Central NJ Democratic Socialists of America Statement in Support of Opposition to the American Renaissance Conference

The Central NJ DSA will be represented at Montgomery Bell State Park tomorrow.

Central NJ DSA

From November 18th to November 20th, a gathering of white supremacists, fascists, neo-Nazis, and other far-right hate groups will take place in Burns, Tennessee, organized by the New Century Foundation and the American Renaissance, a white supremacist website and print magazine. These groups cloak themselves in pseudo-intellectualism, but their ideology is unmistakably rooted in hatred and racism, and they openly embrace some of the most reprehensible individuals of our time, who promote and commit violence against people of marginalized racial and religious groups.

Despite their white nationalist ideology, the state of Tennessee and the Montgomery Bell Inn and Conference Center protect and support American Renaissance’s annual conference, which has previously been rightly expelled from other states and venues. Their annual gathering is heavily protested by anti-racist and anti-fascist organizations, and last year the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation attempted to prohibit protests within Montgomery Bell State Park, where this conference takes place, in direct violation of the First Amendment.

 Because the conference takes place inside a state park, security for the event is paid for by Tennessee’s taxpayers. In fact, in 2019, the conservation department ordered the state of Tennessee to pay over $46,000 to American Renaissance to “ensure public safety” for the conference. The current venue was chosen ten years ago, after privately-owned hotels refused to accommodate American Renaissance because of anti-racist protestors. For the last decade, Tennessee police have protected conference registrants from protestors by closing the park to non-registrants, pushing protestors to the back of the venue, and using counter-protest methods to silence those speaking out against the conference.

CNJDSA condemns this fascist gathering and joins the open letter in opposition to it. Socialism, with its aim to establish an egalitarian, democratic society for the freedom of all, is fundamentally opposed to fascism, white supremacy, and other discriminatory ideologies. Far-right hate groups are not only a problem for Tennessee- they exist in New Jersey and throughout America, and threaten us all. We call on other branches of the DSA and the people of New Jersey to join us and oppose this convention and all the far-right hate groups who support it.