2010 AR Conference Held Against All Odds

Despite unprecedented threats and intimidation, the 2010 American Renaissance conference took place in the Northern Virginia as originally planned. Four hotels successively broke their contracts to hold the event—the last one just two days before the conference was to begin—so we sent out notices to registrants telling them there was to be no conference.

However, our supporters refused to let us cancel! So many people told us they were coming anyway that we put together what turned out to be a very successful program. Now we are getting complaints from people who say they would have flown across the country if only they had known! There is a tremendous appetite for our people to meet, and hear straight talk about the crises our nation faces, and we were immensely heartened by the spirit of solidarity and commitment that galvanized this conference.

Three of the originally-scheduled speakers were on hand: Sam Dickson, Louis March, and I. The others had changed their plans, but we had first-rate stand-ins: Attorney Joe Sibley, Canadian activist Paul Fromm, and BNP candidate for Parliament Matthew Tait.

I opened the conference with an account of the unprecedented lengths "anti-racists" went to shut down our meeting. A partial account is available here, but this does not include the pressure put on the Capitol Skyline hotel, the fourth and last hotel to cancel. We had heard that the Capitol Skyline stands firm in the face of people who try to push them around, and we explained in every detail the bullying and the death threats that had led the other hotels to cancel. They said they were happy to get the business. We drew up a contract on Tuesday, February 16—just three days before the conference was to begin—and put out the word that the conference was back on.

Our opponents, mobilized after the pressure they had put on other hotels, struck quickly. They flooded the Capitol Skyline with hostile calls. Someone came onto the property and shoved lurid pamphlets under guest-room doors. A hotel official told us people were pressuring their suppliers to say they would take away their business if the hotel offered us a forum. He added that he had heard that a high-school class was going to come out to protest and leaflet the hotel. Zealots harassed the hotel's owners, and threatened to march on the hotel during the conference. We have heard that there were death threats.

The Capitol Skyline held out for about 24 hours before it capitulated. It was 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday the 17th, and we again had no venue for a conference that was 47 hours away. So much for freedom of speech and assembly in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Our supporters refused to stay home despite our cancellation notice, so here we were despite it all.

I then went on to speak on my original conference subject, "What Is at Stake for Our People." I recalled Sam Francis's words from the first AR conference in 1994 that got him fired from the Washington Times: "The civilization that we as whites created in Europe and America could not have developed apart from the genetic endowments of the creating people. . . ." [Why Race Matters, American Renaissance, September 1994] I also recalled that I had said the same thing more prosaically: "We have the right to be us, and only we can be us."

I noted that every one of us in that room had a deep love for that great flowing river which is the genetic and cultural heritage of Europe, and that we all believed that river should and would flow on forever. I pointed out that my generation, which grew up in the 1950s, had inherited a good country but that just in my lifetime, we had put in motion forces that are destroying it. I said that perhaps never in human history had a single generation done so much damage to a country that had not even suffered occupation by invaders or natural disasters such as famine or pestilence. Indeed, my generation has presided over the dismantling of a once-great country in a time of great scientific and economic advance.

I concluded, however, that our movement has made much progress in the 20 years I have been publishing American Renaissance. I spoke of my admiration for the large number of people who now openly support a thoughtful form of racial consciousness, and expressed my faith in the young men and women who will take up the struggle when my generation—the one with so much to answer for—has been put out to pasture.

The next speaker was former Army Ranger  and Harvard Law School graduate, Joe Sibley. He spoke of how he came to understand the racial forces at work in our country, and of the commitment he feels to our people and culture. He outlined provocative strategies for advancing our cause and spreading the message to yet more potential supporters.

The final speaker of the morning was Matthew Tait, who is a parliamentary candidate for the British National Party, running for the Windsor seat. He spoke of the recent very encouraging electoral successes of the party: Richard Barnbrook's seat on the London Assembly and party leader Nick Griffin's and Andrew Brons's great victories in the election for the Euro-parliament.

Mr. Tait discussed in some detail the legal harassment the party has faced over its constitution, which has until now limited membership to "indigenous Caucasians." There are many organizations in Britain exclusively for blacks or Asians, but whites are not allowed to associate only with themselves. The constitution has now been amended, but it is not yet certain whether the new language will withstand court scrutiny.

Mr. Tait also described the prospects and challenges that face the unprecedentedly large slate of BNP candidates—no fewer than 98—running for Parliament. Chairman Nick Griffin, who is campaigning in the promising constituency of Barking, has the best chances, but it will be an uphill battle. In any case, the elections will be another first-rate opportunity to tell more patriotic Britons that there is a party that still speaks for them.

After a delicious buffet lunch, the conference resumed with a talk by business consultant and former Capitol Hill aide, Louis March. He recounted the great accomplishments of our people and emphasized the tragedy that will befall us if we do not work to save our heritage. He decried the heedless liberalism that is reducing whites to a minority, and issued a resounding call for continued commitment and action.

Long-term Canadian activist Paul Fromm then spoke about the challenges to free speech in his country. He recounted the absurd legalisms used to persecute a host of dissidents, some of whom have been thrown in prison for expressing their views. Mr. Fromm described the astonishing travails and humiliations of several entirely ordinary Canadians who were caught up in legal processes that seem deliberately unfair. He painted a picture of a system of kangaroo commissions that would be unthinkable in the United States. He noted that some of the most egregious laws have been overturned—even if on very narrow grounds—but that obstacles to free speech remain formidable.

As he always does, Sam Dickson, the Atlanta lawyer, closed the conference. His theme this year was "knowing who you are." He described the ludicrous, spiteful image our opponents have of us and laughed at their alleged ability to read our minds. People at the Southern Poverty Law Center, for example, claim to know that we are "haters" and to understand our motives better than we do ourselves. He gave one hilarious example after another of the "links" by which our presumed wickednesses are proven. He affirmed the nobility and goodness of our cause, and urged us to love the comrades with whom we march in this great struggle.

Mr. Dickson also elaborated a theory of how schizophrenia on race contributes to the rise of white sociopaths to elite positions. He argued that unlike non-whites, who need not strike foolish poses about race—who are free to make healthy demands in the names of their people—prominent whites are so accustomed to lying about the most basic aspects of society that only the most practiced liars ever rise to positions of power. Mr. Dickson's invariable combination of wit and inspiration was a fitting end to an embattled conference.

Something that the events surrounding this weekend have made clear is that our media elites are utterly untroubled when racial dissidents face the extraordinary levels of harassment that caused so many cancellations. On February 15, we issued a press release [see below] outlining the outrageous behavior of our opponents, and urged several hundred radio talk show hosts to invite me on their programs to discuss what our experience says about the rights to free speech an assembly. We were met with almost total silence. This may change, but for now we have uncovered a total lack of principle. Editors and reporters who would have shrieked with outrage had a liberal or non-white group been treated as we were treated, have shown their true colors: They believe in freedom of speech only for those with whom they agree.

This experience has left us with twice the resolve we had before, and AR will study its options for future conferences. Conferences are central to the mission of American Renaissance, and we will hold them against all odds. The 2010 conference has also brought home to us the passionate commitment of our supporters, who refused to let us cancel this conference and who insisted that we host them for a wonderful weekend of honesty, inspiration, and camaraderie. We look forward to seeing you all next time.

Jared Taylor (email him) is editor of American Renaissance and the author of Paved With Good Intentions: The Failure of Race Relations in Contemporary America. (For Peter Brimelow's review, click here.)