Fronting Hate: Tennessee's Troubling White-Supremacist Gathering

[Social Media]

 

As the autumn sun filtered through the colorful canopy of Montgomery Bell State Park, located 40 miles west of Nashville, the peace was broken by a chant echoing through the trees: "Whose park? Our park! Whose park? Our park!" A small group of anti-fascist protesters gathered in opposition to the American Renaissance Conference, an annual event linked to white supremacist ideology that has called the park home since 2012.

 

 

“No Nazis. No KKK. No fascist USA,” the protesters shouted. Directed to a designated protest area behind the lodge, they peered through a locked gate at attendees of the controversial event, who mingled on a nearby balcony.

 

“Follow your leader,” one protest organizer taunted with a bullhorn, prompting the group to repeat the chant. “Shoot yourself like Adolf Hitler,” came the biting refrain. Many of the protesters, clad in black and wearing masks to obscure their identities, carried symbols like the Antifa flag as they voiced their outrage.

 

One protester, who identified himself as “X” from Columbia, Tennessee, summarized their perspective: “Basically, they invite some of the worst neo-Nazi hate groups into this park every single year to rally. There is no difference between this and a KKK rally—they’re the same people.”

 

Inside the lodge, the conference was already underway. Jared Taylor, the 73-year-old Yale-educated founder of the event and the New Century Foundation, greeted reporters with a request: no video of attendees’ faces. “These people can lose their jobs. Their girlfriends could jilt them. That’s the kind of society we live in,” he explained in his refined, almost aristocratic tone.

 

Critics like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) describe the conference as a breeding ground for racist ideologies, attracting a mix of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and Klansmen. Cars from across the U.S. filled the lodge’s parking lot, some bearing offensive decals.

 

When asked to describe the attendees, Taylor said, “These are smart, observant, thoughtful Americans who see that our country is going in the wrong direction.” Confronted with allegations of intellectualizing racism, he retorted, “What is racism, for heaven’s sake? Nobody can really define it in any sensible, consistent way.”

 

Inside, speeches blended pseudo-intellectualism with radical ideology. Kevin DeAnna, using his pseudonym Gregory Hood, told attendees their mission was “presenting arguments that people with power can use. They don’t need to admit that they got it from us.”

 

The conference featured controversial figures like Austrian Martin Sellner, who advocated for “remigration,” or forced deportation of nonwhite immigrants. Sellner’s rhetoric, described as “ethnic cleansing” by critics, included a mockery of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech: “I have a dream—it involves planes, ships, and buses.”

 

Guido Taietti, a leader in Italy’s neo-fascist CasaPound movement, also addressed the gathering, alongside other figures linked to global hate movements. Taylor dismissed concerns about his connections to extremist groups like the Patriot Front, whose leader, Thomas Rousseau, was captured on video attending the event.

 

Protesters like “Big Z” were determined to counter these ideologies. “We are here to let the public know that this will not stand in our state of Tennessee,” he declared, attempting to push closer to the lodge despite resistance from park rangers.

 

As the protests raged, Taylor remained resolute. “We are going to be back here—whether they like it or not,” he said confidently. Yet, for opponents of American Renaissance, the battle wasn’t about changing Taylor’s mind. It was about ensuring that Tennessee’s public spaces did not become a haven for hate. “We’re not going to change Jared Taylor’s mind, and he’s not going to change ours,” said Big Z. “But we’re not here for him—we’re here for the people.”

 

In the heart of Tennessee, the ideological clash continues, each side resolute in its mission, the park a contested space between voices of resistance and proponents of division.

 

 

Based on a report by News Channel 5, 2024-12-04

 

 

 

[jori123]

Segregation is the only way

[Jingthing]

Video touches on the connection to Trump.

Edited 13 hours ago by Jingthing

[impulse]

Why is it that you can have Black Teachers organizations, the NAACP, NABJ, and hundreds of other organizations that exclude whites, and that's all good. 

 

But if the white folks do it, it's fomenting hate?  Maybe it's not about hating Blacks.  It's about being left out. White folks wanting their own safe space...

 

Edited 11 hours ago by impulse

[Neeranam]

Many of the Yanks I know are anti-Trump supremacists. Really, they actually think they are more intelligent than half the  US voters! 

[JonnyF]

5 hours ago, impulse said:

Why is it that you can have Black Teachers organizations, the NAACP, NABJ, and hundreds of other organizations that exclude whites, and that's all good. 

 

But if the white folks do it, it's fomenting hate?  Maybe it's not about hating Blacks.  It's about being left out. White folks wanting their own safe space...

 

 

Indeed. The double standards are really striking. A few examples...

 

It is fine for blacks to have groups and events e.g. Black sororities and "Black out nights" that makes it clear whites are not welcome, but not vice versa.

 

It is fine for DEI policies to give priority for jobs, college places etc. to non whites, but not whites.

 

It is fine for black people to adopt white customs, practices, norms, but the other way around is deemed cultural appropriation.

 

Black pride? Great. White pride? Racist.

 

Black actors playing famous white historical figures? Marvellous Darling. White actors playing famous black historical figures? No No No that simply won't do. 

 

Business loans and cash in the form of repatriations for certain racial groups only? How progressive. 

 

Even certain language is deemed acceptable based on race. Just check out some of the racist/sexist/misogynistic language used by rappers etc. and nobody bats an eyelid. Anthony Joshua tweets about the "superior black race" and encourages people to avoid non-black owned businesses and that's fine and dandy apparently. 

 

Identity politics and Wokeism has set race relations back decades. Whoever thought that the answer to racism was equal and opposite racism in the form of revenge politics and 2 tier justice systems is an idiot. 

 

The rules must be equal for everyone, irrespective of race. Anyone arguing against that is by definiton, a racist. Ironically, it's the people who support the examples given above who love to throw that label at others. 

 

 

[Cory1848]

6 hours ago, impulse said:

Why is it that you can have Black Teachers organizations, the NAACP, NABJ, and hundreds of other organizations that exclude whites, and that's all good. 

 

But if the white folks do it, it's fomenting hate?  Maybe it's not about hating Blacks.  It's about being left out. White folks wanting their own safe space...

 

Reminds me of a joke. A child asks his parents, Why is there a Mother’s Day and a Father’s Day, but no Children’s Day? The parent answers, “EVERY day is Children’s Day!”

 

To answer your question, maybe it’s because Black people started out in the US as pieces of personal property, didn’t get the vote (in the US South) until the 1960s, and still face systemic racism (which is what the legal field of critical race theory is all about). Have you ever gone out in public in Black skin? Didn’t think so. Short answer: For White folks in the US, EVERY space is safe space!

[wwest5829]

9 hours ago, jori123 said:

Segregation is the only way

Absolutely, let the states decide just like healthcare. Then we can return to the good ole days of segregated schools, rest rooms, lunch counters,  bus/train waiting rooms, literacy test for voting and Jim Crow Laws … (for those who are not aware, retired Professor of History so … said tongue in cheek).

[wwest5829]

6 hours ago, impulse said:

Why is it that you can have Black Teachers organizations, the NAACP, NABJ, and hundreds of other organizations that exclude whites, and that's all good. 

 

But if the white folks do it, it's fomenting hate?  Maybe it's not about hating Blacks.  It's about being left out. White folks wanting their own safe space...

 

My local attorney served some years ago as elected President of the local NAACP. He certainly was not the only white member..

[wwest5829]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

Many of the Yanks I know are anti-Trump supremacists. Really, they actually think they are more intelligent than half the  US voters! 

Given that the average reading level in the USA is at the 7th-8th grade level? Don’t know about the more intelligent but certainly many are more generally knowledgeable. As to Trump personally … he is dangerous due to his personal manipulation skills, not his intelligence.

[mokwit]

40 minutes ago, wwest5829 said:

Absolutely, let the states decide just like healthcare. Then we can return to the good ole days of segregated schools, rest rooms, lunch counters,  bus/train waiting rooms, literacy test for voting and Jim Crow Laws … (for those who are not aware, retired Professor of History so … said tongue in cheek).

Basically what Leafy Suburb Liberals have now.

[JonnyF]

1 hour ago, Cory1848 said:

To answer your question, maybe it’s because Black people started out in the US as pieces of personal property, didn’t get the vote (in the US South) until the 1960s, and still face systemic racism (which is what the legal field of critical race theory is all about).

 

So your answer is to give black people special priviliges like black only spaces/events/clubs, DEI mandated places at colleges and workplaces at the expense of other races, reparations, loans etc.

 

How long do you propose these special priviliges should last before it's "even"? When will everyone be happy that retribution is complete? Or should these priviliges continue indefinitely? When will it be "enough"?

 

Do you not think this might create more division and resentment between different racial groups?

 

1 hour ago, Cory1848 said:

 

 

 

Have you ever gone out in public in Black skin? Didn’t think so. Short answer: For White folks in the US, EVERY space is safe space!

 

Absolute nonsense. Try walking around the predominantly black areas of South Central LA or Chicago late at night as white 'folk' and report back how safe you felt. 

 

[impulse]

1 hour ago, wwest5829 said:

My local attorney served some years ago as elected President of the local NAACP. He certainly was not the only white member..

 

What do you figure would happen if we formed the NAAWP?  There would be rioting in the streets.  Again.

 

 

[Thingamabob]

Immigration is out of control in the USA, and in many countries in Europe. This gives rise to extremist views.

[soalbundy]

13 hours ago, Social Media said:

 

As the autumn sun filtered through the colorful canopy of Montgomery Bell State Park, located 40 miles west of Nashville, the peace was broken by a chant echoing through the trees: "Whose park? Our park! Whose park? Our park!" A small group of anti-fascist protesters gathered in opposition to the American Renaissance Conference, an annual event linked to white supremacist ideology that has called the park home since 2012.

 

 

“No Nazis. No KKK. No fascist USA,” the protesters shouted. Directed to a designated protest area behind the lodge, they peered through a locked gate at attendees of the controversial event, who mingled on a nearby balcony.

 

“Follow your leader,” one protest organizer taunted with a bullhorn, prompting the group to repeat the chant. “Shoot yourself like Adolf Hitler,” came the biting refrain. Many of the protesters, clad in black and wearing masks to obscure their identities, carried symbols like the Antifa flag as they voiced their outrage.

 

One protester, who identified himself as “X” from Columbia, Tennessee, summarized their perspective: “Basically, they invite some of the worst neo-Nazi hate groups into this park every single year to rally. There is no difference between this and a KKK rally—they’re the same people.”

 

Inside the lodge, the conference was already underway. Jared Taylor, the 73-year-old Yale-educated founder of the event and the New Century Foundation, greeted reporters with a request: no video of attendees’ faces. “These people can lose their jobs. Their girlfriends could jilt them. That’s the kind of society we live in,” he explained in his refined, almost aristocratic tone.

 

Critics like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) describe the conference as a breeding ground for racist ideologies, attracting a mix of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and Klansmen. Cars from across the U.S. filled the lodge’s parking lot, some bearing offensive decals.

 

When asked to describe the attendees, Taylor said, “These are smart, observant, thoughtful Americans who see that our country is going in the wrong direction.” Confronted with allegations of intellectualizing racism, he retorted, “What is racism, for heaven’s sake? Nobody can really define it in any sensible, consistent way.”

 

Inside, speeches blended pseudo-intellectualism with radical ideology. Kevin DeAnna, using his pseudonym Gregory Hood, told attendees their mission was “presenting arguments that people with power can use. They don’t need to admit that they got it from us.”

 

The conference featured controversial figures like Austrian Martin Sellner, who advocated for “remigration,” or forced deportation of nonwhite immigrants. Sellner’s rhetoric, described as “ethnic cleansing” by critics, included a mockery of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech: “I have a dream—it involves planes, ships, and buses.”

 

Guido Taietti, a leader in Italy’s neo-fascist CasaPound movement, also addressed the gathering, alongside other figures linked to global hate movements. Taylor dismissed concerns about his connections to extremist groups like the Patriot Front, whose leader, Thomas Rousseau, was captured on video attending the event.

 

Protesters like “Big Z” were determined to counter these ideologies. “We are here to let the public know that this will not stand in our state of Tennessee,” he declared, attempting to push closer to the lodge despite resistance from park rangers.

 

As the protests raged, Taylor remained resolute. “We are going to be back here—whether they like it or not,” he said confidently. Yet, for opponents of American Renaissance, the battle wasn’t about changing Taylor’s mind. It was about ensuring that Tennessee’s public spaces did not become a haven for hate. “We’re not going to change Jared Taylor’s mind, and he’s not going to change ours,” said Big Z. “But we’re not here for him—we’re here for the people.”

 

In the heart of Tennessee, the ideological clash continues, each side resolute in its mission, the park a contested space between voices of resistance and proponents of division.

 

 

Based on a report by News Channel 5, 2024-12-04

 

 

 

The KKK will never buy a Jaguar.

[FritsSikkink]

13 hours ago, jori123 said:

Segregation is the only way

Yes, all non-indigenous people out of the USA.