Word of the day: neo-Confederate

Photo by K. C. Lewis, Third-Eye Photography 

According to the Montgomery, Ala. based Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization that tracks hate groups, a "neo-Confederate" is a person living in the U.S. who possesses pro-Confederate sentiments and advocates measures to end immigration. 

"Overall, it is a reactionary conservative ideology that has made inroads into the Republican Party from the political right, and overlaps with the views of white nationalists and other more radical extremist groups," according to the SPLC's website.

A neo-confederate claims to be a Christian who strongly opposes homosexuality but promotes segregation and white supremacy. 

Photo by Tomi Johnson

Neo-confederates often subscribe to publications like Southern Partisan, Chronicles, and Southern Mercury and belong to organizations like League of the South, the Council of Conservative Citizens, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Neo-confederates often describe their views as not hateful, but rather a choice to bask in the after glow of "history" when the South was part of the master/slave system and the Confederate states rebelled against the nation and seceded from the Union.  

The say they believe in "heritage, not hate." The SPLC says there has been an uptick in hate groups since Barack Obama was elected President of the United States.

(Photos taken in 2003 at Georgia State Capital in Atlanta where groups were protesting the removal of the old Georgia flag.)

©2012 Tomi Johnson. All rights reserved.