The leader of a neo-Nazi group that will hold a regional meeting in Greensboro over the weekend says the choice of location has nothing to do with the anniversary of the Nazi-Klan shootings, which happened 30 years ago.
Jeff Schoep, the commander of the Detroit-based National Socialist Movement, said the group chose Greensboro because of its location on the eastern seaboard and nothing else. Schoep said the group's membership is growing in this region.
"We are a white civil rights organization," he said by telephone Tuesday. "The blacks have the NAACP and other racial groups have specific interest groups, and we are that organization for white people."
Schoep said if the group's Southeast/Mid-Atlantic regional meeting had not been made public, no one in Greensboro would have even known about it. The weekend conference, to be held at an undisclosed hotel in town, is a private, invitation-only event with no public events scheduled.
"We are not planning any public protest for this party," he said.
The meeting is being called a non-uniformed business meeting, and Schoep, who is scheduled to speak, said it will bring members in from 10 eastern states.
"I don't think you should hate somebody because of the color of their skin or creed or religion. It's not about hate," he said. "What we stand for is white people. Our interest is not for other races. Are concern is for white people."
Local organizations are making sure the National Socialist Movement can't alter what Greensboro stands for today.
"Our community is all about respect and inclusion. That's what we stand for. That's what our young people stand for," said Susan Feit, who works with the local chapter of the National Chapter for Community and Justice.
That organization will use the weekend as an opportunity to bring youth together and educate them about diversity.
"We feel that it's very important for us to stand up and speak out when things are going wrong," she said. "When you face injustice, ti's not the time to sit down. It's the time to speak."
"... The doctrine that it is not only for the good of humanity but absolutely essential for the survival of humanity that scientific method be applied not only to the breeding of animals and bugs but also to the breeding of human beings."
According to its Web site, the goal of the National Socialist Movement is:
"To accomplish these utterly fundamental and vital aims, National Socialism declares its goal to be nothing less than the absolute domination of the white, civilized areas of the earth by the Aryan white man and the leadership of the Aryan white man by the strongest and wisest individuals of the race rather than the largest number of weaklings, mediocrity's and selfish private interests."
According to Wikipedia, the group was founded in 1974 by Robert Brannen, former member of the American Nazi Party before its decline.
Jeff Schoep, the commander of the Detroit-based National Socialist Movement, said the group chose Greensboro because of its location on the eastern seaboard and nothing else. Schoep said the group's membership is growing in this region.
"We are a white civil rights organization," he said by telephone Tuesday. "The blacks have the NAACP and other racial groups have specific interest groups, and we are that organization for white people."
Schoep said if the group's Southeast/Mid-Atlantic regional meeting had not been made public, no one in Greensboro would have even known about it. The weekend conference, to be held at an undisclosed hotel in town, is a private, invitation-only event with no public events scheduled.
"We are not planning any public protest for this party," he said.
The meeting is being called a non-uniformed business meeting, and Schoep, who is scheduled to speak, said it will bring members in from 10 eastern states.
"I don't think you should hate somebody because of the color of their skin or creed or religion. It's not about hate," he said. "What we stand for is white people. Our interest is not for other races. Are concern is for white people."
Local organizations are making sure the National Socialist Movement can't alter what Greensboro stands for today.
"Our community is all about respect and inclusion. That's what we stand for. That's what our young people stand for," said Susan Feit, who works with the local chapter of the National Chapter for Community and Justice.
That organization will use the weekend as an opportunity to bring youth together and educate them about diversity.
"We feel that it's very important for us to stand up and speak out when things are going wrong," she said. "When you face injustice, ti's not the time to sit down. It's the time to speak."
What is National Socialism?
The group's Web site explains National Socialism as:"... The doctrine that it is not only for the good of humanity but absolutely essential for the survival of humanity that scientific method be applied not only to the breeding of animals and bugs but also to the breeding of human beings."
According to its Web site, the goal of the National Socialist Movement is:
"To accomplish these utterly fundamental and vital aims, National Socialism declares its goal to be nothing less than the absolute domination of the white, civilized areas of the earth by the Aryan white man and the leadership of the Aryan white man by the strongest and wisest individuals of the race rather than the largest number of weaklings, mediocrity's and selfish private interests."
According to Wikipedia, the group was founded in 1974 by Robert Brannen, former member of the American Nazi Party before its decline.
