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League of the South Twelfth Annual National Conference Report
On Thursday afternoon of 29 September League members from across the forced union of states began to gather at the Holiday Inn on Jekyll Island, Georgia for the League of the South's Twelfth Annual Conference. South Carolina was well represented and only the host state League Chapter of Georgia out numbered us. Our contingent constituted about 12-13 per cent of the attendees. There was one couple from Oregon, who at the recommendation of our director, Robert Hayes, and our chairman, James Layden, joined our 1st South Carolina Rangers.
On Friday afternoon, four workshops were conducted covering the topics of “Building Coalitions”, “Local Political Action”, “Creating andUsing Issues” and “Fund-raising”. We are pleased to report that our director, Robert Hayes, and our board member, Ed Eichelberger, had been asked to conduct the workshop on “Building Coalitions”. They received many favorable comments from those in attendance and a “Well done” from Dr. Hill.
All of the SCLoS attendees declared the conference to be a very good one and those that had attended other conferences got to renew friendships of past meetings and a chance to build new friendships. We are sorry if you could not or did not attend and would urge you to attend the next one in 2006 to be held in Chattanooga, Tennessee in October. But before then, please plan to attend our state conference to be held in Cayce on Saturday 29 October. See this web-site for more details.
SPLC Law Enforcement Letter 23 February 2004 State & Local Law Enforcement To Whom It May Concern: It has come to my attention that our organization, the League of the South, is being characterized as a “hate group” and an “extremist group” at training sessions and seminars for men and women in law enforcement on the federal, state, and local levels. The League of the South is neither. Rather, we are an organization dedicated to defending and enhancing the history, culture, and political interests of the South and its people. The leadership and members of the League are drawn from all levels of society. They include distinguished professors, authors, businessmen, doctors, attorneys, and working men and women from all walks of life. During our ten years as an organization, we have been active primarily in promoting educational and cultural events across the South and elsewhere. We believe in the same principles of government that motivated our Founding Fathers: local self-government (as is articulated in the Tenth Amendment); the preservation of historic local cultures and communities; and the idea of the “consent of the governed.” We have embraced the best of the American tradition of ordered liberty. Our organization is the friend, not the enemy, of law enforcement. We do not advocate violence toward anyone. We pose no threat to the peace of our communities and are not the proper subject of any legitimate concern by law enforcement. No one can cite any instance in which the League of the South has been involved in anything even approaching criminal conduct. We are supporters of law enforcement within our communities, not its enemies. The misinformation being provided to you contains not a shred of hard evidence or even a suggestion of any crime on the part of the League, because such evidence does not exist. The misinformation about us consists only of claims that our views represent “hate,” that we are “haters,” and so on—mere emotional labels and innuendos. Who are the people spreading such misinformation to police agencies? The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in Montgomery, Alabama, is at the top of the list. The SPLC’s ethics, as you must know, have themselves been called into question—not by their enemies, but by journalists and others who share their agenda. The SPLC’s fundraising tactics, hiring & promotion policies, and even their personal ethics have been under a dark cloud of suspicion. Further, The Charlotte Observer noted that the SPLC “misinformed” the press and everyone else about the so-called spate of black-church burnings in 1996. These arsons, supposedly perpetrated by white racists, were later found to be no “spate” at all, when compared with similar incidents in prior years, and not the work of a white racists’ conspiracy, as the SPLC claimed. Do law enforcement agencies really serve the cause of true law enforcement by availing themselves of the services of an organization that has a history of misinforming people? We think not. The primary result of SPLC activity is the creation of an atmosphere of animosity and suspicion between law officers and law-abiding citizens, whose views just happen to be different from those of the SPLC. As an officer of the law, you doubtless know that once the seed of suspicion has been planted and an individual or group is seen as “shady” or potentially “criminal,” instead of a tragedy being averted, it may be precipitated. Such an atmosphere does not serve the interests of law enforcement at all. On the contrary, it creates a diversion of law enforcement agencies’ time and resources when such time and resources are already strained to the limit by real threats to peace and security. The League of the South understands that the SPLC offers “intelligence services” to law enforcement and participates in seminars and training workshops for officers. We also know that the federal government uses SPLC literature and passes it off as accurate in its Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, where federal officers are trained. We know further that the SPLC sends its information in the form of “Intelligence Reports” to local and state law enforcement officials. The League of the South believes that trained law enforcement officers should have no patience for the sort of “intelligence” issued by the SPLC, and that responsible law enforcement agencies should not involve their personnel in indoctrination of the sort supplied by the SPLC. To sum up, the SPLC, since autumn of 2000, has been sending false information about the League of the South to law enforcement agencies. This material is scurrilous, misleading, and inaccurate. By accepting and presenting SPLC information as truth, federal and other law enforcement agencies are laying an administrative bill of attainder against all League of the South members and are effectively laying prior restraint on their enjoyment of constitutional rights to freedom of association, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly. As a respectable organization, the League of the South challenges law enforcement’s use of SPLC materials. We believe that our members are in danger because of the hostile climate created by SPLC lies and innuendo, and we can no longer continue without a challenge to their credibility and to law enforcement’s use of their materials. We will use every lawful legal and political avenue to protect our good name and reputation and the well being of our members. In the meantime, we in the League of the South express our firm and full support for the men and women who serve as officers of the law in our communities. As believers in the rule of law, we will be your staunch allies in all legitimate endeavors of law enforcement. Should you wish to research the League of the South, please consult our website at www.dixienet.org or request written information from our office at (256) 757-6789. Should you wish to investigate us further, we will be happy to cooperate fully. If we have not heard from you within thirty (30) days, we will assume that you agree with our position, viz., that the SPLC and other materials about the League of the South are false, scurrilous, and misleading, and that you will cease and desist from using such materials. Should you wish to discuss the contents of this letter with the President of The League of the South, Dr. Michael Hill, please contact me by phone at (615) 292-2316 and I will arrange for you to speak with Dr. Hill. Sincerely yours on behalf of the President and Board of the League of the South, Jack Kershaw Attorney at Law 3616 Doge Place Nashville TN 37204
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