July 29th: Broad Anti-Racist Coalition in Tennessee to Oppose Alt-Right ‘American Renaissance’ Conference

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An annual racist conference, hosted by New Century Foundation, publisher of the white supremacist newsletter American Renaissance (AmRen), is set for the weekend of July 28-30th, 2017, in rural Middle Tennessee at Montgomery Bell State Park near Burns, Tenn.

The publisher and founder of AmRen, Jared Taylor, is widely considered the godfather of the so-called “alt-right,” which is the movement to mainstream a brand of eugenics called “race realism” and other policies driven by white supremacy.

First announced on Stormfront, the oldest racist and neo-Nazi forum on the internet, this racist conference may bring hundreds of racist activists to Middle Tennessee, wearing suits, ties, and dresses, as required by the event’s dress code – another attempt to mainstream this organization’s image and acceptance by the public.

July’s event marks the sixth consecutive year that AmRen’s annual hate-fest has been welcomed by the Tennessee Parks at Montgomery Bell State Park near Dickson. This year’s conference is entitled “Turning the Tide.”

Empowered by President Trump’s “alt-right” and “alternative facts,” as well as the president’s refusal to condemn open white supremacists and the rash of hate-motivated crimes occurring since his election, AmRen racists are loud and proud and convinced they can turn the tide away from diversity and equality and toward a whiter, purer United States without non-European immigrants or other groups of people AmRen deems undesirable.

While cable news media reacted with shock and confusion to Trump’s “surprise” win in November, AmRen sees the demagogue’s presidential win — aided in part by the Russian government that routinely oppresses ethnic minorities and LGBT people — as the natural progression of the writings and conferences they have sponsored for years. Scholars and activists following AmRen and other white supremacist groups have tried to warn the public about the group’s increased organization and attempts to normalize white supremacist policies, including white supremacists’ entrées into government.

AmRen’s conference theme is both a reference to what they think could happen during Trump’s regime — their pseudo-scientific ideas of racial superiority rise to become a legitimate and widespread force in public opinion — and a message to all those who oppose white supremacy:
• They want us to know they intend to win in the court of public opinion.
• They want us to know they see their white nationalist and supremacist movements not as fringe movements but as a mainstream political and social force.
• They are putting all antiracists, antifascists, prodiversity and equality proponents on notice: they will push as hard as they can to turn the tide toward extremist, nationalist, and racist ideas, policies, and laws.

The main part of their white supremacist meeting takes place at the quaint Montgomery Bell State Park Inn, about 45 minutes outside Nashville, and there is no public transportation. They chose this location not just because it is a public facility, but because it is remote. Until moving the conference to the Middle Tennessee woods, the group had its gatherings in urban hotel conference centers – until they were kicked out due to the opposition to their presence.

The rural location makes opposition to their events more difficult, but we will join together in a public display of opposition to their philosophies on July 29, as we cannot allow American Renaissance and Jared Taylor’s vile hate go unanswered. We intend to state firmly and peacefully that Tennesseans reject discrimination, white supremacy, and Naziism. Details are developing. Join the organizing team by leaving a message on this page.

Let’s put our anti-racism ideals into action and join together to send a clear message to AmRen organizers and attendees that their racist ideas and pseudo-scientific beliefs have no place in modern society and are not welcome in Tennessee.

You can sign our Statement of Solidarity HERE: http://notinourstate.weebly.com/sign-the-statement.html

Information about the mobilization here.