The Council of Conservative Citizens (abbreviated CCC or CofCC) is a American Paleoconservative political organization. Chapters are located thirty states, the largest in Mississippi and Missouri, which focus on local political organizing. It is led by Gordon Lee Baum
The CofCC publishes the Citizens Informer newsletter quarterly. It most recent editor was Samuel Francis (1947-2005), and the editorial board includes Baum, Virginia Abernethy (past editor), Sam G. Dickson , Wayne Lutten , and Jared Taylor.
The CofCC has a sister organization, the Conservative Citizens Foundation, which raises money for a Confederate monument project.
Issues
The CofCC is considered by the Southern Poverty Law Center to be part of the "neo-confederate movement" which seeks to fulfill the goals of the Confederate States of America. Its specific issues include states rights, race relations, white separatism, and conservative Protestant Christianity. They have attacked Martin Luther King, 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, affirmative action and racial quotas, forced school busing , and gun control.
It is often accused of racism by liberal groups such as NAACP, SPLC (which lists it as a "hate group"), and ADL, and is also attacked by some conservative groups. To charges that the CofCC is a "racist, hate group," the official response is: "Not true. The CofCC advocates and promotes the legitimate causes of European-Americans." CofCC FAQ
Mississippi
In Mississippi there are several chapters that are working closely with private academies. The academies 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.
Every four years, Mississippi State Chairman Bill Lord holds the Blackhawk Rally in Blackhawk, Mississippi . The rally raises money for the Carrol 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 candidate for Mississippi Governor, spoke at a Blackhawk Rally. A photograph of Barbour with CofCC members appeared on the CofCC webpage, and a firestorm of media demanded that Barbour ask for his picture to be removed from the site. Barbour refused. His popularity rose shortly after that and he became Mississippi's current governor.
History
The CofCC was founded in 1988 in Atlanta, Georgia and his now headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri. The CofCC was formed by various leaders of the old Citizens' Council which was a network of Conservative organizations in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. Gordon Lee Baum is the current national leader.
The CofCC became involved in national politics when it was discovered by journalists and researchers that including Bob Barr who said later that he found the groups' racial views to be "repugnant" and had not realized the nature of the group when he agreed to attend. Subsequently it was found that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott had also spoken at a CofCC meeting. In the ensuing controvsersy the CofCC was denounced by the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Jim Nicholson, for holding "racist views". Subsequently several other national and state politicians have given speeches or attended CofCC meetings, including 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 events of the organization's St. Louis predecessor shortly before the name change in the mid 1980's. [1]) The SPLC and the Miami Herald tallied a further 38 federal, state, and local polticians who appeared at CofCC events between 2000 and 2004.
External links
Last updated: 08-16-2005 13:23:57
