Some state lawmakers have drawn criticism lately for speaking to a conservative group devoted to preserving “European culture.”
The group, the Council of Conservative Citizens, meets once a month in Jackson, said L.E. Matthews, president of the Great Southern Chapter of the group. The meetings became publicized when The Associated Press reported in late January that several state lawmakers were planning to speak at the Jan. 27 meeting of the organization.
In Fall 2004, the Montgomery, Ala.-based Southern Poverty Law Center developed a list of elected officials who had reportedly spoken at CCC events. Of 26 names on the list, 23 were Mississippi officials.
State Rep. Gary Chism and State Sen. Gary Jackson, both of whom represent parts of Oktibbeha County, appeared on the list.
Chism said he has spoken to the group three times. “To me it’s no more of a racist organization than the NAACP,” Chism said. He said that the last time he spoke to the group was in 2002, and that he will speak to any group that asks him.
Gov. Haley Barbour also appeared on the list. According to the list, Barbour spoke at a CCC barbecue while he was campaigning for governor in 2003.
The SPLC and CCC have clashed for years. The SPLC’s founder, Morris Dees, spoke at Mississippi State Feb. 10. Matthews, along with eight other members of the CCC, stood outside The Union in protest.
The SPLC calls the CCC a “patently white supremacist” group. Matthews said the CCC isn’t supremacist or racist, only proud of Southern and European heritage. “We seek one thing,” Matthews said, “and that is to have our own culture, to continue to strive and be viable on this planet and to seek refuge with each other.”
Matthews said a few lawmakers showed up at the Jan. 27 meeting, despite intense coverage from The Associated Press. An AP story published after the meeting said that no state lawmakers had been observed entering or exiting the Jackson restaurant where the meeting was held.