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51-657: The party was formed by the League of the South in 1999 and experienced moderate success following the framing of the Asheville Declaration, which was touted by the party as a second Declaration of Independence . Despite its initial success, the Southern Party was disbanded in 2003 following internal factionalism. However, in 2023, the Southern Party was revived and has been working since such. The merits of

102-581: A hate group . The organization was formed in 1994 by Michael Hill and others, including attorney Jack Kershaw and Libertarian historian Thomas Woods . The League of the South was named in reference to the League of United Southerners, a group organized in 1858 to shape Southern public opinion and the Lega Nord (Northern League), a successful populist movement in Northern Italy from which

153-531: A historically black school in Tuscaloosa . Hill has since left his teaching position. In 2000 , the group supported Pat Buchanan and the Reform Party . In time, the group's views became more extreme; by 2004, founding members Grady McWhiney and Forrest McDonald had denounced Hill's leadership and left the organization. Since 2007, The League's main publication has been The Free Magnolia ,

204-450: A fact subsequently reflected in later writings. Mike Crane, who succeeded Kalas for a brief time, was far more the stereotypical Southern nationalist, a longstanding Southern heritage activist and nationalist with strong libertarian convictions. Many others within the SP rank-and-file mirrored these differences. Still, despite significant differences in political convictions, the major players in

255-650: A loose confederation with no centralized governing body. This approach was publicly endorsed by all of the original founders of the Southern Party with the exception of the Baxley faction, which was not invited to the meeting. Although the North Carolina meeting marked the end of the SP's internal wars, it did not result in a substantial increase in public interest in the SP. By 2003 the Southern Party had lost credibility with many of its erstwhile supporters and had squandered what little political capital it had ever had as

306-570: A meeting and electing the spokesperson of the Tennessee chapter as the Party's president. Some of the main issues of the rebrand was states rights and support for TEXIT . League of the South This is an accepted version of this page The League of the South ( LS ) is an American white nationalist , neo-Confederate , white supremacist organization that says its goal

357-652: A political party representing the regional interests of the Southern United States and border states were first discussed in December 1998 by James Lancaster, George Kalas (both of whom have since renounced and left the Southern movement) and Michael Hill at a League of the South conference held in Monroe, Louisiana . The League authorized the formation of a Southern Party Exploratory Committee (SPEC), which

408-691: A process to convince "the Southern people" that they have a unique identity. The League focuses on recruiting and encouraging "cultural secession". In November 2006 its representatives attended the First North American Secessionist Convention of secessionists from different parts of the country. In October 2007 it co-hosted the Second North American Secessionist Convention in Chattanooga, Tennessee . In 2015,

459-477: A quarterly tabloid. The League has been described as using " Celtic " mythology "belligerently against what is perceived as a politically correct celebration of multicultural Southern diversity". The group believes that the Southern United States should be an independent country ruled by white men. In 2001, they asked the U.S. Congress to pay $ 5 billion in reparations for "property" (including enslaved human beings) taken or destroyed by Union forces during

510-555: A rapid outflow of dues-paying members from the state party organizations. Realizing that the feud had undermined the party's viability, the Baxley faction finally agreed to a truce proposed by Crane. The factions began negotiating to reunite the SP, successfully concluding these talks in March 2000. New elections also were scheduled to elect a fresh slate of officers to lead the Southern National Committee. However,

561-414: A result of its seemingly endless internal squabbles. The widespread factionalism that derailed the Southern Party's seemingly promising prospects has sometimes been characterized by former supporters as the result of a wide-ranging ideological struggle between "centralizers" versus "decentralizers." This was reflected in the public statements of many of the key Southern Party players after the dissolution of

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612-702: Is "a free and independent Southern republic". Headquartered in Killen, Alabama , the group defines the Southern United States as the states of the Confederacy : Alabama , Arkansas , Florida , Georgia , Louisiana , Mississippi , North Carolina , South Carolina , Texas , Tennessee , and Virginia . It claims to also be a religious and social movement, advocating a return to a more traditionally conservative , Christian -oriented Southern culture. The movement and its members are allied with

663-546: Is 25 miles (40 km) to the north, and the South Carolina border is 8 miles (13 km) to the south. According to the United States Census Bureau , the village has a total area of 8.2 square miles (21.3 km ), of which 8.1 square miles (21.0 km ) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km ), or 1.56%, are water. The town is drained by King Creek and Meminger Creek, tributaries of

714-469: Is composed of Michael Hill, Mark Thomey, Mike Crane, Sam Nelson, and John Cook. Among the founding members were Thomas Fleming , Thomas Woods , Grady McWhiney , Clyde Wilson , and Forrest McDonald . Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina Flat Rock is a village in Henderson County , North Carolina , United States. The population was 3,114 at the 2010 census . It

765-737: Is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area . Charles Baring and Susan Heyward Baring built Mountain Lodge in 1827 as the community became known as the "Little Charleston of the Mountains" due to an influx of wealthy summer residents from the South Carolina Low Country. Historic Flat Rock Inc. bought the abandoned house and sold it in 2014 to Julien Smythe, a descendant of an owner of Connemara who along with wife Lori renovated

816-608: The American Revolution . The chairman was Dr. Douglas Schell, Professor of Management. There were 78 people in attendance. The Asheville Declaration was adopted by the Convention as well as the State Party Platform. The Convention's theme was "A Second American Revolution." There was statewide media coverage including a 20-minute segment on NC Public TV. The party advocated peaceful secession of

867-475: The British Isles ), and they believe the South's core Anglo-Celtic culture should be preserved. According to the League, the South has had a Marxist and egalitarian society "impressed upon it". The League's Core Beliefs Statement advocates the stigmatization of "perversity and all that seeks to undermine marriage and the family." The League believes that what it calls "the Southern people" have

918-611: The French Broad River and part of the Tennessee River watershed. The village of Flat Rock is governed under a mayor/council form of government. The Mayor and City Council members are elected to staggered four-year terms. Currently the mayor of Flat Rock is Nick Weedman who was elected unopposed on November 5, 2019. There are also 5 city council members. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 3,486 people, 1,590 households, and 1,071 families residing in

969-937: The alt-right . The group was part of the neo-Nazi Nationalist Front formerly alongside the National Socialist Movement (NSM), the now-defunct Traditionalist Workers Party (TWP) and Vanguard America (VA, since rebranded as Patriot Front ). The group helped organize the Pikeville rally in Pikeville, Kentucky ; the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia ; and the White Lives Matter rally in Shelbyville, Tennessee . The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated it as

1020-646: The 2002, 2004, and 2006 elections and was an enduring presence in the statewide political struggle over the redesign of the Georgia State Flag . The party did not field a presidential candidate, but in 2007 Texan Gene Champman tried to seek the nomination of the Southern Party, the Libertarian Party and the Constitution Party . In 2023, the Southern Party revamped it's platform, with delegates from Kentucky and Tennessee holding

1071-594: The Civil War. The group's legal counsel Jack Kershaw said their proposal included paying reparations to African-Americans due to the supposed negative effect the end of slavery had on their ancestors: "Blacks were better off in antebellum times in the South than they were anywhere else. [...] They lost a lot too when that lifestyle was destroyed." The League defines Southern culture as profoundly Christian and anti-abortion . The League describes Southern Culture as being inherently Anglo-Celtic in nature (originating in

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1122-650: The Federation of States and various state-based Southern Independence Parties (SIPs). Two state SPs (Georgia's and North Carolina's) disaffiliated from the SNC and became wholly independent, refusing to recognize any national/regional authority. Many of the other remaining state SPs were, in reality, only "paper parties" led by a few officers and lacking substantial numbers of dues-paying members. These parties soon proved untenable and ultimately collapsed due to their inability to recruit party members and raise operating funds. In

1173-522: The Register are Brookland and Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site . Flat Rock is located in south-central Henderson County. It is bordered to the north by Hendersonville , the county seat , and to the east by unincorporated East Flat Rock . North Carolina Highway 225 (Greenville Highway) is the main road through the village, leading north 4 miles (6 km) to the center of Hendersonville and south 3 miles (5 km) to Zirconia . Asheville

1224-528: The SNC-led faction and the League of the South prompted the SNC to vote for a formal break with the League in May 1999. While the decision to break with the League was influenced by many factors, the leadership of the SNC faction also had become increasingly concerned about the League of the South's apparent unwillingness to purge elements from its ranks that had become more vocal and seemingly more influential within

1275-399: The SNC. Kalas, the principal founder of the SP, was a committed paleoconservative whose interest in Southern heritage and regionalism tended to constitute more a reflection than a foundation of his core beliefs. On the other hand, Lancaster, the author of the Asheville Declaration, was a moderate-conservative Republican in many respects who nonetheless harbored strong regionalist sympathies,

1326-496: The South is opposed to fiat currency , personal income taxation , central banking , property taxes and most state regulation of business. The League supports sales taxes and user fees. In the summer of 2000, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) designated the League of the South as a hate group , citing the group's "academic veneer" of revisionist history and calls for secession. Hill dismissed

1377-665: The Southern States from the American union and the restoration of an independent Southern nation. The party believed this was a real and achievable goal, though they did not know whether it could be achieved in the short-term or in the long-term. In the interim, they believed in working toward a devolution of powers from the Federal Government to state governments. The Southern Party disbanded around 2002, primarily due to infighting and fractures that developed among

1428-465: The Spring of 2003 the League of the South attempted to re-establish its influence in the Southern Party by volunteering to serve as an honest broker to coordinate the reunion of all SP supporters (excluding the now-discredited Baxley faction) under one flag. The League invited all anti-Baxley factions of the SP to a meeting in North Carolina for the purpose of realigning all of the invited state parties into

1479-554: The abandonment of Confederate restorationist symbolism and ideology. For a time, the movement garnered attention and sparked debate within Southern movement ranks. However, the Home Rule concept and Web site were abandoned in 2003 after Lancaster and Kalas concluded that the factionalized Southern movement was beyond repair. The most successful remnant of the original Southern Party was the Southern Party of Georgia. The Georgia SP fielded multiple candidates for local and state offices in

1530-409: The average family size was 2.46. In the village, the population was spread out, with 13.6% under the age of 18, 2.3% from 18 to 24, 13.4% from 25 to 44, 34.9% from 45 to 64, and 35.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 58 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males. The median income for a household in the village

1581-450: The bickering by voluntarily resigning his post. The SNC reluctantly accepted the resignation, though voting to recognize Kalas as "Chairman Emeritus" of the Southern Party in recognition of past services. Mike Crane, a Georgia activist and SNC member, whose immediate goal was to head the rift, subsequently was elected interim chairman. Even so, the conflict continued into the early months of 2000, sowing additional disillusionment and leading to

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1632-460: The committee, led to the fracture of the SPEC into two competing factions. One faction, which continued to operate under the name SPEC, remained loosely affiliated with the League, while the other faction, led by Kalas, Jerry Baxley, and Thomas Reed, among others, formed the Southern National Committee (SNC). Its purpose was to launch the Southern Party as soon as possible. Continued disagreements between

1683-545: The designation as politically motivated. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the League of the South is a white supremacist group which promotes racism and anti-Semitism through events held with other white supremacist groups. The League of the South joined the Nationalist Front , a loose coalition of neo-Nazis and other white supremacists, in 2017. The League's board of directors

1734-717: The group announced it would be holding an event celebrating the assassination of Abraham Lincoln , while honoring John Wilkes Booth as a hero. On April 11, 2015, it was organized by the vice chairman of the Maryland-Virginia chapter of the League, Shane Long. The LOS's main Facebook page put it bluntly: "Join us in April to celebrate the great accomplishment of John Wilkes Booth. He knew a man who needed killing when he saw him!" The League has attempted to form paramilitary groups on more than one occasion. The League of

1785-545: The group took inspiration. The League's first meeting included 40 men, 28 of whom formed The Southern League . Two years later, they changed the name to The League of the South to avoid confusion with the Southern League of Minor League Baseball . Among the early members were Southern professors, including its president Michael Hill, a British history professor and specialist in Celtic history at Stillman College ,

1836-565: The house. A post office called Flat Rock has been in operation since 1829. The village was named for granite rock formations which dotted the landscape. Historic Flat Rock Inc. began in 1968 after the loss of Ravenswood and began buying historic properties. A number of buildings in the village are included in the Flat Rock Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Also on

1887-529: The launch of the Asheville Declaration was the presentation of flags of the Southern states and the reading and signing of the Asheville Declaration, which articulated the SP's paleoconservative founding philosophy. The National Convention called for state conventions. In October 1999, the NCSP held a statewide convention in Hillsdale, the first capital of North Carolina, at a colonial inn dating back to before

1938-602: The party leaders. A "Southern Parties of the Southwest", operating in Arizona, had 120 members in Arizona and New Mexico. It is not affiliated with the SP organization. However the Southern Parties of the Southwest was disbanded, after the founder and long-time Chairman Charles Goodson was replaced in an election in 2005. Goodson declined to run for re-election citing personal and financial reasons, and claimed that he

1989-408: The population. There were 1,169 households, out of which 15.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.5% were married couples living together, 1.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.8% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and

2040-483: The previous few months before the break. The SPEC and SNC factions continued to compete for the allegiance of Southern political activists throughout the spring and summer of 1999. While the SPEC faction continued to enjoy the official support of the League of the South, it appeared to gain little political traction as the date of the SNC-sponsored launch of the Asheville Declaration approached. The highlight of

2091-484: The right to secede from the United States, and that they "must throw off the yoke of imperial [federal, or central government] oppression". The League promotes a Southern Confederation of sovereign, independent States. The League favors strictly limited immigration , opposes standing armies and any regulation whatsoever of firearms. This proposed independent nation is described by League publications as part of

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2142-471: The state level. Sometime after their departure from the Southern Party and from the League of the South-led Southern movement, Lancaster and Kalas experimented with a concept known as Home Rule for Dixie, the purpose of which was to provide a forum through which a more mainstream, center-right, racially inclusive movement could be developed. A hallmark of this nascent movement was its emphasis on

2193-429: The subsequent election resulted in the surprise selection of Jerry Baxley by a narrow margin as the new national SNC chairman. Substantial voting irregularities, which, in the view of many, were orchestrated by the Baxley faction, produced additional disaffection within party ranks. This dissatisfaction was further exacerbated by what many viewed as Baxley's abrasive, erratic and unpopular leadership style. The party reunion

2244-452: The various SP factions nevertheless professed a strong allegiance to the Southern tradition of decentralized government and localized control. The party infighting was actually driven more by personal conflicts between competing party leaders than by genuinely substantive disagreements over party ideology. As one prominent supporter once humorously described the problem: "Organizing Southerners is harder than herding cats!" This factionalist trait

2295-520: The village. As of the census of 2000, there were 2,565 people, 1,169 households, and 937 families residing in the village. The population density was 327.1 inhabitants per square mile (126.3/km ). There were 1,459 housing units at an average density of 186.0 per square mile (71.8/km ). The racial makeup of the village was 98.83% White , 0.47% African American , 0.04% Native American , 0.12% Asian , 0.04% from other races , and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.17% of

2346-617: Was $ 67,813, and the median income for a family was $ 81,811. Males had a median income of $ 55,263 versus $ 34,375 for females. The per capita income for the village was $ 42,222. About 0.3% of families and 1.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including none of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over. Flat Rock is home to the Flat Rock Playhouse , the State Theatre of North Carolina . The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church retreat Bonclarken

2397-539: Was not interested anymore in the Chairman seat. After the elections, the party membership decided to merge with the Confederate Party of Arizona, the Southern Parties of the Southwest was dissolved. Despite its initial media success at Flat Rock, North Carolina , the SP soon squandered its momentum, falling to the same type of internal squabbling that resulted in the earlier rift within SPEC ranks. The rift

2448-424: Was not lost on outside observers, more than one of whom noted the irony that a party advocating secession found itself undone by multiple secessions within its own ranks. After the party's demise, there was little regionally coordinated political effort – a lack often attributed to a longstanding reluctance among Southern movement activists to empower a "national" coordinating body. Even so, some activity continued at

2499-542: Was organized at a later meeting in Tuscaloosa, Alabama , which was held in January 1999. During this meeting Kalas was elected to chair the committee. The Southern Party achieved its first electoral victory on August 22, 2000 when party member Wayne Willingham was elected to the nonpartisan office of Mayor of West Point, Alabama . The SPEC operated until May 1999, when internal disagreements over ideology and strategy, exacerbated by personal animosities among some members of

2550-412: Was short-lived and Baxley soon found himself presiding over a rapidly shrinking party organization as other SNC members resigned and state party organizations began disaffiliating from the SNC as their recognized national party organ. The steady departure of established state party organizations ultimately led to the dissolution of the SNC in 2002. In the aftermath of the SNC's collapse, one faction formed

2601-526: Was sparked by disagreement over a proposed increase in SNC dues for state party organizations. While seemingly a mundane administrative matter, it soon escalated out of control, culminating in a deep and irreconcilable split of the SNC into two factions – one led by party Chairman George Kalas, the other by party Vice-Chairman Jerry Baxley. A protracted power struggle ensued for control of the party's Web site, treasury and state-party organizational affiliations. In December 1999, SNC chairman George Kalas tried to end

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