Actions Speak Louder Than Words
R. G. Wilson, the recently elected Commander-in-Chief (CIC) of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), is quoted in The State newspaper (Columbia, SC) recently as saying that he ‘left" both the League of the South and the Council of Conservative Citizens, recognized hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Report, which is highly respected among law enforcement agencies. "Obviously, I had some discomfort or I wouldn’t have left," Wilson said.
Apparently, Wilson’s "discomfort" with his own membership in the two extremist groups did not prevent him from appointing members of each group to top positions in the SCV as soon as he had the authority to do so. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Report Winter 2002, Wilson’s appointments include:
-
David Allen, member of the Alabama League of the South, was named aide-de-camp to the SCV general staff
-
Charles Kelly Barrow, a League of the South member, became the SCV’s historian-in-chief
-
Ronald Casteel, head of the Missouri League of the South was named chief of staff for the SCV.
-
Charles "Chuck" McMichael, a member of Free Mississippi (a League of the South spin-off), was appointed as SCV’s genealogist-in-chief.
-
Leonard "Flagpole" Wilson, a national director of the Council of Conservative Citizens, was appointed to the position of SCV staff parliamentarian.
Wilson appears not to have been discomforted by the continued presence of Kirk Lyons in an influential position within the SCV. Lyons has well documented ties to a number of hate groups including the Ku Klux Klan and White Aryan Nation, and occupies a position on the Long Range Planning committee which allows him to shape the future direction of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. In fact, Wilson endorsed Lyons’ recent candidacy for Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia.
CIC Wilson is obviously quite comfortable with the large number of League of the South and Council of Conservative Citizens members who hold either elected or appointed positions at all levels in the Sons of Confederate Veterans as reported in the Spring 2002 Intelligence Report.
Wilson’s past connections and current leadership actions are no doubt leaving a number of members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans with their own sense of discomfort.