A racist political group, the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), has been making waves in the national media ever since it became known that mainstream politicians such as Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) and Representative Bob Barr (R-GA) were keynote speakers at CCC conferences. According to the CEO of the CCC, Gordon Lee Baum, Sen. Lott has ad-dressed the group a number of times, and Rep. Barr made an appearance in front of the group in 1998. These appearances by mainstream politicians such as Sen. Lott and Rep. Barr, and by numerous elected officials at the state and local levels, such as Mississippi Governor Kirk Fordice, give the CCC a false imprimatur of legitimacy.

Since its inception in the mid-1980s, the Council of Conservative Citizens has cloaked itself in the mantle of mainstream conservatism to mask its underlying racist agenda. The CCC bills itself as a "grass-roots" organization working on issues of concern to conservatives, such as opposition to affirmative action, "big" government, gun control and increased immigration.

The CCC co-opts both the language and issues of conservative causes to camouflage the true aim of the organization, which is to regain what it sees as the lost power base of the white population of the United States. The group also asserts that it is fighting to restore America's white Christian heritage and it has led the battle to preserve the use of the Confederate flag in Southern states.

Although Gordon Baum claims that his organization is not racist, an examination of the roots, membership, and official organ and Web site of the CCC proves otherwise. While individual chapters of the organization may be less extreme in their views than others, a pro-white and anti-minority stance is at the heart of every CCC chapter.

The CCC has its roots in the Citizens Councils of America, a racist organization formed in the 1950s and dedicated to states rights and the preservation of segregation in the South. The Citizens Councils, known for intimidating and harassing Blacks involved in the civil rights movement, printed and distributed pamphlets containing inflammatory racist speeches by various segregationists. The pamphlets had titles such as "Segregation and the South," which described Black Americans as having "an inherent deficiency in mental ability," and "a natural indolence," and "The Ugly Truth About the NAACP," which accused the organization of being controlled by Communists intent on destroying America.

The intertwining of the Citizens Councils of America with the CCC is evident. Gordon Baum, the CEO of the CCC, was a field director for Citizens Councils of America. William Lord, the state coordinator for the CCC in Mississippi, told a Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS) reporter in 1994 that the Citizens Council shared its membership list with the CCC, and that many members of Citizens Councils joined the new organization. In addition, the CCC named its official organ Citizens Informerafter the publication of the Citizens Councils.

Robert Patterson, the founder of the Citizens Councils, is a regular contributor to Citizens Informer. A quote from one of Patterson's columns is typical of articles found in the publication: "[Americans] did not foresee a revolution launched by white liberals and professional Negro organizations that would evolve into an all out drive for racial amalgamation and black political domination of our country." Other essays in the publication speak of the "victimization" of whites who are at the mercy of minorities and the liberal "elite," the latter often used as a code word for Jews. The material in the CCC's official newspaper points to the group's apparent desire to continue the legacy of its predecessor.

There are many members of the CCC who have ties to racist and anti-Semitic groups. In a recent interview in The Washington Post, Gordon Baum reportedly said, "Do we have a few members who might have been in the Klan? Probably -- but so what? None are leaders." Mr. Baum is once again masking the truth -- various heads of CCC chapters are well plugged in to the extremist network of groups whose philosophy meshes with that of the Klan. They include:

• A. J. Barker, currently state chairman of the North Carolina CCC. Mr. Barker was a leader in the Populist Party, which backed David Duke for president in 1988. Duke is an ex-Klansman and founder of the National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP).

  In 1993, Mr. Barker's role in the founding of the America First Party was highlighted by Edward Fields in his virulently anti-Semitic newsletter, The Truth at Last. Fields informed readers that he and Barker established the party to fight for the rights of the white majority in the United States. A flyer explaining the founding of the America First Party spoke of the "desperation of the current political situation," and cited the number of "Jews along with militant Lesbians, homosexuals, anti-family feminists and even Communists" in President Clinton's Administration. Mr. Barker was elected the national chair of the America First Party and at its organizing conference reportedly spoke about white children being "victimized by the anti-White propaganda on TV."

  At a follow-up meeting of the America First Party, held in Clemmons, North Carolina, Mr. Barker appeared with invited guest Richard Butler, the head of Aryan Nations, a paramilitary hate group based in Hayden Lake, Iowa. Aryan Nations follows the "Christian Identity" philosophy, a doctrine that maintains that Anglo-Saxons are the Biblical "chosen people," that nonwhites are "mud people" on the level of animals, and that Jews are the "children of Satan." Aryan Nations also promotes anti-Semitism and the establishment of a white racist state.

• William Carter, who was chairman of the South Carolina chapter of the CCC, also made an appearance at the founding conference of the America First Party, where he reportedly spoke about his work with the CCC, and "the importance of building political activity on the precinct level." Mr. Carter was also the South Carolina state chairman of David Duke's 1992 Presidential campaign before serving as chairman of the South Carolina CCC.

• Mark Cotterill (who also reportedly used the name Mark Cerr), head of the National Capital Region chapter of the CCC until January 1999, also has ties to the America First Party. Mr. Cotterill, who is originally from Great Britain, was the contact person for both his CCC chapter and the America First event that featured David Duke and Edward Fields as speakers on January 2, 1999. The January 2 meeting was advertised at a December 1998 CCC meeting at which Michael Collins Piper spoke. Mr. Piper is a columnist for The Spotlight, a newspaper published by Liberty Lobby, the most active anti-Semitic propaganda organization in the United States. At the meeting, Mr. Piper made anti-Semitic comments and accused Israel's Mossad and the Anti-Defamation League of being involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

  As head of the National Capital Region chapter, Cotterill invited many extremists to address the CCC. Recent guest speakers included Don Black, who runs the premier white supremacist Web site on the Internet, and Ron Doggett, head of the neo-Nazi National Alliance unit in Richmond, Virginia. Michael Walker, a former member of the National Front, an ultraright party in Great Britain, and currently editor of Scorpion, a white supremacist magazine in Great Britain, also spoke to the chapter.

  It is no wonder that Mr. Cotterill invited extremists to address his group. He himself was a member of the National Front and the British National Party, another ultranationalist party in Great Britain. Mr. Cotterill also attended neo-Nazi gatherings in Europe. After one such event, Mr. Cotterill reportedly made a hateful remark about the relationship between Blacks and Jews in New York, saying "Kikes and Nigs killing each other? Can't be bad."

• Robert Hoy, another CCC member, received national coverage in the fall of 1998 when he disrupted a meeting of the President's Initiative on Race in Oxford, Mississippi. Mr. Hoy reportedly yelled out, "There's no one up there that's talking about the white people. We don't want to be a minority in our country."

  In October 1997, Mr. Hoy was the master of ceremonies at the First Annual Conference on Racial Separatism, which promoted the idea of separate homelands for different races in the United States. In the early 1990s, Hoy reportedly met with neo-Nazis in Europe and worked closely with members of the American-Afrikaner Union, an American-based group that supported ultranationalists in South Africa. He was also associated with Michael Walker and Scorpion magazine, and has been a reporter and photographer for The Spotlight.

In addition to the individuals mentioned above, CCC chapters have invited many extremists to share their platform with CCC members. They include the following:

• Jared Taylor, editor of the racist publication, American Renaissance (AR), addressed CCC meetings numerous times in 1998. AR describes itself as a "literate, undeceived journal of race, immigration and the decline of civility." In reality, the publication uses pseudoscience to justify racism and white separatism.

• In April 1998, Edward Butler, a Christian Identity preacher who publishes the vehemently anti-Semitic newsletter, The New World Today, gave a talk to the Georgia chapter of the CCC. A recent issue of Mr. Butler's newsletter reflects his views. He wrote, "...the U.S. government officials elected and appointed, are predominantly vassals of the Zionist New World Order. Jews control the wealth of the world and in turn they control the governments.... Will you go on being a vassal of the Zionist slave state?"

• In July 1995, David Duke addressed a meeting of the South Carolina chapter of the CCC, held at Clemson University. At the meeting, Mr. Duke openly embraced his long-held extremist views and he urged followers to fight for their "white genes."

• In April 1994, the Arkansas chapter of the CCC invited lawyer Kirk Lyons to speak to the group. Mr. Lyons, who has described himself as an "active sympathizer" of his clients' causes, has represented numerous extremists in court cases, including white supremacist Louis Beam and James Wickstrom, head of the Posse Comitatus (a vehemently anti-government group) and a Christian Identity preacher. The spring 1998 newsletter of the CCC mentioned that the organization has been working on a case with the Southern Legal Resource Center, currently headed by Mr. Lyons.

The CCC's Web site features numerous articles and essays that expose its racist, anti-minority stance. It also contains pieces labeling Martin Luther King Jr. a Communist, lamenting the South's loss in the Civil War, and defending the use of the Confederate flag. In addition, the Web site is linked to a number of racist and anti-Semitic sites, including the National Front, an ultranationalist party in France. Gordon Baum has claimed that the racist beliefs contained on the CCC Web site are not necessarily the views of the CCC. Some examples of material on the CCC site include:

• A commentary by H. Millard that asserts, "There appears to be a growth of a form of racial bigotry in the world today that is hardly noticed because its victims are white. This bigotry is anti-whitism. It is going largely unnoticed by many whites who some will argue have become so race whipped and aracial after 30 plus years of unending anti-white propaganda from the liberal elites that they don't even think of themselves as a race or as a people."

• An essay, "A Call to White Americans," in which the author writes, "Today's white American faces a frightening and uncertain future.... If we want to live, white Americans must begin today to lay the foundations for our future and our children's future.... Start today, fellow white Americans. Look at the faces around you: find the faces like yours, and see them as your brothers and sisters. Find the fair-skinned babies and see them as your children...."

• A December 1998 piece on the Web site boasting that the group's leadership had met with Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of the National Front. Leaders of the CCC reportedly presented Le Pen with a Confederate flag.

Beyond these racist pieces on the Web, the CCC has used more subtle code words that demonstrate its true colors. A good example of this is the Georgia chapter's organizational plan posted on the Web site. The new head of the Georgia chapter, Dennis Wheeler, also known as the "WASP Warrior," wrote that the purpose of the CCC is "to conserve the traditional heritage, culture, and way of life that Euro-Americans have practiced since the inception of the country." In addition, he explained that the purpose of the Culture and Personal Development Committee of the Georgia CCC is to "promote high European Christian culture among our people." Wheeler concludes, "the fate of our people lies in balance." With these words, Wheeler has essentially adopted the program of most white supremacist groups in the United States.

Conclusion

The CCC's plan is to exclude all minorities from the vision of an America that provides equal opportunity to all. Rather than embracing the democratic principles this country was founded upon, the CCC feels threatened by them. The fact that the group has made inroads into the American political mainstream should sound an alarm for us all.