April 25, 2024

Idavox

The Media Outlet of One People's Project

OPPOSE THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE CONFERNCE!

For almost a decade, the white supremacist American Renaissance Conference (AmRen) has been held every year at Montgomery Bell State Park in Burns, TN, 45 minutes from Nashville. Last week, they announced plans to hold the next one during the weekend of August 11-13, 20, 2023.

The American Renaissance Conference is associated with violent racists and events throughout the U.S. For over twenty years, the worst fascists in the country and even internationally have gathered there, including Richard Spencer, who promoted the deadly Charlottesville Unite the Right rally as something that would be “traumatic to the liberals of Charlottesville” at their 2017 conference, held just two weeks before that tragic event. This year’s conference will be held on the sixth anniversary of that tragic day that cost the life of a counter-protester to that hate event. 

Last November during its conference members of the neo-fascist Proud Boys attempted to attack those protesting the event, the first time they ever made an appearance during the conference. Their onetime leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, who was recently convicted on sedition charges stemming from January 6, participated in the Charlottesville rally as did several other Proud Boys.

American Renaissance is an online publication edited by Jared Taylor, a former board member of the Council of Conservative Citizens, a white supremacist organization that believes that Black people are “a retrograde species of humanity” and who inspired Dylann Roof’s murder  of nine Black parishioners at the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. In the wake of that shooting, Taylor served as a spokesperson for the Council of Conservative Citizens. 

Organizations and individuals have opposed this conference at the park year after year, and plan to do so again despite the opposition they have seen from the Tennessee State Government. The state has stifled protests using tactics such as “protest pens” and denying public access to the Inn, a publicly-owned facility. During the conference, access is denied not only to those opposing the conference but also to local residents who are simply there to enjoy the park. In 2021, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation attempted to pass a rule prohibiting protests in State Parks – thus denying basic First Amendment rights.  In November 2021, the protest pen was relegated to the back of the venue, as opposed to the front where protests were regularly held. Some of the conference attendees were still allowed to approach protesters even though efforts were made to keep the two groups apart. One of those attendees was Graham Whitson of Patriot Front, who was arrested June 11, 2022 in Idaho along with thirty others from his organization as they attempted to incite a riot at a Pride event. He is currently being sought under a bench warrant regarding that case. The altercation last year with the Proud Boys suggests an escalation in the tactics on part of the fascists. If that is the case it means that we all need to come out more than we ever had before and see to it that the threat this conference poses to not just Tennessee but society over all is diminished!

HOW TO HELP

Here are a few examples of ways you can help:

  • Post opposition to this event on all your social media profiles, encourage sharing

  • Contact Montgomery Bell State Park to ask them not to host this event (and light them up on social media): 615-797-9052

  • Contact officials in Burns, TN: http://townofburnstn.net/admin.html

  • Contact Cindi Gray, Dickson County Commissioner representing District 12 (Burns, TN): 1135 Johnny Hall Road, Burns, TN 37029; 615-519-0400

  • Follow developments either here or at facebook.com/OpposeFascistsAtMontgomeryBell.

  • Share this information with everyone in your network and ask them to help as well.

  • RALLY IS ON SATURDAY, AUG 12, 2023 AT 11 AM. We will meet at the Montgomery Bell State Park Visitors Center. There may be other events happening on the other days as well, but to date there hasn’t been anything announced.

ENDORSERS

2010 AmRen’s national conference in Virginia is cancelled when hotels reject their reservations after increasing public pressure from the anti racist community. 

2011 AmRen’s conference reservations are cancelled when anti racist activists and community groups in Charlotte, NC, mounted a successful campaign to shut down AmRen.

2012 AmRen keeps plans for their national conference quiet, only releasing the location immediately prior: Montgomery Bell State Park, near the rural city of Dickson, TN.

2013 Conference information reveals they are once again going to be at a Tennessee State Park, “45 minutes west of Nashville.” They are in fact returning to Montgomery Bell State Park and are registered under New Century Foundation, the parent organization that sponsors the publication of the racist newsletter American Renaissance and their website, amren.com.

2017: Hundreds come out to oppose AmRen, which featured those planning the tragic “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA two weeks later. This is shown in the documentary Alt-Right: Age of Rage, currently on Netflix.

2021: The State of Tennessee begins discussing rules and regulations that will prevent protests in state parks, where many hate conferences are held in the state. There was never any final decision to date.