SCV PROTEST OF NASCAR AT THE CHARLOTTE RACE

Folks, our comrades in Nawth Carolina need ALL of us NOW! Please read below: It seems that the SCV National Heritage Defense Committee has become a stumbling block in our fight against NasCar's anti-Southern stance. Flags & Flyovers cost money...as you can see, IHQ is NOT giving financial support. When the Heritage Defense Committee stands in the way of heritage defense, our battle is lost before it even begins!

Since when are we supposed to dance to the beat of the splc 's drum? Furthermore, being fearful of what the splc thinks or writes does not fly....Kirk Lyons is constantly being purported by the splc to be linked to the Aryan Nation...does this keep the SCV from supporting Kirk? Censuring these hard working Nawth Carolina compatriots from the protest is absurd. It appears that the SCV is now supporting the very things that our Confederate ancestors fought against!

There is no organized support for this important protest at Charlotte. We need to rally behind the soldiers in Nawth Carolina and send donations to finance this effort. Please send your checks made payable to:

Steve Poteat
265 Quail Drive
Salisbury, NC 28147

or if you are connected to the federal government for tax deductions, You can make the check payable to "Rowan Rifles SCV Camp 405" but be sure to mark on it for "Heritage Defense Fund/So. Piedmont Brigade". That way your donation will be used for the protest.

The call to arms has been issued...will you answer the call? If it effects Nawth Carolina...it effects Alabama...does it effect you? Butch & I are planning to be in Charlotte....hope you will too!

BE IN CHARLOTTE...MAY 25-27, 2007!!!

Confederately yours,
Pat Godwin
Selma, Alabama

SCV PROTEST OF NASCAR AT THE CHARLOTTE RACE, MAY 26, 2007
SEE HERE


STATEMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION COMMANDER

Review

Because there have been questions raised about the participation of the North Carolina Division SCV at the upcoming May 26th NASCAR race at Charlotte, as Division Commander I believe it is necessary to publicly state the facts.

SCV Chief of Heritage Defense Darryl Starnes has stated that on about March 10, 2007 he emailed me to inform me that the Heritage Defense Committee had selected the May 26th race at Charlotte to be one of the targeted races for an SCV funded NASCAR protest. I check my email daily, usually twice a day, and I have no record of such an email. Nevertheless, I will not dispute Compatriot Starnes’ story.

On April 3rd, James Younger Camp Commander Eddie McRae emailed me, asking if I had heard anything from Starnes. This email included an exchange between Commander McRae and ANV Commander Michael Givens that informed Commander McRae that since Starnes had not received a reply from me, the decision had been made to forgo a Heritage Defense Committee sponsorship of a protest in North Carolina and to withhold all I.H.Q. funds for the Charlotte race event.

During the last week of March, Steve Poteat, Southern Piedmont Brigade Commander, called me. He was very upset at this denial and implored me to intervene to possibly get this decision reversed. Shortly thereafter ANV Commander Michael Givens called me and urged me to call Starnes and ask him to reconsider his decision. Commander Givens indicated that Starnes was a reasonable man and an agreeable resolution should be possible. I placed a call to Starnes and left a message for him to call me on the NC Division toll free line. During Easter weekend, Commander Poteat called again and asked if I had learned anything. I told him that it was a holiday period, and I would try again soon.

On Easter Monday, I reached Chief of Heritage Defense Starnes by telephone. I apologized for the email mix-up and assured him that we had men who had spent money for camper spaces and were prepared to spend several days during race week passing out flags and protesting NASCAR’s anti-Confederate stance.

Mr. Starnes expressed reservations about participation of men from the James Younger camp. He brought up last year’s protest and the attention given to the controversial tee shirt worn by Compatriot Donnie Hatley. I told Mr. Starnes that I had talked to Compatriot Hatley a number of weeks previously and was assured that the tee shirt would never again see the light of day. He also said that “biker attire” was not proper and that he feared that the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) would find out about the protest and create trouble for the SCV. Mr. Starnes said that it was too late for him to reconsider his decision and the Charlotte race would not receive Heritage Defense Committee resources. I protested strongly, saying that the James Younger Camp and the Southern Piedmont Brigade had everything under control and only needed the flags and funds for a flyover. Mr. Starnes said that the SCV could not take the chance that the SPLC might find out that the same men who manned the protest of 2006 were a part of an official SCV event. The conversation closed with Mr. Starnes stating that his decision would not be reversed.

Given my stated protest, on Thursday, April 12th I was included in a specially-summoned, conference call meeting with the SCV General Executive Council (GEC). The conference call was held in executive session, so I shall not discuss the conversation, even though, apparently, others have publicly revealed details of that meeting.

On Friday, April 13th, ANV Commander Michael Givens called me to say that the G.E.C. had authorized the funds for the Charlotte race protest, but only if Southern Piedmont Brigade Commander Steve Poteat, James Younger Camp Commander Eddie McRae, James Younger Camp Lt. Commander Donnie Hatley, and Northern Piedmont Brigade Commander Jim McManus were not allowed on site. I rejected these conditions as unreasonable and unacceptable. Commander Givens said that, in his opinion, I was allowing four men to stand in the way of the other 3,200 men of the N.C. Division. I firmly disagree and believe that it is the G.E.C. that is inhibiting the legitimate protest by our Division by attaching unrealistic conditions and purse strings to its support of the Charlotte protest.

On Saturday, April 14th, I informed Commanders Poteat and McRae of the General Executive Council ruling.

On Monday, April 16th, ANV Commander Michael Givens called me and stated that he had been in contact with Commander McRae and had convinced him to stand down from the protest. I then contacted Commander McRae for verification. Commander McRae verified Commander Givens’ statement. He added that Commander Givens had promised that the N.C. division would receive the support of the Heritage Defense Committee and that all camps and individuals would be reimbursed for money spent.

But in a subsequent call, Commander McRae said that he had, once again, spoken with Commander Givens and his offer not to participate in the Charlotte event had been withdrawn.



SUMMARY


Some may feel that I am the stumbling block in this effort. While it is true that I rejected the G.E.C.’s offered “compromise,” I feel that my decision was completely justified.

Compatriots Poteat, McRae and Hatley have worked tirelessly to make this protest happen. I have emails that prove that Compatriot Grayson Jennings was in touch with Commander McRae as early as last November about arrangements and nothing at all was said about biker attire being unacceptable at the race or about any problem with the James Younger Camp.

Given the dedication and many efforts of Commander Poteat, Commander McRae, and the members of the James Younger Camp, I could never consider asking these men to abandon the field after all their hard work and preparation. So, I am comfortable with my decision.

The matter of the G.E.C. withholding these funds is analogous to the federal government withholding highway funds until the states enact seat belt laws. I am convinced that the men of the North Carolina division believe in states’ rights even if, sadly, in this case we are at odds with our own International Headquarters.

I plan to be on site myself at the Charlotte race protest and stand with the men whose character has been questioned by the leaders of the very organization they love dearly. I will also ask my camp to appropriate funds to make sure this protest is successful.

There is apparently much talk circulating about this matter. That it why I set down this sequence of events, conversations, and proposals, about which, as North Carolina Division Commander, I have first-hand knowledge

In the Cause of Confederate Heritage,

Bruce W. Tyson, Commander

North Carolina Division, SCV