Mississippi Resolution Dies Over Link to Racist Leader
In what amounted to a reversal, the Mississippi House has killed a resolution commemorating an occasion hosted by a white supremacist.
The move came one month after House lawmakers the resolution designating March 2, 2009, 鈥淭he Spirit of America Day鈥� in recognition of exceptional male student athletes in Mississippi. The resolution was held for reconsideration after some House lawmakers argued that it was unacceptable to promote 鈥淭he Spirit of America Day鈥� events because they鈥檙e organized by Richard Barrett, an attorney in Learned, Miss., who heads a white supremacist hate group called the Nationalist Movement. Representatives ultimately let the resolution die when they recessed this week.
Among those advocating the resolution鈥檚 demise was Rep. Robert Johnson (D-Natchez). 鈥淲hen we give validation to something, we need to be careful about who we give it to,鈥� he said, according to of Jackson, Miss. (However, a similar resolution commemorating 鈥淭he Spirit of America Day鈥� successfully passed the Senate in late February.)
In another defeat for Barrett, an appeals court upheld a judge鈥檚 decision related to his group鈥檚 against six black teenagers in Jena, La., who were subjected to unusually harsh prosecutions. The Nationalist Movement wanted the judge to rule on the case of two protesters who weren鈥檛 allowed to carry firearms during the protest, but the judge refused to do so because they didn鈥檛 belong to Barrett鈥檚 organization, according to . For years, Barrett has organized white power marches throughout the United States.
