who served as the 49th Governor of Alabama from 1987 to 1993. He was the first Republican to serve as governor of the state since Reconstruction.- Early life :...
of Alabama and Kirk Fordice
Kirk Fordice
Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice, Jr. was a politician from the US state of Mississippi. He was the 61st Governor of Mississippi from January 14, 1992, until January 11, 2000.-Biography:...
of Mississippi, as well as Senator Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
remained active members and/or gave speeches to the organization. Strom Thurmond remained in the Senate, retiring in 2002.
The SPLC and the Miami Herald tallied a further 38 federal, state, and local politicians who appeared at CofCC events between 2000 and 2004. The ADL states the following politicians are members or have spoken at meetings: Senator Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....
, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour
Haley Barbour
Haley Reeves Barbour is an American Republican politician currently serving as the 63rd Governor of Mississippi. He gained a national spotlight in August 2005 after Mississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Barbour won re-election as Governor in 2007...
, 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
Kirk Fordice
Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice, Jr. was a politician from the US state of Mississippi. He was the 61st Governor of Mississippi from January 14, 1992, until January 11, 2000.-Biography:...
of Mississippi. U.S. Senator Roger Wicker
Roger Wicker
Roger Frederick Wicker is the junior U.S. Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party. In December 2007 he was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour to fill the seat vacated by Trent Lott. He subsequently won the 2008 special election for the remainder of the term. Wicker served...
of Mississippi is said to have attended as well.
In 2005, the Council of Conservative Citizens held its National Conference in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
. George Wallace Jr., an Alabama Public Service Commissioner and former State Treasurer who was then running for Lieutenant Governor, and Sonny Landham
Sonny Landham
William M. "Sonny" Landham is an American movie actor and political candidate.-Acting career:At the beginning of his acting career, Landham was an actor in pornographic films...
, an actor, spoke at the conference.
Issues
The CofCC considers itself a traditional conservative group opposing liberals and neo-conservatives, supports national self-determination, immigration restriction, federalismFederalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
, home rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
, and opposition to free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
and global capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
. Its specific issues include states rights, race relations (especially interracial marriage
Interracial marriage
Interracial marriage occurs when two people of differing racial groups marry. This is a form of exogamy and can be seen in the broader context of miscegenation .-Legality of interracial marriage:In the Western world certain jurisdictions have had regulations...
, which it opposes), and conservative Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
values. They have criticized Martin Luther King, who is considered by the organization as a left-wing agitator of Black American communities with notable ties to communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, and holding personal sexual morals unworthy of a person deserving national recognition, and consider the Civil Rights Movement, and the Frankfurt School
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
as elementally subversive to the Separation of powers under the United States Constitution
Separation of powers under the United States Constitution
Separation of powers is a political doctrine originating from the United States Constitution, according to which the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the United States government are kept distinct in order to prevent abuse of power. This U.S...
. Consistent with paleo-conservatism, they regard American culture as an offshoot of the European cultural, specifically the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Protestant tradition. Consequently, the Council of Conservative Citizens is currently active in organizing the restriction, reduction, and/or moratorium of immigration, enforcing laws and regulation against illegal aliens
Illegal Aliens
Illegal Aliens is a 2007 film starring Anna Nicole Smith and Joanie Laurer. This comedy/science-fiction film is made in the mold of classic 1980s B-movies. Hitting stores on May 1, 2007, the release of the movie was pushed back following the death of Smith in February 2007 and it is her final film...
, ending what they see as racial discrimination against whites through affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
and racial quotas
Racial quotas
Racial quotas in employment and education are numerical requirements for hiring, promoting, admitting and/or graduating members of a particular racial group. Racial quotas are often established as means of diminishing racial discrimination, addressing under-representation and evident racism against...
, overturning Supreme Court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
rulings and Congressional Acts such as forced busing and gun control
Gun control
Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
, ending free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
economic policy, and supports sexual morality, including promotion of the Defense of Marriage Act
Defense of Marriage Act
The Defense of Marriage Act is a United States federal law whereby the federal government defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. Under the law, no U.S. state may be required to recognize as a marriage a same-sex relationship considered a marriage in another state...
and persecution of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. In turn, the CofCC works with a number of European nationalist such as Front National
Front National (France)
The National Front is a political party in France. The party was founded in 1972, seeking to unify a variety of French far-right currents of the time. Jean-Marie Le Pen was the party's first leader and the undisputed centre of the party from its start until his resignation in 2011...
, and Vlaams Belang
Vlaams Belang
Vlaams Belang is a Belgian far-right political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels that advocates the independence of Flanders and strict limits on immigration, whereby immigrants would be obliged to adopt Flemish culture and language...
and the United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
.
Following its publishing of several dozen conservative organizations ranging from the Federation for American Immigration Reform
Federation for American Immigration Reform
The Federation for American Immigration Reform is a non-profit tax exempt educational organization in the United States that advocates changes in U.S. immigration policy that would result in significant reductions in immigration, both legal and illegal...
to Vdare
VDARE
VDARE.com, or VDARE, is a website that advocates reduced immigration, especially illegal immigration, into the United States. Former Forbes editor Peter Brimelow supports the site through his VDARE Foundation, also known as Lexington Research Institute Limited...
as hate group
Hate group
A hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other designated sector of society...
s in 2005, the CofCC staged a protest in front of the offices of the SPLC in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
. About 72 members organized a demonstration of several hundred protesters receiving state-wide publicity and focusing attention on the SPLC's fundraising and raising suspicions of demagoguery by the center. The CofCC continues protesting speaking engagements by Morris Dees
Morris Dees
Morris Seligman Dees, Jr. is the co-founder and chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center , and a former direct mail marketeer for book publishing. Along with his law partner, Joseph J...
in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
declaring him to be a threat to free speech and a fraud.
Activities
The CofCC publishes the Citizens Informer newspaper quarterly. Previously edited by the late Samuel T. Francis and web designer Joel T. LeFevre, William Rolen has recently taken over. Its editorial board includes Baum, Virginia AbernethyVirginia Abernethy
Virginia Deane Abernethy is an American professor of psychiatry and anthropology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She received a B.A. from Wellesley College, an M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University, and Ph.D. from Harvard University...
, Sam G. Dickson, Wayne Lutton, and Jared Taylor
Jared Taylor
Samuel Jared Taylor of Oakton, Virginia, is an American journalist and an advocate of what he describes as "racial realism", a philosophy that views race as a biological reality and advocates the separateness of racial groups as the key of a well functioning society...
. Recent contributors to the Citizen Informer have included Lawrence Auster
Lawrence Auster
Lawrence Auster is an American traditionalist conservative blogger and essayist.-Personal life:Auster grew up in New Jersey. He attended Columbia University for two years, later finishing a B.A. in English at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He moved to Manhattan in 1978, and still resides...
, Louis Calabro
Louis Calabro
Louis Calabro, was an Italian American orchestral composer.Calabro studied piano and composition at Juilliard School of Music. Vincent Persichetti was his principal teacher there....
and Robert Locke
Robert Locke
Robert Locke is a former editor for FrontPage Magazine. A conservative American nationalist, he is critical of liberals, libertarians, and some "compassionate conservatives", including George W. Bush. He is an admirer of conservative scholar Leo Strauss , architect Robert A.M...
. It has also printed syndicated columns of Joseph Sobran
Joseph Sobran
Michael Joseph Sobran, Jr. was an American journalist and writer, formerly with National Review and a syndicated columnist, known as Joe Sobran. Pundit Pat Buchanan called Sobran "perhaps the finest columnist of our generation", although Sobran was fired from National Review by his one-time mentor...
, Patrick Buchanan, Rand Paul
Rand Paul
Randal Howard "Rand" Paul is the junior United States Senator for Kentucky. He is a member of the Republican Party. A member of the Tea Party movement, he describes himself as a "constitutional conservative" and a libertarian...
, and Congressional
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
speeches of Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
. 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
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
monument project.
Tennessee
In TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
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
The Political Cesspool
The Political Cesspool is a weekly talk radio show founded by James Edwards, and syndicated by Liberty News Radio Network and Accent Radio Network in the United States...
radio show.
Mississippi
In Mississippi there are several chapters that are working closely with private academiesSegregation academies
Segregation academies are private schools started in the United States during the 1950s, '60s, and 70s as a way for white parents to avoid the desegregation of public schools as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v...
. These academies (many of which were originally called “council schools”) are private schools established for white parents to avoid the desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
of public schools after the Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
ruling.
Mississippi is the only state that has major politicians who are open CofCC members, including State Senators
Mississippi State Senate
The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate is composed of 52 Senators representing an equal amount of constituent districts, with 54,704 people per district...
and State Representatives
Mississippi House of Representatives
The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi....
. The CofCC once claimed 34 members in the Mississippi legislature.
South Carolina
The Council of Conservative Citizens held 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 and their protests numbered several thousand. 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 and was faced with an equal number of CofCC protesters. 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
Various critics describe the organization as a hate group. The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
have described the Council of Conservative Citizens as a white supremacist organization. The CofCC is considered by the Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
(SPLC) to be part of the "neo-confederate
Neo-confederate
Neo-Confederate is a term used by some academics and political activists to describe the views of various groups and individuals who have a positive belief system concerning the historical experience of the Confederate States of America, the Southern secession, and the Southern United...
movement." In general, organizations such as the NAACP, League of United Latin American Citizens
League of United Latin American Citizens
The League of United Latin American Citizens was created to combat the discrimination that Hispanics face in the United States. Established February 17, 1929 in Corpus Christi, Texas, LULAC was a consolidation of smaller, like-minded civil rights groups already in existence...
, SPLC (which lists it as a "hate group") and the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
consider it a threat. Max Blumenthal calls it America's premier racist organization and elementally dangerous to America. Some vocal critics in the Republican Party include Neo-conservatives within the Conservative Political Action Conference
Conservative Political Action Conference
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States....
, who consider the Council of Conservative Citizens a nationalist and homophobic
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
organization, pointing to its advocacy of Federalism
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
and promotion of the historic National identity
National identity
National identity is the person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status....
of America. This view is partially based on the CofCC's statement of principles, which condemns the Federal government's intervention into State and Local affairs in forcing racial integration (item 2), free-trade and globalism, immigration by non-Europeans (item 2), homosexuality, and interracial marriage (item 6)
According to its supporters, the Council of Conservative Citizens opposes globalism
Globalism
Globalism can have at least two different and opposing meanings. One meaning is the attitude or policy of placing the interests of the entire world above those of individual nations...
, multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
, racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
against whites, and what they perceive to be an intrusive Federal government. The group claims it has a key role in reporting what it sees as the racial overtones of violence against whites, both in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and elsewhere. An April 2005 photo essay on the CofCC website claimed that images of decapitated, burnt and mangled bodies of whites
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
are victims of black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
violence in South Africa. The website closes with the statement that someday American whites will be a minority and will be subject to the same form of violence.
Conservative columnist Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter
Ann Hart Coulter is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events...
has defended the group against charges of racism, claiming on the basis of a viewing of their website that there is "no evidence" that the CofCC supports segregation.
See also
- American Renaissance (magazine)American Renaissance (magazine)-Cancellation of 2010, 2011 conferences:In February 2010, following protests to hotel management of several hotels, which Jared Taylor claimed included some death threats, American Renaissance's biennial conference was canceled...
- White nationalismWhite nationalismWhite nationalism is a political ideology which advocates a racial definition of national identity for white people. White separatism and white supremacism are subgroups within white nationalism. The former seek a separate white nation state, while the latter add ideas from social Darwinism and...
- ConservatismConservatismConservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
- White Citizens' CouncilWhite Citizens' CouncilThe White Citizens' Council was an American white supremacist organization formed on July 11, 1954. After 1956, it was known as the Citizens' Councils of America...
- Occidental QuarterlyOccidental QuarterlyThe Occidental Quarterly is a journal "devoted to the ethnic,racial, and cultural heritage that forms the foundation of Western Civilization"...
- PaleoconservatismPaleoconservatismPaleoconservatism is a term for a conservative political philosophy found primarily in the United States stressing tradition, limited government, civil society, anti-colonialism, anti-corporatism and anti-federalism, along with religious, regional, national and Western identity. Chilton...
- Right-wing politicsRight-wing politicsIn politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
- VDAREVDAREVDARE.com, or VDARE, is a website that advocates reduced immigration, especially illegal immigration, into the United States. Former Forbes editor Peter Brimelow supports the site through his VDARE Foundation, also known as Lexington Research Institute Limited...
- The Political CesspoolThe Political CesspoolThe Political Cesspool is a weekly talk radio show founded by James Edwards, and syndicated by Liberty News Radio Network and Accent Radio Network in the United States...
- American Third Position PartyAmerican Third Position PartyThe American Third Position Party is an American political party of the far-right, which promotes white nationalism. It was founded in 2010, and defines its principal mission as representing the political interests of white Americans. The party takes a strong stand against immigration and...
- States' rightsStates' rightsStates' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
External links
- Official website
- A Statement of the Principles of the Council of Conservative Citizens
- Alabama Chapter
- Connecticut Chapter
- Illinois Chapter
- Southeast Missouri Chapter
- Missouri (St. Louis) Chapter
- The Kinist Institute Manifesto
- St. Louis CofCC Blog
- South Carolina Chapter
- Massachusetts Chapter
- Michigan Chapter
- Michigan CofCC Blog
- Southeast Missouri
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Jared Taylor, a racist in the guise of 'expert' January 23, 2005 (Part one of two-part series. Focuses on Taylor but includes information about CofCC).
- Summary of newspaper reports of CofCC by Anti-Defamation League Last updated February 4, 1999.
- Anti-Defamation League: Extremism in America
- SPLC's Intelligence Report: Communing with the Council Fall 2004
- The Neo-Confederates
- "Christian Science Monitor failed to note Minuteman Project volunteer's white supremacist ties" by MediaMatters